Seton Hall matched its win total from last season by winning two out of three in their series against St. John’s this past weekend.
The Hall came out strong in the first inning of Friday’s game, scoring three runs off a two-run single from first baseman Alex Clyde and an RBI single from outfielder Devin Hack. The Red Storm responded well with a three-run home run from first baseman Aaron Mann.
Although the Pirates came back in the second with an RBI single from shortstop Max Viera, St. John’s took the lead with a couple of singles from right fielder Luke Orbon and catcher Tate Ballestero, and a sacrifice fly from Mann. This helped them take a 7-4 lead, which they wouldn’t relinquish, winning 8-6 despite a late rally from The Hall.
For a team that struggled with hitting home runs last year, that was not an issue in game two for Seton Hall in the second game of the series. After St. John’s scored a run in the first inning, left fielder Mark McNelly responded by hitting his second home run of the year to tie the game.
Going into the eighth, it was tied at 3-3, and right fielder Oscar Murray hit his second home run of the season to give The Hall a 6-3 lead. Designated hitter Staus Pokrovsky later hit his fifth home run of the year to help the Pirates sail to victory with a final score of 8-3.
The last game began with both teams scoring five runs in the first two innings. In the third inning, the game became out of reach as Seton Hall led 10-5 with help from a couple of two-run singles from Viera and McNelly. After adding two more runs in the fifth, the Hall officially put the game away despite the Red Storm responding with four runs in the seventh.
Seton Hall currently sits at 18-16 and is third in the Big East conference while St. John’s sits second to last despite an 18-15 overall record.
The Pirates will head up to Staten Island to take on Wagner Thursday before playing a three-game series at home this weekend against Butler.
John “JJ” Misiewicz can be reached at john.misiewicz@student.shu.edu.
