Senior Zach Prendergast took the mound in the opening matchup of a three-game series with the Connecticut Huskies at Owen T. Carroll Field on a chilly Friday afternoon. The right-hander was phenomenal in his seven and two-thirds innings of work, only giving up two runs on six hits while striking out five, but the Pirates fell 2-1 to UConn.
In a game dominated by pitching, coach Rob Sheppard knows what he is going to get every time Prendergast takes the mound.
[caption id="attachment_18442" align="aligncenter" width="768"]
Photo via SHU Athletics[/caption]
"That's why Zach throws Fridays. He's our Friday night starter because he can do that," Sheppard said. "He pitched well enough to win and we have to do a better job helping him secure a win."
On the other side of the diamond a mix of Ronnie Rossomando, Doug Domnarski, Ryan Radue and John Russell helped to keep the Seton Hall offense at bay all game. In fact, the Pirates had to wait until the home half of the fifth inning to get their first hit on the board--a leadoff double by senior Mikael-Ali Mogues. Two batters later, left fielder Ryan Ramiz singled up the middle to drive in Mogues. The junior's RBI was the lone Pirate run as the team could only muster three hits on the day.
"We just have to get more production, it's as simple as that," Sheppard said. "We have to cut down on our strikeouts and get more hits. We've got to continue to find ways to be a little more productive offensively."
The Huskies did all of their damage in the top half of the eighth. Trailing 1-0, Connecticut managed to get men on first and second with two outs. Following a brief mound visit, UConn's catcher Zac Susi's two-run bloop double down the left field line put the Huskies up 2-1. The score stayed that way as the final 10 outs of the game were recorded without interruption.
Important to note, relief pitcher Ryan Testani continued his strong start to the season by adding another inning and a third in relief of scoreless ball. This brings the senior's streak to 20 and one-third scoreless innings to begin the season.
The Pirates will have two more chances to get a win against the Huskies with two more games scheduled this weekend.
Nick Santoriello can be reached at nicholas.santoriello@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @NickSantoriello.
Comments
