After the Seton Hall softball team suffered a 12-inning loss to Villanova one week ago, head coach Ray Vander May knew just what his team needed to do to get back on track.
"We have to go out this weekend and win three games," Vander May said. "That will help us better our chances of making the Big East Championship."
The Pirates did just that, sweeping Georgetown in a three game series last weekend.
The Hall now sits at 6-8 in Big East play, with an overall record of 15-23.
The Georgetown Hoyas fell to 5-9 in conference play, with a 15-25 record overall.
The Pirates won the final game of the series in dramatic fashion.
Sophomore Kristen Kaelin's two-run double gave Seton Hall the decisive 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Georgetown took the early lead, going up 1-0 off a Samantha Peters solo home run.
Sophomore Nicole Loewenstein singled up the middle and Kaelin doubled to centerfield to start the fourth inning for the Pirates.
Junior Brittany Schillizzi tied the score with a single lined to center scoring Loewenstein.
In the top of the fifth, Georgetown's Peters delivered another RBI, yet this hit did not leave the infield.
The Hoyas answered back by executing a suicide squeeze with runners on first and third, as Peters' bunt dribbled down the third base line to give Georgetown the 2-1 lead.
With two outs and two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth, Kaelin's double off the right field wall allowed both runners to score securing the Pirate win.
Senior Ashley Forsyth recorded her ninth win of the season, allowing two runs on seven hits in the complete game effort.
The Hall won both games of the Saturday doubleheader behind strong pitching performances by Forsyth and senior Danielle Zanzalari.
The Pirates won the first game 3-0, as Forsyth won her eighth game on a seven-inning shutout.
She allowed just three hits while striking out eight.
Schillizzi went three for three at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored, while freshman Brittany Hammer picked up the other RBI.
In the second game, Zanzalari picked up her third win of the season after a complete game in which she allowed six hits and two earned runs, striking out six in Seton Hall's 4-2 victory.
Tull collected three RBI on her first career homerun, scoring Schillizzi and Hammer on a deep ball over the leftfield wall.
Seton Hall plays Iona in a doubleheader on Thursday.
The team will then head to Pittsburgh to take on the 7-6 Panthers in a three-game series this weekend, hoping to improve on their Big East record.
Matthew Bryant can be reached at matthew.bryant@student.shu.edu.
