Pirates Avoid Desert Sweep, Start New Campaign 1-2 in Arizona

Published: Monday, February 17, 2025

by CJ Weipz

PHOENIX, AZ. - The Seton Hall Pirates (1-2 OVR, 0-0 CONF) lost two of three in the MLB Desert Invitational in Arizona to open their season this time around. The Pirates gave up an average of eight runs per game, with an average of only three coming from the starting pitching.  

The Pirates dropped opening day in an action-packed 16-11 matchup with San Diego State. Senior Danny Frontera received the loss for the Pirates, making his first appearance since he suffered a season-ending injury last April. The Hall jumped out to an early lead after Aiden Robbins knocked in NJIT transfer AJ Soldra with a single in the bottom half of the first.  

After adding on three more runs, the Pirates found themselves up 4-1 heading into the fourth. However, the Aztecs came surging back with a six-run top of the fourth inning, ending Frontera’s night. San Diego State would continue to add on to their lead, scoring four runs in the top of the fifth and holding the lead for the rest of the game.

The Saturday matchup saw the only Pirate win over the weekend, as preseason All-BIG EAST pitcher Ryan Reich threw four innings of two-hit baseball while only giving up one run against Austin Peay. The offense exploded for 16 runs, finishing off the Governors in just seven innings.  

Robbins continued his electric freshmen campaign with a 4-for-5 performance, driving in four runs and collecting a total of seven bases. Catcher Jimmy Brennan went 3-for-3 on the afternoon as well as the Pirates collected a total of 16 hits.  

The Sunday finale in Scottsdale featured a hard-fought 5-3 loss to New Mexico. The Lobos jumped on Seton Hall early, knocking in a pair of runs in the home half of the second. Cole Hansen was given the loss after giving up two runs on three hits while striking out two. Soldra secured another extra-base hit with a triple with Casey Cumiskey and Kevin Milewski each reaching on doubles.  

Seton Hall is set to take on the College of Charleston next week down in South Carolina for a three-game series. Then, they will head back to South Orange for their home opener against the Wagner Seahawks on February 28. Catch all the action for every Seton Hall home game only on WSOU.net. 

CJ Weipz is an Assistant Sports Director and can be reached at christopher.weipz@student.shu.edu. 

 

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