In the season-opener, the Seton Hall baseball team took down the Michigan Wolverines 5-4 at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
With junior Shane McCarthy taking the mound, the Pirates held the Wolverines scoreless for nearly two innings, until three runs were given up at the bottom of the second. Senior Joe Poduslenko brought home a runner with a two-out single at the top of the third, putting the Pirates on the board and ultimately shifting momentum in the Hall's favor.
From that point on, McCarthy found his stride, striking out two consecutive batters at the bottom of the third. Jackson Martin and Rob Dadona proceeded to plate three runs at the top of the fourth inning in an electrifying manner to bring the score to 4-3, but Michigan quickly made it a ballgame by tying it up.
In an ambiguous set of innings, the game wouldn't see much action until the tandem of Dadona and Martin struck again in the sixth inning. With a RBI single to right field, Dadona brought Martin home, ultimately scoring the winning run of the game.
Pitchers Matt Leon, Anthony Pacillo and Zach Schellenger closed the game for the Hall, limiting Michigan to zero runs in five innings. While Pacillo did much of the battling, Schellenger is credited with the save.
The Pirates have three more games coming up against the Wolverines this weekend, the next on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 11 a.m.
Randy Breigle can be reached at randy.breigle@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @randybreigle.
