Seton Hall
The pirates lose the opening game to St. John's, 3-0.
Date: May 17, 2019By: Heaven Hill
Seton Hall lost the first game of road series against the Red Storm. The Pirates took on the St. John’s Red Storm in Jack Kaiser Stadium on Thursday night and dropped the first game of the series, 3-0.
This week’s matchup featured an interesting dynamic, as just last week the Pirates were the home team against Georgetown in the same stadium. The Pirates’ familiarity with the field was unable to help their bats, as the Hall offense couldn’t muster a run.
The game started out as a pitcher’s duel. For Seton Hall, reigning Big East Pitcher of the Year Ricky DeVito started out great with two strikeouts in the first inning. For St. John’s, pitcher Joe LaSorsa was able to escape the first inning, stranding the Hall’s star outfielder Tyler Shedler-McAvoy at second base.
Seton Hall’s offense struggled through the first few innings of the game. In the second inning, first baseman Matt Toke was able to get a single against LaSorsa but was stranded at third base, as shortstop Steve Grober was unable to bring him home. This would be a sign of things to come during the game as the Hall struggled to score runners, despite getting a few hits early.
DeVito had a relatively easy second inning, with two ground outs and a strikeout on designated hitter Brandon Miller. In the third inning, the Pirates’ offense was unable to provide any run support for DeVito, with flyouts from catcher Chris Villa and Shedler-McAvoy, and right fielder Jerry Huntzinger was caught stealing at second base.
Seton Hall’s DeVito allowed a no-out double to first baseman Ryan Hogan but was able to escape the jam with a strikeout of shortstop Brandon Bossard and subsequent ground out and flyout to end the inning.
LaSorsa continued his great season by effectively shutting down the Hall’s offense through six innings, culminating with a three-up, three-down fourth inning. DeVito maintained his strong start, working his way out of the fourth inning after allowing a single to left fielder Mike Antico.
The fifth inning contained more of the same from the two offenses, with both the Pirates and the Red Storm struggling to bring runners across home plate. However, the sixth inning was when the St. John’s offense sprung to life.
DeVito began to lose control of his pitches, allowing a double to third baseman Carson Bartels and a walk to Antico. A sacrifice bunt from catcher Wyatt Mascarella allowed the two runners to advance. In the next at-bat, second baseman Ryan Markey made DeVito pay with a frozen rope to left field that brought in two runners and broke the tie. DeVito was able to get out of the inning afterwards, but unfortunately the damage was done.
LaSorsa resumed his dominant start with another three-up, three-down seventh inning, as he pitched an absolute masterclass against the Hall. DeVito was pulled for reliever Hunter Waldis, and Waldis immediately proceeded to load the bases after hitting three St. John’s players. Reliever Ryan Mclinskey entered the game for Waldis and almost escaped the jam unscathed, but Mascarella was able to get an RBI from a fielder’s choice.
The eighth inning for the Pirates’ pitching was seamless, as the Johnnies went three-up, three-down, but the Seton Hall offense remained silent for the eighth and ninth innings as St. John’s finished the game strong.
LaSorsa received the win for his eight-inning performance with no earned runs, and DeVito received the loss, after allowing two runs. St. John’s pitcher Gavin Hollowell received the save for his two strikeouts in an inning of work to shut down the Pirates.
When asked about Seton Hall’s absent offense and how they can respond tomorrow, head coach Sheppard responded, “That happens, it’s baseball. Sometimes you show up and the other pitcher has your number, so that’s what we have to do. We need to learn to make adjustments and come out swinging tomorrow.”
The Seton Hall Pirates will try to do just that tomorrow at Jack Kaiser Stadium for game two of the series at 2 p.m., with Brennan O’Neill being the probable starter. The game will be heard on 89.5 FM WSOU, with pregame coverage hosted by Wilnir Louis and Michael Daly at 1:45 p.m., while Dalton Allison and Chris Russo will have the call from Queens.
Heaven Hill can be reached at heaven.hill@student.shu.edu
