Seton Hall
Pirates Win in Kissimmee Irish Classic Finale
Date: March 8, 2018By: Evando Thompson
The Seton Hall baseball team fired on all cylinders as they defeated the Youngstown State Penguins, 11-3, on Sunday afternoon to close out the Kissimmee Irish Classic. The Pirates managed to bounce back after a one run loss to Notre Dame this past Saturday and thus finish the event winning two out the three total games.
The Hall did not break the scoring seal in the game until the bottom of the third inning. As the bases were loaded, sophomore first baseman Matt Toke hit a ball to shortstop that was out of the opponents' reach. Youngstown State's shortstop committed an error that allowed two Pirates to score, ending the deadlock and putting the Pirates up two. After advancing to third base, Mike Alescio ran to home plate after a groundout during the next at bat. The game score was now 3-0 going into the fourth inning.
Youngstown State did try to fight back in the game as they managed to cut the Pirates' lead in half during the sixth inning. The Penguins scored three times in the inning and would not score again for the game.
Seton Hall responded to Youngstown state's scoring burst with two runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth. With Alescio on base, Toke hit a home run to further the Pirates' separation. The game score was now at 8-3.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Pirates scored three more times to firmly secure their victory. With one of his two doubles in the game, senior Al Molina drove in three runs as the bases were loaded. Molina would finish the game three for four with three RBIs.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Ricky DeVito only let up three unearned runs and six strikeouts in his six solid innings pitched. In the first game of the Kissimmee Irish Classic against Pittsburgh, DeVito did not let up a single run while striking out seven batters.
The 2-1 finish in the Kissimmee Irish Classic brings the Pirates one game under .500 on the season, with a record of 4-5.
Up next for the Seton Hall baseball team is another game in Kissimmee, Florida as they take on Central Michigan on Tuesday, March 6, at 2 p.m. After finishing that matchup, Pirates will stay in Florida for a three-game series against Florida International. There first game in Boca Raton will start on Friday, March 9, at 6.30 p.m.
Evando Thompson can be reached at evando.thompson@student.shu.edu.
