NJIT Hands Pirates First Home Loss

Published: Tuesday, March 11, 2025

by Darron Rosborough

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — The Seton Hall Pirates (5-10) fell to the NJIT Highlanders (6-8), 9-6, on Tuesday afternoon. The loss marks the Pirates’ first at home this season after opening with two consecutive wins.

The Pirates' offense was stellar for most of the game, hitting .324 as a team. They were led by Aiden Robbins, who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Jimmy Brennan went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs, while Tommy Manzo finished 1-for-4 with an RBI. AJ Soldra, making his first start against his former team, drew two walks.

Freshman Steven Svenson delivered an impressive outing, pitching four innings while allowing just one hit and no runs, and striking out five NJIT batters. Despite Svenson’s strong performance, the Pirates’ bullpen was unable to preserve the lead.

Seton Hall got on the board first in the second inning when Ryan Frontera sprinted home to score on a wild pitch from Colin Kidd. He was followed in the third by Robbins, who hit a double that brought Marco Ali home, giving the Pirates a 2-0 lead.

NJIT began its share of the scoring in the fifth inning after Patrick Benn took over on the mound for Svenson. Shortly after entering the game, Benn gave up a two-run triple to Mattie Thomas, evening the score at 2-2.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Robbins singled to right field and bringing home Soldra. Robbins delivered his second RBI of the game, and gave Seton Hall a 3-2 lead.

In the sixth inning, NJIT’s Andrew Eppinger hit a ground ball that allowed the runner to score and tie the game at 3. The Pirates quickly responded in the bottom of the sixth when Manzo delivered a single into left field, giving Seton Hall a 4-3 lead.

The sky began to fall for The Hall in the eighth inning after Joey Calabretti surrendered four runs. It began with Austin Francis delivering a two-run RBI double, followed by Michael tacking on more behind him to extend NJIT’s lead to 7-4.

NJIT scored again in the ninth inning, making it a 9-4 game. Seton Hall showed a glimpse of hope for a comeback in the bottom of the ninth, with Brennan hitting a home run to cut the lead to three. However, it was not enough, as the Pirates lost 9-6.

The Pirates will be back in action Friday, March 14, to begin a three-game series against the Stony Brook Seawolves (7–7), who have won four of their last six games.

Darron Rosborough can be reached at darron.rosborough@student.shu.edu. 

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