Coming off double header wins on Saturday, the Seton Hall Pirates took on the Virginia Tech Hokies in their final game of the ECU Pirate Invitational. In a down-to-the-wire game, the Hall took the victory through a tremendous hitting performance, 6-5, ultimately getting revenge on the team that handed the team its first loss.
Junior Alexis Walkden got the Pirates off to a riveting start on Sunday morning, as she blasted a two-run home run to give SHU an early 2-0 lead. Madison Strunk held the field down with crafty pitching, as she kept the Hokies scoreless for a solid three innings.
Nonetheless, the Pirates were relentless in their efforts. With bases loaded at the top of the third, freshman Hailey Arteaga brought in two runs to bring the lead to 4-0. Topped off by a wild pitch, the Hall ended up leading by 5 at the bottom of the third inning.
Virginia Tech showed shades of brilliance, however, as they managed to fight back. Scoring runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, the lead that the Pirates established dwindled to a two-run 6-4 lead at the bottom of the fifth. The Hokies managed to tempt the Pirates with a solo home run in the sixth, but Fischer notched the save in the seventh by preventing the go-ahead runs from scoring through huge strikeouts and one throw-out double play.
A 10-8 edge in hits wasn't enough for the Hokies to fend off the Pirates. Powered by Alexis Walkden, who earned the 30th home run of her collegiate career, the Hall improves to 6-2, 3-2 in the ECU Pirate invitational.
The Pirates will head west over spring break to California, where they will partake in the Louisville Slugger Tournament, facing East Carolina, Portland State and Pacific. With five games in three days, the ladies look to get some much-needed rest this week.
Randy Breigle can be reached at randy.breigle@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @randybreigle.
