Seton Hall
Pirates dominate in the Clearwater Spring Break Invitational, going 4-1
Date: March 8, 2020By: Liam Plate
The Seton Hall softball team (10-13 overall) was on a roll this weekend as they went 4-1 in the Clearwater Spring Break Invitational down in Clearwater, Fla. The Pirates have been off to a bit of a slow start this season, but this tournament seemed to get them back on track to start conference play in a couple weeks.
They started off the invitational on Friday, Mar. 6 by taking down Chattanooga Mocs in closely contested game that ended with a 1-0 score. The hero of the game was Baylee Allender as she scored the lone run after being walked and getting on base only one time. The Pirates would not have won without the offense, but Kelsey Gumm did a fantastic job pitching only allowing the Mocs to get three hits in whole game.
Gumm also notched six strikeouts, which limited Chattanooga’s opportunities to make their mark on the game offensively. As soon as they topped Chattanooga, the Pirates defeated Army in five innings by a score of 13- 2.
The score does not reflect how close the game was in the beginning as Army as up 2-0 until a three-run third inning by the Pirates put them up 3-2. Reganne Camp allowed two runs on only three hits and got five strikeouts, but it was the Pirate offense that really made Seton Hall come out on top. They scored 10 runs in the fifth inning and after that they was no looking back.
Multiple players scored two runs and Army even subbed out Alicyn Grete and replaced her with Jolie Duong in the fifth inning, but neither of them were a match for the Pirates offense as Duong gave up six hits and seven runs in the last inning. The mercy rule went to effect after Army went up to bat in the fifth inning and scored no runs, which is why the game only lasted for five innings.
On Saturday, Mar. 7, Seton Hall started off nice and early with a 9 a.m. matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Hall got their third win of the weekend by scoring double digits for the second straight game as they won 10-2. The Pirates came out of the gates swinging as they could not be stopped by scoring all 10 of their runs in the first three innings.
The leaders on offense were Allender, Janae Barracato, and Ashly Colonnetta as they set the tone with multiple hits, runs, and RBIs. The Nittany Lions played four different pitchers throughout the entire game, but none of them could matchup with Seton Hall’s high-flying offense.
The Pirates spent the rest of their Saturday by playing seven innings for the first since they faced off against Chattanooga. Seton Hall was able to score double digits once again as they defeated Florida A&M, 11-6. The Hall’s offense was on point again as there was only one inning where the Pirates did not score any runs.
The game remained close between the two teams as both offense were clicking, but it was Mo Sobel’s pitching that limited Florida A&M offensively in the second, fourth, and fifth innings, which allowed the Pirates create separation as they went up 8-2 after the fifth inning.
Florida A&M found their stroke again offensively in the sixth and seventh inning after Sobel was taken out of the game, but Seton Hall’s offense could not be stopped as the Pirates continued to score.
In their final game on Sunday, the Pirate offense did not have the same production as they lost to Bowling Green by a score of 10-3. It was the first time the Hall allowed double digits runs since they let up 13 versus Sacramento State on Feb. 14. Gumm pitched four innings and Camp pitched three, but neither of them seemed to be able to limit Bowling Green’s offense as Gumm allowed seven runs on 10 hits and Camp allowed three runs on three hits.
Barracatto and Abby Wingo were the leaders for the Pirates on offense, but an underwhelming performance by Allender really took it’s toll on Seton Hall. The Hall’s defense was not playing their best either as the Pirates recorded seven errors in the game.
A solid weekend for Seton Hall as they build confidence coming back to New Jersey. As long as the Pirates can keep up their high-flying offense and their stellar pitching, they should be able to win some conference games as their defense still finds their niche. The Hall will be taking on Rutgers on Mar. 10 at 2:30 p.m. 89.5 FM WSOU will have your coverage of that game online at wsou.net.
Liam Plate can be reached at liam.plate@student.shu.edu.
