The Seton Hall Pirates were downed by the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Friday in the first of a 3 game series. Game 1 was played at Owen T. Carroll Field. The pitching match up was RHP Zach Prendergast for the Pirates against LHP Mark McCoy for Rutgers. Rutgers got on the board first in the top of the 2nd. DH Kyle Walker led off the inning with a triple, and second baseman Chris Suseck followed up with a double to give Rutgers a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, third baseman Christian Campbell doubled home Suseck and increased the lead to 2-0.

The Pirates answered in the bottom of the 3rd. D.J. Ruhlman scored Jackson Martin with a sacrifice fly, and Sal Annunziata drove home Derek Jenkins with a single to tie the score at 2-2. The game would remain 2-2 until the top of the 5th. Shortstop John Jennings scored on a fielders choice to make the score 3-2 Rutgers. The score would hold, and Rutgers picked up a 3-2 victory.

Mark McCoy picked up the win to improve to 2-6 on the season. He threw 6 innings while allowing 2 runs and striking out 5. Ryan Wares and Kyle Driscoll each pitched an inning of scoreless relief, and Jon Young pitched a perfect inning to pick up his 2nd save of the season.

Starter Zach Prendergast lasted only 1.1 innings while allowing 2 runs on 3 hits. Matt Leon went 2.2 innings and allowed 1 run, he took the loss and fell to 0-2 on the season. Dan Ditusa threw .2 innings of shutout ball. Sam Burum threw the final 4.1 innings and did not allow a hit.

The Pirates fell to 19-16 on the season, while Rutgers improved to 14-26-1. Game 2 will be today in Piscataway, NJ as the Pirates look to even the series. We will have a full recap of the game. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.