The Seton Hall softball team dropped the rubber match of its three-game series against Butler, 4-3 on Sunday afternoon. Kaitlin Doud had the start for the Bulldogs, and ultimately got the better of the Pirates’ Reganne Camp.
Butler opened up the scoring with a three-run top of the third to give it the early lead. Jenna Foreman got the inning started with a single, and following a walk by Brandyce Sallee, Madi Christiansen drilled a RBI double down the right field line to score Foreman. Madison Strunk eventually came on to relieve Camp after she walked to load the bases, but she could not get out of the inning without allowing two more runs to get across the plate.
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Photo via SHU Athletics[/caption]
The Bulldogs again managed to score in the top of the fifth when, with runners on the corners and two outs, Cheyenne Thompson’s ground ball was misplayed by Alexis Walkden, allowing the runner to score. The Pirates were behind by four, but refused to go down without a fight. Walkden and the Pirates had the immediate answer in the bottom of the fifth, with Walkden roping a two-out double down the left field line, Lauren Fischer reaching on an error and Noel Lent singling through the left side to score Walkden.
Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh, the Pirates nearly put together a three-run comeback. With one out in the inning, Fischer drew a walk and Lent singled to center to give Seton Hall runners on second and first. Hailey Arteaga and Chrisa Head followed up with back-to-back RBI singles, pulling the Pirates within one. From there though, Mikeila Boroff came on in relief for the Bulldogs and got the two decisive outs to clinch the win for Butler.
With the victory Butler takes the season series over the Pirates, and Seton Hall head coach Paige Smith was full of praise for Butler’s ability to make adjustments over the course of the game.
“Hats off to Butler, they played just a little bit better than us today,” Smith said. “They did a great job adjusting to the turf and they kept us in the air. We made a lot of outs in the air and we weren’t productive or moving runners.”
The Pirates fall to 22-22-1 on the season, while the win improves Butler to 22-27. Seton Hall will resume action on May 6 with a home doubleheader against St. John’s. Game one is scheduled for 12 p.m.
Matt Lapolla can be reached at matthew.lapolla@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @MatthewLapolla.
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