The Seton Hall baseball team defeated the Wagner Seahawks on the road on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 8-4, improving their record to 15-15 (4-5). The Seahawks, who are 10-20 (8-8), are one of 19 non-conference opponents the Pirates play this season.
The Pirates were paced by sophomore Greg Terhune, who made his ninth start of the season, allowing just two earned runs in five and a third innings of work.
He struck out four batters and walked one for his third win of the season, bringing him to 3-3 with a 3.66 ERA.
Seton Hall took advantage of production from the middle of the lineup as the four, five, and six hitters combined for eight hits, two runs scored, three RBI, and one walk in 14 plate appearances.
Sophomore infielder Mike Genovese led the barrage with two hits and three RBI, while senior Sean Gusrang and sophomore Giuseppe Papaccio each added three hits. Senior infielder A.J. Rusbarsky also added one hit and two RBI's of his own.
The Pirates, who have been troubled by shaky relief work out of the bullpen this season, were able to grab a five run lead in the third inning and hold it.
The bullpen, which combined for three and two thirds innings, kept the Seahawks scoreless and struck out six batters while allowing just four hits.
Sophomore Frank Morris recorded his first save of the season, throwing two and on third innings and striking out two, in his 12th appearance of the season.
The Pirates scored the majority of their runs in the bottom half of the third with sophomore outfielder Scott Kalamar leading off the inning with a walk. After Kalamar stole second base, back-to-back walks by Zack Granite and Will Walsh loaded the bases for Rusbarsky.
Following a wild pitch, which scored Kalamar from third, Rusbarsky roped a two run single up the middle to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead.
The two runs, charged to Wagner pitcher Chris Rautenstrauch, would not be the final runs he surrendered. Following a fly ball out, Rautenstrauch hit two batters to once again load the bases for Seton Hall.
That was when Mike Genovese lined a single over the short stop's head into center field, scoring two more runs.
The Pirates sent 10 batters up to the plate in the inning and managed to score five runs on just two hits. The final three Pirate runs came in the fifth and ninth innings respectively.
The Seahawks starter, Matt Gavin, only faced seven betters and lasted just two and a third innings pitched. He allowed three runs on no hits for his second loss of the season.
Wagner's relief pitching then gave up four earned runs on 12 hits over the final five and two thirds innings.
Wagner's offense fluttered, the lone bright spot being Junior infielder Tommy Higgins who notched a career best four hits in five plate appearances, driving in one run and scoring one.
Former Seton Hall infielder Eddie Brown, who transferred to Wagner two seasons ago, finished the game hitless in four plate appearances.
The Pirates raised their batting average six points on the day and are now batting .260 as a team. The team also lowered their combined ERA three points to 2.93. In the Big East, the Pirates are ranked tenth and fourth respectively in those categories.
Seton Hall dropped two out of three games in a weekend home series against St. John's. The Red Storm advanced to 16-13 (5-4), yet dropped the final game after a comeback sixth inning fueled the Pirates to a 6-3 victory.
Seton Hall returns to Owen T. Carroll this weekend for a three game home set against South Florida with first pitch on Friday scheduled for 6pm.'
John Lopiano can be reached at john.lopiano@student.shu.edu.
