Seton Hall
Pirates escape Providence with 5-4 victory, series win
Date: April 21, 2019By Dalton Allison
With their backs against the wall, the Seton Hall softball team pulled through and delivered a 5-4, extra-inning victory against the Providence Friars on Saturday.
Following a string of four consecutive losses, the Pirates traveled up to Providence searching for a badly needed series victory. After splitting the doubleheader on Thursday, Seton Hall entered Saturday with a sense of urgency. This sense of urgency was displayed in the top of the first inning, when Seton Hall was able to grab a 1-0 lead thanks to a single off of the bat of Darby Pandolfo. She drove in Hailey Arteaga, who had been hit by a pitch with one out of the inning.
Reganne Camp took the circle for the Pirates, and provided three innings for them. Camp was not her usual self, allowing three walks and two earned runs during her stay. Although she only struck out one, her line effort was enough to help the Pirates get through the day.
With the game tied 2-2 in the top of the fifth, Bailey Allender stepped up to the plate for Seton Hall. She blasted a solo home run to put the team up 3-2.
All seemed well with Madison Strunk on the mound for the Pirates, as her first inning in relief of Camp was spotless. She struggled in the bottom of the fifth however, and allowed a Jaden Tate error to get the better of her. On the error by Tate, Providence was able to tie the game at 3-3. Later in the inning, Strunk committed an error of her home that allowed Providence to take a 4-3 lead into the sixth inning.
After a quiet sixth from both sides, Seton Hall found themselves down a run with only three outs to work with. Arteaga singled to lead off the inning, and a Katherine Matthys single pushed Arteaga to second. Allender continued to do damage against the Friars with a single that knotted the game up at 4-4. This would remain the score until the top of the eighth.
The top of the eighth began slow for the Pirates, as they started the inning by recording two consecutive outs. Brianna Wallace singled with two outs, which started the rally that would lead Seton Hall to their victory. Janae Barracato singled following Wallace, and Arteaga pitched in a third consecutive single. This single allowed Wallace to race around and score, putting the Pirates on top 5-4.
The win allowed the Pirates to take the series, 2-1 against Providence. Seton Hall will be back in action on Wednesday, when they will host Lehigh for a doubleheader that begins at 3:30 pm. Coverage can be found on wsou.net.
Dalton Allison can be reached at dalton.allison@student.shu.edu.
