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Recap: Pirates Baseball Steals One in Opening Series Versus No. 12 Tar Heels, Start Season 1-2

Date: February 21, 2023

By: Joseph Morales

Seton Hall baseball huddling up.

Kayla Fonseca/WSOU

Spring starts early for college baseball fans. The Seton Hall Pirates opened their season in North Carolina for the second straight year. The 2022 opening series was the start of a disappointing season. The Pirates lost all three games in poor fashion.

2023 is a different story. There is renewed optimism around the team, with many in the conference thinking they can make some noise. The journey started in Chapel Hill against No. 12 North Carolina.

On Friday, the Pirates came out strong. Redshirt Junior Will Gale worked a walk after an 11-pitch at bat. He would go on to steal second and third base, then come around to score on a Pat D’Amico single to center.

Junior Zack Sylvester hit a two-run home run in the fourth to extend the Pirates’ lead to 3-0.  After North Carolina cut the lead to one, Pat D’Amico hit a three-run homer to left in the fifth inning to increase the Pirates’ lead to 6-2.

North Carolina worked 12 walks throughout the contest, six of them coming from starting pitcher Brennan O’Neil. He left after only three and 1/2 innings, giving up two runs, one earned. Lefty Aaron Groller struggled in relief, giving up four runs and three walks without recording an out.

The Pirates were down 8-7 going into the eighth inning until Will Gale singled in a run, and Jonathon Luders and Devon Hack drove in runs on a pair of sacrifice flyouts.

Graduate Student Nick Payero was phenomenal over four innings of work, striking out five and notching the win. The Pirates picked up their first win of the new season against the No. 12 team in the country.

Saturday afternoon didn’t go as well as Friday. The Pirates fell 11-2, and the pitching struggles were apparent again. Seton Hall jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after a throwing error on a stolen base attempt allowed Will Gale to score, and Junior Max Viera hit a sac fly scoring Pat D’Amico.

Pirate pitchers didn’t have their best. Starter Daniel Frontera allowed five runs across three and 2/3 innings while walking four. Ryan Reich walked three and let three score over an inning. Afterward, the Pirates turned the page and were focused on the rubber match on Sunday.

Freshman John Downing was called upon to start the game. His first inning was clean, but a home run off the bat of Jackson Van De Brake and an RBI triple by Vance Honeycutt drove Downing out of the game.

Rutgers transfer Cole Hansen pitched three innings of relief, allowing four hits and no runs. The Pirates came to life in the fourth. Alex Clyde drove in Sylvester on a fielder’s choice, then Gale drove in Clyde later in the inning. Gale would leave in the seventh inning with an apparent hamstring injury while running to first. The Pirates would fall to the Tar Heels 4-2 and drop the series.

Ultimately, the Pirates grabbing a game on Friday was a sign of what this Pirates team can do. The team can clearly swing the bat, but manager Rob Shepard will have to get creative with his bullpen. It should be a fun season of Pirates baseball, and fans have a reason to be excited.

Joseph Morales can be reached at joseph.morales@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, Baseball

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