Whitehead, Pirates Beat Wagner in Walsh

Photo Provided Courtesy Of Madeline Wilson

A rare regular season game took place at the historic Walsh Gymnasium today, right on Seton Hall’s beautiful South Orange campus, the Seton Hall Pirates came out with a double digit win against Staten Island’s very own Wagner College.

In what is best described as a “Battle of Two of the Colleges where Basketball Legend PJ Carlesimo used to Coach”, Seton Hall coasted to a nice 12-3 early in the game, thanks in part to an ankle breaking 3-pointer by Sophomore Khadeen Carrington.

Isaiah Whitehead overall had another impressive day, dropping 18 points for the second time in as many games this season, making a beautiful adjustment to his new position. While Whitehead was clearly the star of the game, transfer student Derrick Gordon came up huge off the bench, scoring 11 in 27 minutes on the court. When the ball was in his hands, it was very similar to the role that Jaren Sina played last year: managing the team on the floor while still being a scoring threat in his own right. If he keeps progressing like this, he may earn himself a starting role.

The second half was much more sloppy than the first, with Wagner coming out strong and the game ended up being much closer than the score would indicate. Just a few minutes after the team came out of the locker room, there was a scary moment when Angel Delgado went down hard on the floor on what appeared to be a non-contact injury, and promptly went back to the locker room. Thankfully, he returned to the court minutes later, avoiding what could have a possibly massive blow to the entire team. Down by 9 with about 3 minutes left, Wagner made a valiant comeback effort, but ultimate fell short with the Pirates taking a 69-59 victory. It wasn’t always pretty, but the Pirates are still undefeated in this very young season.

Additionally, we are proud to announce the launch of our official Instagram page! Follow us out @BlueBeardArmy!

It wasn’t perfect, but a win is a win, and our beloved Pirates are 2-0 as they head to South Carolina to take on Long Beach State in the Charleston Classic Tournament, with a chance to meet #6 ranked Virginia in the championship game. Check back later this week for more news from Blue Beard Army.

As always, Hazard Zet Forward

Pirates Down Dartmouth

The Seton Hall Pirates opened the season with an 84-67 win over Dartmouth at the Prudential Center. The Pirates improve to 1-0 and Dartmouth falls to 0-1 on the young season. There were many things to discuss about this game, so let’s get to it.

The Big Green of Dartmouth came out strong and kept the game tight through the first half. At the end of the half, the Pirates held a 6 point lead with the score 39-33. Evan Boudreaux and Isaiah Whitehead were leading their respective teams with 12 points apiece.

The game remained tight to start the second half, but the Pirates pulled away towards the end of the half and won by 17. It was a rusty start, but the Hall worked out the kinks and started to find their groove at the midpoint of the second half. There were concerns about how Isaiah Whitehead would lead the offense with Sterling Gibbs gone. Whitehead responded with a great effort, spreading the ball around as well as knowing when to take it himself. One concern though, is the free throw shooting of Seton Hall. The Pirates shot just 22-43 from the charity stripe, for a mere 51.2%. As the season goes on, this will have to be improved for the Pirates to succeed in close games.

The Pirates were led offensively by Isaiah Whitehead. Whitehead had a steady night with 18 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds. The points and assists were both team highs. Also standing out for the Pirates were Derrick Gordon with with 14 points and Khadeen Carrington who added 13 points. Angel Delgado led the way on the boards with 9 rebounds.

The Big Green of Dartmouth were led by freshman Evan Boudreaux with 23 points. Connor Boehm chipped in 16 points and Brandon McDonnell added 7 rebounds.

The Pirates will be back in action on Sunday, November 15th against Wagner. Game time is 1:30 at historic Walsh Gymnasium. Dartmouth will take on Marist on Tuesday, November 17th. We will have full coverage of the game on Sunday. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

Pirates Fall to Rutgers in Game 1

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.

Weekend Preview: Rutgers

The Seton Hall Pirates will be back in action this weekend as they take on their in state rival, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The series will begin today when RHP Zach Prendergast takes the mound for the Pirates. He will be squaring off with LHP Mark McCoy of Rutgers at Owen T. Carroll Field. Game 2 of the series on Saturday will be played at Bainton Field. The pitching match up will be RHP Shane McCarthy for the Pirates against LHP Howie Brey of the Scarlet Knights. The final game of the series on Sunday will be played at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ. The pitching match up will feature RHP Zach Schellenger for the Pirates vs RHP Gaby Rosa for Rutgers.

Rutgers enters with a record of 13-26-1, while the Pirates come in at 19-15. We will have a full recap of this rivalry all weekend. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.