The Seton Hall baseball ended its stay in Kissimmee, Fla. with a win, defeating the Central Michigan Chippewas on Tuesday night, 10-4. The Pirates’ offense was clicking throughout their four games in Kissimmee, as Seton Hall added 10 runs on Tuesday to its four-game total of 44 runs. The win gives the Pirates their second winning streak of the season, as their record now stands at 5-5.
The Pirates got on the board early with two runs in the first that helped them grab control of the contest. After an Al Molina walk and wild pitch that allowed him to advance to second, Matt Toke singled with two outs and brought Molina home. One batter later, Sebastiano Santorelli blasted a triple to right field, scoring Toke.
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Photo via SHU Athletics[/caption]
Similar to the Pirates offense, pitching was a collective effort, as a rotation of seven pitchers led the team to victory. No pitcher threw more than two innings, with starter Tyler Burnham given the win for his one-run two innings to start the game. The Hall gave up a total of four runs, with two earned, on six hits.
Central Michigan got on the board in the third inning, as the Pirates’ starter Burnham was pulled after back-to-back walks to start the third, and charged for the run as the Chippewas cut the lead to 2-1.
Seton Hall did not waver, though, as they had the offense to combat any runs Central Michigan could throw at them. In the bottom half of the third, the Pirates extended their lead to 5-1, and in the sixth inning, the Pirates blossomed the lead to 6-2 with back-to-back two-out doubles from Mike Alescio and Toke.
Central Michigan had the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the seventh, but was only able to put two runs across the plate. Pirates pitcher Corey Sawyer came in with one run already across the plate and nobody out, but Sawyer was able to get the first batter to ground into a double play, and got the next batter to strikeout, helping the Pirates escape from the jam.
The Pirates again responded at the plate at the first time asking, with four runs in the bottom of the seventh. Molina helped provide the finishing touch, with a two-run double to left field that gave the Pirates their ninth and 10th run.
Rob Dadona, Toke and Santorelli each had two hits, while Molina had three RBI’s. Meanwhile, Alescio, who had one hit on five at-bats, was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List during the game.
The Pirates will look to get above .500 for the first time this season when they begin their three-game series with Florida Atlantic on Friday, March 9 in Boca Raton, Fla.
Mat Mlodzinski can be reached at mat.mlodzinski@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @Mlodzinski_15.
James Justice can be reached at james.justice@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @JamesJusticeIII.
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