Seton Hall
Pirates go 1-4 in the Golden State Classic this weekend
Date: February 16, 2020By: John Makuch
The Pirates came into the Golden State Classic in Lake Elsinore, Calif., having split four games in the Elon Softball Classic and hoped to build off a win against Rhode Island in their last contest.
They began with two games on Friday, the first being against the University of San Diego, San Diego took an early 3-0 lead in the third inning putting Seton Hall in a position where they need to make a comeback. An error by the Toreros allowed Abby Wingo to score, tying the game at 3-3.
San Diego would regain the lead in the sixth, but some late game Pirate magic happened down two runs in the seventh. After being able to get two Pirates on base, Darby Pandolfo hit a huge three run homer to give the Pirates a 6-5 lead which they would not relinquish and took the first game of the Golden State Classic.
The second game of the day against Sacramento State did not go the way Seton Hall had hoped. The Hornets got out to a first inning 3-1 lead they kept adding onto until the game would end in mercy rule by a score of 14-3. Sacramento State would end up finishing the tournament with a record of 5-1 so this was a tough game against a very good team.
On Saturday, Seton Hall played another two games in California, the first being against San Jose State University. The Pirates were shutout in this one with the Spartan pitching really showing up in this one. Starter Caroline Bowman held the Pirates to two hits and picked up four strikeouts in the shutout. The Pirates then hoped to bounce back against Loyola Marymount University.
The second game of the day and the fourth overall saw the Pirates taking on the Loyola Marymount Lions. The game began off a good note in the second inning with a double by Marisa Pla that brought in Pandolfo to put the Pirates up 1-0 early. But by the sixth inning, the Lions opened their run scoring with two in the sixth and then three more added on in the seventh. Down 6-1, Seton Hall tried to rally in the seventh and scored three runs in the process but were unable to complete the comeback, falling 6-4.
The Pirates played their fifth and final game against the Utah State Aggies hoping to not fall to 1-4 in the Golden State Classic. But Utah State did not even allow one run against them, and then proceeding to put two runs up in the second and fifth, capping it off with four runs in the bottom of the sixth that put the game away.
Seton Hall was only able to get one win out of their trip to California, falling to 3-6 overall on the season. The Pirates hope to have a better performance in the Chanticleer Showdown in Conway, N.C., which is being hosted by Coastal Carolina starting on Feb. 21.
John Makuch can be reached at john.makuch@student.shu.edu.
