Author: Matt Fiedler

Melting in Miami

The Seton Hall baseball team was back in action yesterday in Miami, Florida to take on the Florida International Panthers. The Pirates were looking to take the 2nd game of the 4 game series. The Pirates dropped the previous game 8-3. The pitching match up was RHP Zach Schellenger for the Pirates against RHP Christopher Mourelle for the Panthers. Ultimately, the Panthers would take the second game of the series by a score of 5-1.

The Pirates would get on the board in the top of the first. Joe Poduslenko brought in Zack Weigel with a single up the middle to give Seton Hall a 1-0 lead. FIU would answer in the bottom half of the inning with a JC Escarra RBI single to tie the game at 1-1. The score would remain 1-1 until the bottom of the fourth. Kenny Meimerstorf would score on an error to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead.

FIU would add to its lead the next inning. An RBI triple from Austin Rodriguez would give the Panthers a 3-1 lead. An inning later, Eddie Silva would score on a fielders choice and give FIU a 4-1 lead. An RBI single from Meimerstorf the next inning would give FIU a 5-1 lead. The score would hold and FIU would go on to defeat the Hall by a score of 5-1.

Christopher Mourelle picked up his first win of the season for FIU. He threw 5 2/3 innings while allowing 1 run on 7 hits while striking out 5. Dominic LoBrutto picked up his first save of the season. He threw 3 1/3 innings while allowing 0 runs on two hits with 5 strikeouts.

Zach Schellenger took the loss for the Pirates and dropped to 0-2 on the season. He threw 4 innings while allowing 3 runs on 5 hits. Andrew Politi tossed 3 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits. Anthony Pacillo threw 1 clean inning with 2 strikeouts.

The Panthers were led by Kenny Meimerstorf who went 2-3 with an RBI. Kolby Follis and Austin Rodriguez each had 2 hits and an RBI. JC Escarra and Irving Lopez each had an RBI for FIU.

The Pirates were led by third baseman Joe Poduslenko who had 2 hits and an RBI. Chris Chiaradio and Derek Jenkins each had 2 hits for Seton Hall.

With the win the Panthers improve to 3-4 on the season. With the loss the Pirates fall to 2-4 on the season. The Pirates will look to take game 3 of the series today. The pitching match up will be RHP Zach Prendergast (1-0, 1.29 ERA) for the Pirates against RHP Garrett Cave (0-1, 27.00 ERA) for the Panthers

We will have a full recap of the game which starts at 1 p.m. in Miami. We will also have full coverage of the Pirates basketball team as they take on Xavier at 12:30 p.m. in Newark. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

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Inside the Enemy Ship: Xavier Musketeers

Welcome to another edition of Inside the Enemy Ship! We spoke to Shannon Russell of the Cincinnati Enquirer who is a tremendous journalist. Give her a follow on twitter @slrussell. Here are her responses to our questions:

BBA: Xavier is coming off of a big win over the Villanova, do you think there is a chance of a letdown in this game?

Russell: Perhaps, but it’s doubtful. Xavier players have been pretty unflappable this season, meaning they haven’t been swayed by their highest highs or lowest lows. They approach each game in a very business-like manner, and they know how big of a challenge Seton Hall is.

BBA: Xavier has an impressive resume. Do you believe they will be a #1 seed when all is said and done?

Russell: I think Xavier would have to win out the Big East tournament for the No. 1 seed. They took a step forward with Wednesday’s defeat of Villanova. If they met and defeated the Wildcats in the conference tournament final, then I think they would land a top seed.

BBA: Do you believe Isaiah Whitehead deserves some attention for Big East player of the year?

Russell: Isaiah Whitehead certainly is one of the best players in the league and in my opinion a contender. His play in the last five to six games, plus his importance to the Pirates, makes him immensely valuable. That said, the player of the year likely will come from a league-leading team and I wouldn’t count out Kris Dunn of Providence, either.

