The softball team fell to Rutgers 6-5 on Wednesday despite putting together a three-run rally in the final inning to pull within one run.
The Pirates entered the seventh inning trailing 6-2 when senior second baseman Maria DeLuca knocked a three-run home run, bringing home junior Casey Moses and freshman right fielder Valerie Suto.
Danielle DeStaso kept the inning alive when she reached first on a dropped-third-strike call, but Rutgers closed the Hall out after tagging out senior third baseman Meredith Henze to end the game.
DeStaso started on the mound for the Pirates and allowed five hits on the day, pitching two and a half innings and blasting a first-inning home run that gave the Hall an early 1-0 lead. Rutgers responded in the second as freshman utility player Danielle Demarco homered to tie the game at one.
Rutgers sophomore second baseman Stephanie Huang scored on a passed ball in the third to grab a 2-1 for the Scarlet Knights. Freshman Carly Todd and senior first baseman Alexis Durando added to the offense, giving Rutgers a 4-1 lead. Moses came in relief for DeStaso, who picked up the loss in the game.
After a quiet fourth, sophomore catcher Alex Rabbetts tallied her first home run of the season, cutting the deficit to 4-2. In the bottom half of the inning, Demarco tallied two RBIs and gave Rutgers a 6-2 lead. Demarco finished the day going 2-for-2 with three RBIs. The Rutgers win also gave them the series victory for the year. The Scarlet Knights defeated the Pirates at home in a 12-5 contest on April 1.
With Wednesday's loss, Seton Hall's record now stands at 9-24 and 3-3 in conference play and it is still looking for its first official road win. For now, the Hall will focus on home as they prepare to take on Creighton this weekend in a three-game series.
The Hall will host the Bluejays on Saturday when the teams will play a double-header with the first game starting at noon and the second at 2:30 p.m. The teams will meet on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Neal McHale can be reached at neal.mchale@student.shu.edu.
