The Seton Hall Pirates fell Sunday to the East Carolina Pirates in their final game of the Louisville Slugger Invitational in Stockton, Cal., 15-14.
In a game that featured 29 runs, 19 of which came on home runs, the Pirates from East Carolina had the last laugh as they scored five in the bottom of the seventh to be walk off winners in the Sunday matinee.
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Photo via SHU Athletics[/caption]
East Carolina jumped on Seton Hall's starting pitcher, Reganne Camp, with two quick runs in the bottom of the first on three hits, one walk and one balk.
After almost batting around in the first, the East Carolina Pirates kept the pressure on knocking Camp out of the ballgame in the second following back to back RBI doubles by Tate McClellan and Ali Ramirez. The freshman Camp went one and one third innings giving up six runs on seven hits and three walks.
Facing a quick, six-run deficit, the Seton Hall bats came alive in the third with a pair of two-run home runs by Destini Peck and Chrisa Head.
Déjà vu struck in the home half of the third when East Carolina answered back with a pair of two-run home runs of its own off the bats of Kacie Oshiro and Alex Mycek to put the Hall six runs behind once more.
Following an Alexis Walkden RBI double, freshman outfielder Hailey Arteaga continued the home run parade with a three-run shot in the top half of the fourth knocking out East Carolina starter Lydia Ritchie and bringing the game to within two.
With East Carolina threatening in the bottom of the fifth, Head, who knocked in two with her bat in the third, looked to help with her arm in the fifth. With the bases loaded and only one out, the sophomore pitcher induced a groundout and a strikeout to end the inning and get the Hall out of a jam.
After another Arteaga RBI cut the lead to one, Carolina looked to its bullpen bringing in Meredith Burroughs on in relief of Mary Williams. The ill-fated decision resulted in the first batter faced, Head, hitting her second homerun of the game to bring in three runs and give Seton Hall its first lead of the game, 12-10.
The Hall added another run when the junior Walkden, who set the table all day, decided to knock herself in this time driving her fourth long ball of the year over the wall in right. The Pirates added another insurance run on yet another Arteaga single for her fifth RBI of the game.
Seton Hall's four-run lead was not enough, although, as East Carolina put up five runs in the bottom of the seventh capped off by a Karlie Smith three-run walk-off home run.
Offensively the Hall was highlighted by Walkden, Peck, Arteaga and Head who combined for 11 of the 12 Pirate hits and all 14 of their runs.
This loss drops Seton Hall to 8-5 on the season. The Hall will now travel to Sacramento, Cal., to face Sacramento State on Tuesday.
Nick Santoriello can be reached at nicholas.santoriello@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @NickSantoriello.
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