The Seton Hall baseball team’s late-game rally came up short Friday night, as the Pirates fell to Southeastern Louisiana by a score of 10-7. After a dominant 16-3 the game before, Seton Hall could not seem to quiet the relentless Lions lineup which sets up a rubber match for the three-game series in Hammond, La.
Zach Prendergast took the mound for the first time since pitching a no-hitter in the Pirates' Big East finale against Villanova, although there was no repeat of perfection on the mound for Prendergast. Instead, he was removed from the game after just two innings, allowing three runs. Prendergast was tagged with the loss, bringing his record to 7-3 on the season.
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Photo via SHU Athletics[/caption]
On the other side, Southeastern Louisiana pitcher Corey Gaconi stifled the Pirates lineup through his six innings of shutout work, striking out six and allowing only four hits. The Lions provided him with run support in the fourth and fifth innings, scoring two in each off of Seton Hall pitcher Cullen Dana. The majority of the Lions’ production came from the bottom of the lineup, as Derrick Mount and Drew Avans went a combined 8-for-10 with eight runs scored.
Trailing 7-0, the Pirates offense needed a spark and got it through Rob Dadona. With one man on in the seventh inning, Dadona, who has rotated in and out of the lineup, took his opportunity and launched his second home run of the season to get Seton Hall on the board. Though, the Pirates could barely enjoy their newfound competitiveness, as Southeastern Louisiana capitalized on fielding errors and added three more runs in the bottom half of the inning, bringing the lead to 10-2.
This would not be the end for the Pirates, as a disappointing inning in the field was followed up by an eruption of the bats in the eighth. The Pirates scored five runs to narrow the gap to just three, with the biggest hit coming off the bat of Matt Fortin, who laced a pinch-hit, two-run double into the outfield to make the score 10-7. Relievers Corey Sawyer and Rick Devito were able to hold the Lions at bay after that, but the Pirates were not able to muster up the final necessary runs.
The Pirates finish their regular season with a 29-22 record after their game Saturday was canceled due to rain. Next, the team will compete as the No. 4 seed in the Big East Tournament, taking on No. 1 seed Creighton on March 25 at 7:30 p.m.
James Sherry can be reached at james.sherry@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @JSherry2324.
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