The Seton Hall baseball team beat the Princeton Tigers on Wednesday, April 2, after the Pirates suffered a series loss against the Marist Red Foxes from March 28 to March 30. The Tigers looked to do the same against the Pirates after losing their series to Columbia that same weekend.
Seton Hall sophomore starting pitcher Alex D’Ambrosio had a rough first inning, as he faced six batters and gave up three runs on three walks without recording a single out. As such, Princeton took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the first.
Seton Hall responded in a big way, with catcher Jimmy Brennan hitting a three-run home run that ricocheted off the parking garage in left field, to tie the game at three a piece. The home run marked Brennan’s fifth of the year, the second most of any Pirate so far this season behind sophomore catcher and designated hitter Kevin Milewski.
After the first inning, Pirates relief pitcher Anthony Ehly pitched a strong a 1-2-3 second inning while striking out Princeton’s first two hitters.
While the pitching started performing well for the Pirates, their offense did the same. Tigers starting pitcher Jackson Baldrate walked three of the first four batters in the second inning before Pirates freshman left fielder Magnus Krieger hit a two-run single to left field to give Seton Hall the lead. Sophomore right fielder Aiden Robbins got in on the fun as well, as he hit his own RBI single into left field to make it a 6-3 ballgame.
A walk with the bases loaded from sophomore third baseman Ryan Frontera would make it 7-3 through two full innings, as Baldrate was taken out for the Tigers. The Virginia native allowed seven earned runs on three hits, six walks, and two hit batters through two full innings of pitching.
Ehly continued to carve through the Tigers lineup, striking out six batters and allowing just two base runners through four innings before getting relieved by graduate left-handed pitcher Patrick Benn.
The Pirate offense scored in the fifth and sixth innings to make it a 9-3 game heading into the seventh. Although only striking out one Princeton batter, Benn's strong pitching helped prevent a Tigers rally late in the game.
After sophomore second baseman Gabe Cavazzoni was hit by a pitch and earned a walk, the Tigers changed pitchers. Coming in for the Tigers was junior relief pitcher Ethan Hsu, who loaded up the bases after striking out his first batter. With two outs and one strike left in the inning, Kevin Milewski hit a walk-off grand slam for his eighth home run of the year, earning the Pirates their 12th win of the season via the NCAA’s 10-run mercy rule, with them leading 13-3 through seven innings.
Brennan led the Pirates as he got on base four times in the game, including his three-run home run in the second inning, as well as an RBI double in the sixth.
The Pirates currently stand 12-21 overall after losing a three-game series to St. John’s from April 4 to April 6, as well as losing to Rutgers on April 8. Seton Hall will face Creighton next at the Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium on April 11.
John Misiewicz writes for The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at john.misiewicz@student.shu.edu.
