Frontera Homers, Bullpen Slams Door Shut in 4-2 Win at Southern Illinois

Sunday, March 1

Carbondale, IL

2:00 p.m.

Seton Hall University

4-4

Southern Illinois

3-7

Seton Hall

Southern Ill.

Frontera Homers, Bullpen Slams Door Shut in 4-2 Win at Southern Illinois

3/1/2026 5:52:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Carbondale. Ill. – Six different Pirates recorded hits, including Ryan Frontera launching his first career home run, as the Seton Hall baseball team salvaged the final game of its series at Southern Illinois with a 4-2 victory on Sunday.

How it Happened
Seton Hall has developed a knack for striking early and it did so again on Sunday, scoring in the first inning for the sixth straight game. Gabe Cavazzoni opened the game with a double to the wall in right center, followed by an infield single to short from Aiden Dill which allowed Cavazzoni to come around and score. One inning later, Frontera got into a 1-0 fastball and launched a home run to left field to double the Pirate lead.

Ryan gets into one to double our lead in the 2nd!

T2 | SHU 2, SIU 0#NeverLoseYourHustle https://t.co/Ucuxkfmp8D pic.twitter.com/1CKsjvqGOC
— Seton Hall University Baseball (@SHUBaseball) March 1, 2026

In the fourth, the Pirates tacked on two more to once again double their lead. With one out and runners at first and second, an error committed by the second baseman allowed Frankie Scrivanic to score to give Seton Hall a 3-0 lead. One batter later, Jake Lopez laid down a perfectly executed squeeze bunt to score Frontera from third with the fourth Pirate run.

Small ball. Still very cool! ☑️#NeverLoseYourHustle pic.twitter.com/jqRvNpbYYH
— Seton Hall University Baseball (@SHUBaseball) March 1, 2026

John Downing, the Seton Hall starter, was able to work three scoreless frames to open his outing before the Salukis got to him in the fourth. After two walks in the inning, a two-run double to left center quickly cut the Seton Hall lead in half. Downing bared down after the extra base hit, striking out the next hitter to avoid further damage.

Seton Hall's bullpen was sharp, only running into a jam in the fifth inning with Derek Benzinger on the bump. The Monmouth transfer was able to work around a pair of two-out baserunners before working a 1-2-3 sixth. Stephen Curry then tossed a scoreless seventh before handing way to John Higgins, who tallied four strikeouts to record the six-out save.

Up Next
The Pirates continue their long road stretch on Tuesday afternoon with a matchup against Bellarmine at 2 p.m.