The Seton Hall baseball team was back in action on Tuesday as they took on the FIU Panthers in the final game of a 4 game series. The Pirates lost the first three games in Miami and really needed this one. The Pirates would come away with a tight 2-1 win over Florida International. The pitching match up was LHP Cullen Dana for the Pirates against RHP Cody Crouse for the Panthers.

Pitching was the story of this one. The score remained 0-0 until the bottom of the fifth. With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Nick Day would homer to left field to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. The Pirates would answer in the top of the sixth. Rob Dadona would score on a wild pitch to tie the score at 1-1.

The Pirates would take the lead the very next inning. Mike Alescio would bring home Matt Fortin on an RBI single to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead. The Pirates would hold that lead and beat the FIU Panthers by a score of 2-1. The Panthers do win the series though, 3 games to 1.

Cody Crouse started the game for FIU. He threw 3 innings while allowing 1 hit and striking out 3. Alex Demchak relieved Crouse and threw 2 2/3 innings while allowing 1 run on 1 hit. Nate Pearson gave up 1 hit to the only batter he faced. Frank Chacon took the loss and fell to 0-1 on the season. He threw 2/3 of an inning while allow 1 unearned run. Willy Fabra threw 2/3 of an inning while allowing just 1 hit. Dominic LoBrutto threw 1 1/3 innings and retired all 4 batters he faced. Michael Agis threw the final 2/3 of an inning and didn’t surrender a hit.

Cullen Dana threw 5 solid innings for Seton Hall. He allowed 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 5. Anthony Pacillo picked up the win for the Pirates. He allowed 0 runs on 2 hits in 2 innings. Sam Burum threw 2/3 of an inning while allowing 0 runs on 2 hits. Matt Leon picked up his first save of the season as he threw 1 1/3 innings allowing 0 hits and striking out 2.

The Panthers were led by Nick Day who had 2 hits, an RBI, and a run scored. Day homered in the fifth inning to give FIU a 1-0 lead. Second baseman Eddie Silva also had 2 hits for the Panthers. Zack Soria, Austin Rodriguez, and Kolby Follis each had a hit for FIU.

The Pirates were led by Mike Alescio who had a hit and an RBI. Rob Dadona and Matt Fortin scored the 2 SHU runs. Ryan Ramiz, Matt Fortin, and Joe Poduslenko each had a hit for the Pirates.

With the loss the Panthers fall to 4-5 on the season. With the win the Pirates improve to 3-5 on the season. The Panthers will now take on the Loyola Marymount Lions on Friday to start a 4 game series in Miami. The Pirates will now head to Port Charlotte, Florida where they will take on the Indiana Hoosiers in the start of the Snowbird Classic starting tomorrow.

We will have full coverage of the series this weekend. We will also have coverage of the Seton Hall vs Butler basketball game tonight. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.