Game 1: Bobby Bevilacqua
Noel Lent had three hits and two RBIs as the Seton Hall Pirates defeated the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, 6-4, in the first game of their double-header at the Mercer Classic on Saturday.
[caption id="attachment_13801" align="alignright" width="332"]
Seton Hall Athletics[/caption]
Lent’s big game began with a solo shot to left center in the first inning, and also drove in a run in Seton Hall’s three-run fourth inning. Her three hits bumped up her batting average to .360 for the season. Alexis Walkden also had two RBIs, one on a single and another on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. Seton Hall combined for 11 hits and five walks.
Oakland jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning but struggled to sustain offense after that. Haley Zemmer and Sarah Hartley each had two hits and an RBI for the Grizzlies. Oakland wound up drawing eight walks, but had just six hits on the day.
Chrisa Head picked up the win for the Pirates in relief of starter Alannah Basile. Basile gave up three runs, four hits and five walks in 2.1 innings of work. Head allowed just two hits and a run in 4.2 innings.
Kaley Waalkes was the losing pitcher as Oakland’s starter. Waalkes surrendered eight hits and six runs – all earned – along with two walks and a strikeout in 3.1 innings.
Game 2: Corey Thomas Day 2 of the Mercer Bears Classic ended with the Seton Hall softball team getting swept by the Mercer Bears, 8-1. The two teams matched up on Friday with Mercer grabbing an 11-2 victory. Seton Hall only generated three hits in the loss. A similar scenario accorded in their second matchup on Saturday. Seton Hall fell into an early 3-0 hole in the bottom of the second inning. Shaila Warren singled down the right-field line to score Natalie Shiver. Mercer extended its lead with three more runs in the bottom of fifth inning with back-to-back doubles by Emma Andrew and Taylor Rodgers. Another RBI-double by Lindsay Boynton in the sixth gave Mercer its eighth run. The Pirates’ only run came after a fifth-inning home run from senior Faith Laudano. SHU combined for four hits out of 23 at-bats. Freshman pitcher Madison Strunk (10-7) took the loss after allowing 10 hits, giving up eight earned runs, allowing five walks and finishing with an ERA of 5.03. Mercer’s Emma Andrew led the way for the Bears with three runs, two hits and two RBI. Meghan Rud chipped in with two hits and an RBI along with Warren’s single and two RBI. Jill McElderry (3-5) got the win. The sophomore pitcher allowed only four hits, a single home run, and two walks to finish with an ERA of 5.82. Seton Hall looks to close the weekend with a victory against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Sunday at noon.
