Seton Hall used power in the batter’s box and mastery on the mound to secure a 5-3 victory at home over Rider University on Tuesday afternoon. Contributions were made by a variety of players to improve the Pirates to a 24-16-1 record.
On offense, the Pirates were able to get runs from the bats of multiple players in their lineup. In the outburst, a different player for the Pirates drove in each run. Eight different players reached base safely for the Pirates, with seven of those batters registering a hit.
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“Our offense is predicated on having the ability to hit from one to nine,” coach Rob Sheppard said following the win. “If they can get the man up, have that mentality, we get more production from everybody.”
In total, Seton Hall had ten hits in the contest and worked the pitchers on the Broncs for six walks. The Pirates put the ball in play as much as they could throughout the game, only striking out twice as a team. Sheppard cited his team’s discipline at the plate as a key factor following the win.
“Be patient and know the strike zone and we did a better job of that today,” Sheppard said. “Really making sure we didn’t chase out the zone and taking our walks.”
On the mound, the Pirates continued their hot streak too, as seven different pitchers combined to limit Rider to seven hits while striking out nine. The staff gave up only one walk on the day as well.
“[This type of game] is what we want our staff to be known for, pass the baton to the next guy,” Sheppard said.
Now, the Pirates look ahead to a pivotal series at home against Big East conference leaders St. John’s. Seton Hall will be coming in hot and confident on the back of four straight series wins. Although the Pirates have locked up a spot in the Big East tournament, a few more wins could attain them a crucial one seed for an easier path to the championship game.
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“As long as we stay solid on the mound and good defense behind our pitching we should have a good opportunity to win some games,” Sheppard said.
The series opener against St. John’s will begin at home Friday, May 11. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.
Robert Fallo can be reached at robert.fallo@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @robert_fallo.
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