BBA: Is Xavier at its best when it is in its 1-3-1 zone?

Russell: Xavier is at its best when it plays man-to-man defense. That’s its bread and butter. The 1-3-1 is a curveball the Musketeers use and it has been immensely effective in spurts. But the 1-3-1 at times wears out its welcome and teams facing XU a second time in league play tend to find seams against it.

BBA: What player should Seton Hall be most concerned about facing on Sunday?

Russell: Xavier’s balance makes it difficult to pinpoint one person. Trevon Bluiett leads the team in scoring but Edmond Sumner, J.P. Macura and Jalen Reynolds have been playing very well lately. James Farr had 24 points and 15 rebounds last time out against Seton Hall, so he perhaps is a focal point heading into the rematch.

BBA: What do you think is Xavier’s ceiling, final four, elite eight?

Russell: Hard to say. The ultimate goal is a Final Four but if this team keeps playing as well as it has been lately, there’s no ceiling.

BBA: Final Score Prediction?

Russell: Xavier, 78-68

We would again like to extend a big thank you to Shannon Russell. She is a must follow on twitter and provide a vast amount of information. We will have full coverage of the Xavier game tomorrow. Game time is 12:30 p.m and can be found on FS1. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

 

 

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Panthers Pound Pirates

The Seton Hall baseball team was back in action on Friday in Miami, Florida to take on the Florida International Panthers. The game was the first of a four game series against FIU. The pitching match up was RHP Shane McCarthy (0-1) for the Pirates against RHP Andres Nunez (0-1) for the Panthers. FIU would ultimately take the first game of this series by a score of 8-3.

The Pirates went down in order in the top of the first. The Panthers would strike first in the bottom half of the inning when JC Escarra singled home Irving Lopez to give FIU a 1-0 lead. The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the third. Austin Rodriguez singled the middle to score Jack Schaaf and give FIU a 2-0 lead.

The score remained 2-0 until the bottom of the fifth when the Panthers broke the game open. Kenny Meimerstorf got things started with an RBI single to give FIU a 3-0 lead. Zach Files scored on a fielders choice and Kolby Follis hit an RBI single to give the Panthers a 5-0 lead. A Jack Schaaf RBI single and a Zack Soria RBI double opened the lead up to 7-0. Schaaf scored on an error to give the FIU an 8-0 lead.

The Pirates would finally get on the board in the top of the seventh. Mikael-Ali Mogues would triple to right field and score Ryan Ramiz to make it 8-1. Mogues would score on a fielders choice to make the score 8-2. In the bottom of the eighth Derek Jenkins would score on an error to cut the lead to 8-3. However, this is as close as the Pirates would get as they would fall to FIU by a score of 8-3.

Andres Nunez picked up the win for the Panthers as he improved to 1-1 on the season. He threw 8 solid innings allowing just 2 earned runs on 8 hits while striking out 6. Frank Chacon pitched the ninth for the Panthers allowing no runs and striking out 1.

Shane McCarthy took the loss for the Pirates and fell to 0-2 on the season. McCarthy threw 4 innings while allowing 5 runs on 11 hits. He struck out 5 batters and walked one. Sam Burum threw 2/3 of an inning allowing 2 earned runs on 3 hits. Tim Edwards threw 2 1/3 innings while allowing 0 runs. Ryan Testani pitched 1 clean inning while allowing no hits.

The Panthers were led by center fielder Jack Schaaf who had 2 hits, an RBI, and scored 2 runs. Shortstop Irving Lopez also had 2 hits and scored 2 runs. Zack Soria, Austin Rodriguez, and Kolby Follis each had 2 hits for FIU.

The Pirates were led by Ryan Ramiz who had 3 hits and scored a run. Mikael-Ali Mogues and Sebastiano Santorelli each had an RBI for Seton Hall. Shortstop Joe Poduslenko had 2 hits for the Pirates.

