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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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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