Seton Hall
Seton Hall softball loses against Creighton 9-7, narrowly misses Big East Tournament
Date: May 5, 2019By: Scotti Cesa
Hoping to end their season on a high note, the Seton Hall Pirates took the field in Omaha on Sunday looking for the series sweep against the Creighton Bluejays. Despite their impressive offensive output, the pitching struggled as the Blue Jays beat the Pirates, 9-7, snapping their 4-game winning streak.
Chrisa Head got the start today for the Pirates, and got into trouble early. Ashley Cantu got the offense started for the Blue Jays with a leadoff triple in the first inning. The next batter, Sam Alm, hit a two-run homer to left field giving Creighton an early 2-0 lead. In the third, Kiara Mills hit another two-run homerun for the Bluejays. Head would only last three innings, allowing four earned runs on four hits.
Madison Strunk came into the game in the fourth and walked Jayci Foster, the first batter she faced. Two batters later, Mikaela Pechar hit the third two-run homerun of the day for Creighton, giving them a 6-5 lead. Things got worse for Strunk in the fifth after a double from Kailey Wilson and a wild pitch put Sydney Jenkins on third base. Mileah McKelvy singled in Jenkins and after Strunk walked Foster for the second time in two innings, her day was over. Strunk pitched 1.1 innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on three hits. Reganne Camp came into the game for the Pirates and gave up a series of hits and runs that were all charged to Strunk. When it was all said and done, Seton Hall pitching gave up nine runs, all Creighton would need to win.
Despite their pitching woes, the offense was a bright spot for Seton Hall. In the second inning, Darby Pandolfo hit a solo homerun, giving the Pirates their first run of the game. The homerun ball continued to fly in the third as Janae Barracato hit another solo homer to left field, tying the game at two. After a series of hits from the Pirates, Baylee Allender came to bat with two runners on and hit a three-run homerun, giving Seton Hall a 5-2 lead. After Creighton exploded for four runs, Pandolfo came up again in the fifth and hit her second homerun of the day and the Pirates’ fourth, tying the game at six. Trying to come back from three runs down the next inning, Barracato received her second RBI of the day, driving in Marisa Pla from third.
Seton Hall softball finishes their season 24-24 with a 10-9 conference record. They finish fifth in the Big East standings and will prepare for the upcoming offseason.
Scottie Cesa can be reached at scotti.cesa@student.shu.edu.
