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Seton Hall Athletics[/caption]
The Seton Hall baseball team narrowly avoided being swept by Creighton on the road, winning the last of a three-game series against the Bluejays, 5-4 on, Sunday, April 10.
Zach Prendergast took the mound for the Pirates, facing off against Creighton’s Keith Rogalla.
Creighton got off to an early lead in the bottom of the third inning when designated hitter Matt Gandy hit a solo home run to right field. Seton Hall answered back in the top of the fourth when leftfielder Zack Weigel singled in centerfielder Derek Jenkins. The Bluejays took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth when first baseman Reagan Fowler hit a sacrifice fly to bring in shortstop Nicky Lopez.
The Pirates took the lead by storm in the top of the fifth with a four-run offensive outburst. With the bases loaded and no outs, pitcher Ethan DeCaster balked and forced in Mike Caputo to score the tying run. Third baseman Joe Poduslenko then reached on an error by Creighton third baseman Harrison Crawford, which allowed Mikael-Ali Mogues to score and give the Pirates their first lead of the ballgame. Catcher Mike Alescio then hit an RBI-double to score Caputo, and shortstop Chris Chiaradio drove in Poduslenko on an RBI groundout to give Seton Hall a 5-2 lead.
Creighton refused to go down without a fight, scoring two more runs in the bottom of the eighth. Catcher Riley Landuyt reached on a fielding error by Jenkins, which allowed rightfielder Kevin Connolly to score. Landuyt then scored two batters later when second baseman Ryan Fitzgerald hit a sacrifice fly to right field. In the bottom of the ninth, left fielder Brett Murray reached on an error by Chiaradio and advanced to second, but the Bluejays left him stranded.
Prendergast was the winning pitcher for the Pirates. He threw seven strong innings, allowing just two runs on five hits and striking out seven. Rogalla took the loss for Creighton, going just four innings and allowing three runs on one hit and three walks.
The Pirates improve to 22-10 on the year, while the Blue Jays fall to 20-7. Seton Hall resumes action on Tuesday, April 12 at 4 p.m. when the teams hosts Rutgers at Owen T. Carroll Field.
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