Author: Matt Fiedler

Pirates Fend off Panthers

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.

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Inside the Enemy Ship: Butler Bulldogs

Welcome to another edition of Inside the Enemy Ship! We spoke to our friend Marisa Miller who is the men’s basketball beat write for the Butler Collegian. We appreciate her tremendous insight. She is a great journalist! Here are her responses:

BBA: Butler is currently a team on the bubble. Do you think they wind up on the right side of it?

Miller: I believe that if Butler pulls off these next two wins against Seton Hall and Marquette, they have a very good chance on ending up on the right side of the bubble. If Butler splits these last two games, a deeper Big East Tournament run would be the key to getting into the NCAA Tournament.

BBA: Isaiah Whitehead has been on fire for Seton Hall of late. What do you think Butler does to slow him down?

Miller: In order to slow down Isaiah Whitehead, Butler needs to do a better job of guarding the three-point arc, especially after Whitehead put up 23 points on 7-7 from three in the first half the last time these two team’s matched up.

BBA: Is this a must win game for the Bulldogs?

Miller: This is absolutely a must-win game for Butler in order to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive.

BBA: How big of a home court advantage does Hinkle Fieldhouse provide?

Miller: Hinkle Fieldhouse definitely provides a big home court advantage based on the atmospheres and large crowds it provides every game.

BBA: Which player should the Pirates be most concerned about facing?

Miller: Seton Hall should be most concerned about facing Kelan Martin based on his range and ability on all parts of the floor. He will drive to the basket and shoot the three on a consistent basis during every game. The senior duo of Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones are also causes for concern. With Dunham’s three point range and Jones’s ability to drive the paint, Seton Hall should definitely be worried about them as well.

BBA: What do you expect the Pirates to do differently against Butler this time around?

Miller: I expect Seton Hall to defend the paint a little bit better during this game as opposed to the last one. I also expect them to guard Butler’s Big 3 a little more closely and not allow them to put up the points they did during the last game.

BBA: Final Score Prediction?

Miller: Butler 78 Seton Hall 72

We would again like to thank Marisa Miller for providing us with some insight ahead of the game tonight. You can follow her on twitter @marisanmiller. Give here a follow! You can catch the Pirates as they look to take on the Bulldogs tonight on FS1. Game time is 8:30 p.m. in Indianapolis. We will have full coverage of the game tonight. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

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Put On Your Dancing Shoes

The Seton Hall Pirates were back in action at the Prudential Center today as they took on the #5 Xavier Musketeers. Before the game we spoke with Shannon Russell of The Cincinnati Enquirer. She is a great journalist and everyone should go check out her work! Her responses to our questions can be found in our previous post. The Pirates firmly entrenched themselves in the NCAA tournament field by dispatching Xavier by a score of 90-81.

The Pirates scored the first basket of the game on a layup from Desi Rodriguez. This is significant because the Pirates would lead from this point forward. It was a wire to wire win for the Hall. The Pirates would score the first 9 points in the game. The Musketeers would come back and cut the lead to 3 with 16:16 remaining on a James Farr layup. The Pirates would trade baskets for a few minutes with Xavier. Then, the Pirates made a big run and after two Ismael Sanogo free throws, the Pirates would lead by 19. At halftime, the Pirates led 45-26.

The Musketeers were led by James Farr in the first half with 11 points and 4 rebounds. Trevon Bluiett added 5 points and 2 assists. Edmond Sumner had 2 assists and Larry Austin Jr. had 3 rebounds. Xavier shot 27% from the field and 16.7% from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Pirates were led by Desi Rodriguez with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Angel Delgado led the team in points with 13 in the first half. Derrick Gordon added 8 points and 4 rebounds. Ismael Sanogo chipped in 5 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Isaiah Whitehead posted 7 points and dished out 3 assists. Seton Hall shot 53.3% from the field and 16.7% from beyond the arc in the first half.

Xavier came out with some energy to start the second half. Trevon Bluiett cut the lead to 14 with 15:47 to go. The Pirates would answer though and increase the lead to 20 on a Michael Nzei layup with 10:10 to go in the second half. The Musketeers would not go away and a Jalen Reynolds free throw would get Xavier within 11 with 3:24 remaining. The two teams would trade baskets and Xavier would eventually cut the lead down to 9 with 21 seconds remaining. The Pirates would go on to win by a score of 90-81. The Pirates earned a victory over a top 5 team for the first time since 2004.