With the win the Panthers improve to 2-4 on the season. With the loss the Pirates fall to 2-3 on the season. The Pirates are back in action tomorrow against FIU at 6:30 p.m. in Miami. The pitching match up is RHP Zach Schellenger (0-1, 6.75 ERA) for the Pirates against RHP Chris Mourelle (0-1, 11.81 ERA) for FIU. We will have full coverage of the FIU game tonight. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

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Pirates Take Down Friars

The Seton Hall Pirates were back in action today at the Prudential Center as they took on the Providence College Friars. The Pirates were looking to get to the 20 win mark and solidify their place in the NCAA tournament field. The Pirates were coming off of a tight win over St. John’s and the Pirates were coming off of a loss to Xavier. The Pirates ultimately blew out the Friars in a 72-50 victory.

The Friars got on the board first on a Kris Dunn layup. The 2-0 lead was the only lead Providence would have in this game. A layup from Angel Delgado gave the Hall a 4-2 lead and they would never relinquish it. The Pirates never stretched the lead to double digits in the first half. A Ben Bentil layup cut the Seton Hall lead to 3 with 3:14 remaining in the first half. The Pirates increased the lead to 6, but the Friars would again cut the lead down to 4. However, with the clock winding down in the half, Isaiah Whitehead hit a three pointer to give the Pirates a 30-23 lead heading into halftime.

The Friars were led in the first half by Ben Bentil who had 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Kyron Cartwright added 5 points and 2 rebounds. Jalen Lindsey chipped in 2 points and led Providence with 6 rebounds. Kris Dunn was held to 4 points on 2-7 shooting while committing 3 turnovers. The Friars shot 27.% from the floor and did not make a 3 pointer.

The Pirates were led in the first half by Isaiah Whitehead with 16 points and 3 assists. Khadeen Carrington had 5 points and 2 rebounds. Angel Delgado and Michael Nzei each had 4 rebounds in the first half. Desi Rodriguez led the Pirates with 6 rebounds in the first half. The Pirates shot 37.9% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc.

The Pirates came out red hot to start the second half. Khadeen Carrington scored the first 5 points of the half to increase the lead to 12. Isaiah Whitehead would hit a three pointer a few minutes later to give the Pirates a 19 point lead. The Friars would go on a 6-0 run to cut the Pirates lead to 13. The Pirates would respond with a run of their own. With 11:16 to go in the half an Isaiah Whitehead free throw would give the Pirates a 53-32 lead. The Friars would storm back to cut the deficit to 7 with 4:56 remaining in the game. However, Ben Bentil would pick up a flagrant 2 and get ejected from the game. The Pirates would ultimately increase the lead and win 70-52.

The Friars were led in this one by Ben Bentil. He scored a game high 31 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Kris Dunn added 8 points and 4 rebounds. Kyron Cartwright had a solid game with 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Ryan Fazekas chipped in 4 rebounds for the Friars while Jalen Lindsey grabbed  7 boards. Providence shot 28.4% from the field and 16.7% from beyond the arc.

The Pirates were led by Isaiah Whitehead who scored 25 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and dished out 9 assists. He also added 4 blocks and a steal. Angel Delgado added a double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Khadeen Carrington chipped in 12 points and 7 rebounds. Desi Rodriguez also scored in double figures with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Seton Hall shot 45.6% from the field and 38.9% from beyond the arc.

With the loss the Friars fall to 19-9 overall and 7-8 in the Big East. With the victory the Pirates improve to 20-7 and 10-5 in Big East play. The Friars will now head home to take on the DePaul Blue Demons on Saturday. The Pirates will take on the Xavier Musketeers at the Prudential Center on Sunday.

We will talk to our friend Shannon Russell before the game on Sunday. The Musketeers are coming off of a huge win over #1 ranked Villanova. Check out the PPI below to see which players stood out in the big win. We will have full coverage of the Xavier game on Sunday. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

PPI vs Providence (2)

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