Credit: Seton Hall University Athletics
Pirates Right the Ship with Sweep at Paladin Invitational
Published: Monday, March 2, 2026
by Victor Lisboa
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Seton Hall Pirates (6-7) were down in South Carolina this weekend for the Paladin Invitational hosted by Furman University. The Pirates returned from Athens, Georgia after going 0-4 in the Georgia Classic games.
Game 1 against West Georgia
The Hall started off hot in this game, with the first three batters all reaching base. Sophomore Sophia Demarco ran in the first run. Then Katey Brennan made it 2-0 with an RBI from Erin Howard.
However, West Georgia tripled the Hall on the scoreboard, putting the Pirates in an early 6-2 hole. This caused the Pirates to use two pitchers in the bottom of the first inning.
The second inning was left scoreless, and the Pirates scored a run each in the third and fourth innings. Senior Andrea Perez, and freshman Elisabeth Figliolino, were each credited with the runs.
Yet once again the Pirates left the fourth inning looking down at another deficit heading into the fifth. The Wolves responded to the Pirates’ two runs, matching that with two of their own, making the score 8-4 heading into the fifth.
However, even with the deficit, the Pirates were still putting pressure on the West Georgia pitchers. Seton Hall then generated a trio of walks to score a run and load up the bases. This was when a pitching change was executed.
However, freshman third baseman Christiana Ginex scored her first career home run, on a grand slam on a 1-0 count, sending it over the right centerfield wall. This gave the Pirates the lead 9-8.
Angela Benitez then added another run in the sixth to push it to a 10-8 lead. The Wolves had a late run but it was not enough, and the Pirates secured the comeback win 10-9.
Game 2 against Winthrop
Game two was much quicker than game one, as it only went to five innings. The first inning was filled with errors, but the Pirates ended up scoring due to Ginex, making it 1-0 early.
Benitez remained hot from game one as she earned an RBI from a single up the middle to make it 2-0 early. However, it was a busy inning for the Pirates and then Demarco fouled off the first three pitches. She then followed this up with a massive grand slam over the centerfield to crack this game open, 6-0.
Benitez and Brennan both had two RBIs apiece to make it 10-1, earning the Pirates the victory from the run-rule.
Game 3 against Furman
The Pirates started this game receiving a pair of outs, each from strikeouts. This was followed by a single and a walk to get two runners on base. Then sophomore infielder Naya Martinez earned two RBI’s off those runners, after she got them home off a right field triple. This gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead after the first.
Benitez continued her momentum from the invitational’s opening day as she drove home another run to make it 3-0. In the fourth inning, Martinez continued her hot hitting from the first inning, and drilled the first pitch over the wall to make it 4-0.
Furman finally responded in the fourth inning scoring a run to make it 4-1. The Pirates then scored a pair of sacrifice-runs to push their lead to 6-1 after the fifth inning.
Furman was able to add another two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but it was not enough and the Pirates took the first of two with a 6-3 win.
Game 4 against Winthrop
Demarco earned the first RBI off a double to put the Hall up 1-0 early. Winthrop matched this in the top of the third to make it 1-1. However, the Pirates responded with two runs of their own from DeMarco again, as well as Ginex, to make it 3-1 Pirates.
In the following inning, Benitez earned two RBI’s off of a single, and Winthrop suffered an error which led to another run and a 6-1 Pirates lead. The Pirates were then hit with a six-run fifth inning from Winthrop, which gave them the lead 7-6.
However, late in the bottom of the seventh, the Hall found heroics with Perez. After two runners were on base with one out, the senior drilled a double into left-center to send both runners home and secure an 8-7 walkoff comeback win.
Game 5 against George Mason
The Pirates were looking at another deficit early in this one as the Patriots scored four runs in the first inning. This occurred from a pair of RBI hits from the Patriots. Seton Hall responded with a familiar weekend occurrence, another grand slam, this time from Perez to tie it 4-4 after two. It was her second homer of the weekend.
Pirates then extended their lead in the bottom of the third after an RBI single from senior infielder Caroline Hobbs. Perez then added two RBI’s on a double making it 7-4 Pirates. Seton Hall took over this game in the bottom of the fifth after scoring five runs and running away with the lead.
First an RBI-single from Benitez drove home two runs. Subsequently, Martinez drilled a 1-1 pitch over the left centerfield wall for a three-run homer, extending the Pirates lead to 13-6 and securing the win.
The Pirates ended the weekend winning all five of their games and improving their overall record to 6-7. Seton Hall will be back home in South Orange this week, as they will battle the Creighton Bluejays in a BIG EAST matchup on Friday afternoon, March 6 at 2:00 P.M. with coverage on WSOU.net.
Victor Lisboa can be reached at victor.lisboa@student.shu.eduPosted in: sports,