Seton Hall
Pirates Split Doubleheader with Appalachian State, UNC Greensboro
Date: February 25, 2018
(Photo: SHU Athletics)
By: Bob Towey
After an extra innings defeat of Appalachian State (4-9) on Friday, Seton Hall softball (6-6) split their doubleheader Saturday with a 4-0 shutout loss to the Mountaineers on Saturday morning, before taking down UNCG 2-1 in the second game.
Appalachian State got to Pirate starting pitcher Mo Sobel early, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning. With runners on second and third, Mountaineer Alisha Josey trickled a bunt into shallow right field, sending home Keri White from third base. Then, Appalachian State's Baylee Morton loaded the bases before Heather Josey cranked a two-run single up the middle, bringing Sidney Russell and Alisha Josey home for a 3-0 lead.
The Mountaineers scored their final run of the contest in the bottom of the fourth. White launched a ball to the warning track for a triple after a fielding error. The next two Appalachian State hitters got out, but Pirate catcher Payton Beaver committed an error, allowing White to come home and extend the lead to 4-0 with an unearned run. Chrisa Head, who entered the game in the third in relief of Sobel, gave up just that unearned run in four innings.
A bright spot for the Pirates came when freshman Baylee Allender tallied the first hit of her career, a single in the fifth inning.
At points, the Hall had opportunities to close the deficit, but clutch pitching from Appalachian State's Annaleise Kennedy kept the Pirates at bay. In the top of the seventh, Seton Hall loaded the bases, but Kennedy forced a game-ending groundout to seal the complete game shutout victory. Kennedy allowed just two hits and five walks with three strikeouts. Sobel took the loss for the Pirates, making her record 2-1 on the mound.
The Pirates did not allow that loss to hamper their play in the final game of their doubleheader, a 2-1 victory over the host UNCG Spartans (9-3). UNCG, on the other hand, could not carry any momentum into its matchup against the Hall from its no-hitter against Virginia Saturday morning.
The game stayed scoreless through the first three innings before Seton Hall broke the deadlock in the top of the fourth. Alexis Walkden blasted a solo home run to left center off Spartan starting pitcher Hannah Stiltner for a 1-0 lead. However, the Pirates' lead was short lived, as UNCG answered back in the bottom of the same inning.
UNCG's Jasmine Palmer doubled to begin the bottom of the fourth and then advanced to third on a groundout. She came home on a sacrifice bunt from Jordan Gontram to knot the game up, 1-1.
Seton Hall decided the contest in the top of the seventh. With two outs and Janae Barracato on second, a pair of wild pitches from Stiltner allowed Barracato to advance to third and then come home, breaking the tie and providing the Pirates the deciding run for a 2-1 win. Reganne Camp (1-1) got the win, hurling a stellar seven innings for the Hall, striking out nine and allowing four hits with no walks.
Having salvaged a 2-2 record against their opponents in North Carolina, the Pirates will take on Virginia (6-7) tomorrow in their final game of the Invitational. Virginia defeated Appalachian State on Saturday and Sunday, but fell to UNCG Greensboro on Saturday.
Bob Towey can be reached at robert.towey@student.shu.edu.
