The Seton Hall Pirates lost two of three games in their weekend series against the St. John’s Red Storm, dropping to 5-10 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
Game one on Saturday saw the Pirates' defense get off to a slow start as the Red Storm scored six runs in the first inning. Four of the runs scored in this first inning were unearned runs as St John’s took advantage of a bases loaded situation and Pirate starter Shelby Smith walked in two runs. Kelsey Carr came in for Smith after this rough start and held St John’s scoreless over the remaining six innings, but it was too little too late.
The Pirates put up runs in the second, third and fourth innings, but the final three innings saw neither team score at all. Seton Hall simply made more mistakes than St John’s did early on, and these errors made the difference in a 6-4 loss for the Pirates.
The second game of Seton Hall's Saturday doubleheader against St. John's saw the Pirates bounce back from their first-game loss. Carr returned to the mound to start game two after not allowing a single run in the seven innings she pitched during game one.
Carr finished game two with six strikeouts, allowing only one run in the fourth inning. She finished with sixteen strikeouts during the back-to-back only allowing one run in fourteen innings of pitching.
Carr was also key in the scoring effort for the Pirates, going 2-for-3 at the plate and scoring three times. Abby Wingo and Kiana Tate both finished with two RBIs.
With the series tied at 1-1 heading into Sunday's series-deciding game three, Seton Hall had the opportunity to secure their first Big East series win of the season. Carr started again, but her good form from Saturday fell off as she gave up five runs in three innings as the Pirates fell behind 5-0 early in the game.
Hailey Arteaga had an excellent game, getting two hits, two RBIs and drawing a walk in three at-bats. Smith also had two hits with an RBI while Wingo added an RBI off a walk.
All this scoring and production for Seton Hall came in the fourth inning as the Pirates produced four runs in that inning. The last three innings saw no scoring at all despite the Pirates having opportunities late on.
The third game finished 5-4 in favor of the Red Storm, and the Pirates lost their second Big East series of the season.
Seton Hall returns to action with a four-game series against Holy Cross on March 26.
John Makuch can be reached at john.makuch@student.shu.edu.