The Musketeers were led by James Farr with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Trevon Bluiett added 17 points and 5 rebounds. Myles Davis chipped in 15 points and dished out 5 assists. The Musketeers shot 39% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc.

The Pirates were led by Desi Rodriguez who scored a career high 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Angel Delgado added 17 points and 8 rebounds. Isaiah Whitehead chipped in 22 points and dished out 5 assists. Ismael Sanogo was second on the team with 9 rebounds. Senior Derrick Gordon added 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. The Pirates shot 50% from the field and 35.7% from beyond the arc.

With the loss the Musketeers fall to 25-4 on the season and 13-4 in Big East play. With the victory the Pirates improve to 21-7 overall and 11-5 in Big East play. Xavier will now head home to Cincinnati to take on the Creighton Blue Jays in the final game of their regular season on Saturday. The Pirates will head to Indianapolis on Wednesday to take on the Butler Bulldogs.

Before the Butler game we will chat with our friend Marisa Miller. Make sure to check out Shannon Russell on twitter @slrussell. We would like to give her a huge thank you! Check out the PPI below to see which players excelled. Get ready to go dancing Pirate fans, soak it up and enjoy it. We will have full coverage of the Butler game on Wednesday. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

PPI vs Xavier (2)

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Pirates Bitten By Panthers

The Seton Hall baseball team was back in action today in Miami, Florida as they took on the FIU Panthers in the third game of a four game series. The Pirates were looking to pick up a win after FIU won the first two games in the series. Unfortunately it would be more of the same as the Pirates were beaten by FIU 10-1. The pitching match up was RHP Zach Prendergast for the Pirates against RHP Garrett Cave for FIU.

The Panthers would strike first in this one. In the bottom of the first JC Escarra doubled in two runs to give FIU a 2-0 lead. Austin Rodriguez would follow that up with an RBI single to stretch the lead to 3-0. The Panthers would add to the lead in the bottom of the second. An RBI single from Zack Soria and a sac fly from Austin Rodriguez would give FIU a 5-0 lead. The Pirates would get on the board in the top of the third on an RBI single from Matt Fortin to shrink the deficit to 5-1.

The lead would be added to in the bottom of the fourth. Austin Rodriguez scored Jack Schaaf on a sac fly to give FIU a 6-1 lead. Kenny Meimerstorf would hit an RBI double to give the Panthers a 7-1 lead. Zach Files would follow that up with an RBI double of his own that would score 2 runs and give FIU a 9-1 lead. The game would remain 9-1 until the bottom of the seventh. Rey Perez would score on a fielders choice to give the Panthers a 10-1 lead. The score would end up being the final as the Pirates dropped their third straight game.

Nate Pearson picked up the win for the Panthers and improved to 1-0 on the season. He threw 1 2/3 of an inning allowing just 1 hit. The starter, Garrett Cave threw 4 1/3 innings while allowing 1 unearned run on 4 hits while striking out 7. Richie Cruz threw 2/3 of an inning while allowing 0 runs and 0 hits. Robert Garcia struck out the only batter he faced. Michael Agis and Williams Durruthy each pitched a clean inning for FIU.

Zach Prendergast took the loss for the Pirates and fell to 1-1 on the season. He threw 1 1/3 innings while allowing 5 runs on 9 hits. Matt Leon threw 2 innings while allowing 3 earned runs on 3 hits. Chris Morris threw 2 2/3 innings allowing 1 run on 3 hits. Anthony Pacillo and Matt Ardente each threw a clean inning for Seton Hall.

The Panthers were led by center fielder Jack Schaaf with 3 hits and 3 runs scored. Irving Lopez had 2 hits and 2 runs scored. First baseman JC Escarra had 2 hits, 2 RBI’s, and 2 runs scored. Zack Soria and Kenny Meimerstorf each had 2 hits for FIU. Austin Rodriguez led the Panthers with 3 RBI’s and Zach Files had 2 RBI’s.

With the win the Panthers improve to 4-4 on the season. With the loss the Pirates fall to 2-5 on the season. The Panthers will look for the sweep when they wrap up the series on Tuesday. The Pirates will be looking to salvage the final game of the series. We will have a full recap and coverage of the game on Tuesday. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

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