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Recap: Pirates get swept by FAU on the road

Date: February 28, 2021

By: Ryan Henry

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Seton Hall Athletics

The Seton Hall Pirates traveled to Boca Raton, Fla. this weekend to take on the Florida Atlantic University Hawks in a three-game series. The Pirates were coming off an exhilarating two-game home series split against Hofstra University, which included a walk-off by the Pirates. For the Hawks, they won three of their first four games against No. 24 ranked UCF and Florida Gulf Coast. Freshman catcher Caleb Pendleton made history with his first two at-bats being grand slams.

 

Looking at the first game, the Pirates took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning as junior shortstop Steve Grober hit a single up the middle to bring home Casey Dana. After that run, the Pirates offense would go silent for the next six innings. FAU responded by scoring six unanswered runs, five of them coming in the sixth inning. Junior Jackson Wenstrom tied the game in the bottom third with a solo home run.

 

In the sixth inning, B.J. Murray started the offensive outburst with a triple. Freshman Nolan Schanuel brought him on a sacrifice fly to give the Hawks a lead they would never relinquish. Next at bat, Bobby Morgensen hit a solo shot that ended Tyler Burnham’s night. The next two FAU batters would get on base and designated hitter Jared DeSantolo cleared the bases with a double. DeSantolo would then score after a failed pickoff attempt and a passed ball.

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Florida Atlantic University Athletics

Seton Hall would score one more run with a Staus Pokrovsky RBI single in the eighth, but the Pirates ultimately lost the first game 6-2. Burnham in the loss struck out four batters, gave up five hits, and allowed three runs and Dana hit two-for four with one run. For the Hawks, Jackson Wenstrom batted two-for-three with an RBI and a run, and DeSantolo batted one-for-four with two RBIs.

 

The second game of this series was a slugfest as both teams combined for 28 hits and 31 runs. The Hawks would get the bats going first as they scored a combined nine runs in the second and third innings. Left fielder Mitch Hartigan got things started with a solo homerun in the second, then Murray hit a two-run shot the next inning.

 

After an RBI single by Morgensen, starting pitcher Nick Payero got shelved after just 2.1 innings pitching. Reliever David Fiesta didn’t even finish the inning as the Hawks scored five runs in the 0.1 innings he pitched, thanks in part to an error and a wild pitch.

 

When the third was done, the Pirates were down 9-0. It would only take them the top half of the inning to tie it back up. Dana started everything with a two-RBI single, and after surrendering five runs, Javi Rivera was pulled for the Hawks. First baseman Matt Toke would finish off the nine-run inning with a bases-clearing double.

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Seton Hall Athletics

The Hawks scored eight unanswered runs from the fourth to the eighth. Seton Hall tried to respond in the top of the ninth, scoring five runs, but it wasn’t enough. The Pirates fell to the Hawks in this second matchup 17-14. Toke went four-for-five with three RBIs and two runs; left fielder Will Gale went three-for-five with four RBIs and a triple; Dana went two-for-four with two RBIs.

 

For the Hawks, Nolan Schanuel went three-for-six with six RBIs, three runs and a home run; Murray went two-for-three with three runs, two RBIs and a home run; Hartigan went two-for-four with two RBIs.

 

In the final game, the Pirates would take another first inning lead with a Toke RBI single, but like the other two games this series, the Hawks responded to the deficit quickly. In the third inning, Seton Hall’s mistakes would be their demise. Pitcher Cole Patten walked three of the first four batters in the bottom third, allowing the Hawks to tie the game. After a wild pitch and a two-RBI single by Hartigan, Patten was done for the day after just 2.2 innings pitched. Catcher Nicholas Toney would hit a two-run homer before the inning ended to give FAU a five-run lead.

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Seton Hall Athletics

Hartigan and Toney brought home another three runners, and after another wild pitch, the Hawks would take a commanding 10-1 lead after the seventh. Seton Hall tried to make another ninth inning rally, but the lead was simply too big. The Pirates would reduce the lead to six, but ultimately lost the game 10-4.

 

This series was dominated by FAU’s bats as the Hawks scored 33 combined runs over the three games. Seton Hall simply couldn’t compete with that offensive output and were swept. The Pirates have dropped their last four games and are now 1-4 for the season. They have a critical four-game homestand coming up the next two weeks with their next game being against Albany on Saturday.

Ryan Henry can be reached at ryan.henry@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, Baseball

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