The Seton Hall Pirates defeated the Monmouth Hawks, 8-3, on Wednesday, April 23, at Mike Sheppard Sr. Stadium.
Seton Hall looked to bring some good mojo back after losing their last four games in a row, after suffering a series sweep against UConn, and a loss to Rider on April 22. Their opponents, the Monmouth Hawks, looked to extend their winning streak to three after taking two out of three games against Elon Phoenix from April 18 to April 20.
After Seton Hall leadoff hitter and sophomore outfielder Aiden Robbins got on base on balls, baserunning madness ensued. Robbins stole second base for his 16th stolen base of the year, before stealing third. After a wild pitch passed by Monmouth graduate catcher Shane Dux, Robbins then stole home to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Seton Hall freshman starting pitcher Tomas Cestero pitched another scoreless inning before the Pirates managed to double the lead on offense, courtesy of a solo home run from junior first baseman Nick Ferri. This marked his second home run of the year, giving the Pirates a 2-0 cushion in the second inning.
Monmouth showed a bit of fight in the fourth inning, as they loaded the bases with one out before Cestero managed to escape while only allowing one run on a fielder's choice. Through four innings of play, they still led 2-1.
On offense, the Pirates responded to the Hawks’ one run with a vengeance. Ferri, unfazed by Monmouth coach Dean Ehehalt’s decision to bring in junior left-handed pitcher Jimmy Wigo, hit a bomb to the right field pole for his second home run of the day.
Seton Hall scored two more runs in the inning, thanks to a bunt single from graduate third baseman Marco Ali and a bases-loaded walk from sophomore center fielder AJ Soldra, to give the Pirates a 5-2 lead by the end of the fourth.
Cestero continued his excellent pitching, as he pitched consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth. Despite getting two outs in the seventh inning, Monmouth rallied, as they scored another run to make it 5-3. This prompted a pitching change for the Pirates, as Cestero was taken out for graduate pitcher Patrick Benn.
Just like the fourth inning, Seton Hall responded by tripling Monmouth’s runs. With an error from third baseman sophomore Graedon Finarelli and two walks, the Pirates scored three more runs as they led 8-3 through seven innings.
Despite allowing one run thanks to an RBI groundout from junior right fielder Aiden Bretschnider in the ninth inning, Benn got the job done, as the Pirates secured the 8-3 win.
The Pirates currently stand 19-26 overall after winning a three-game series against the Butler Bulldogs from April 25 to April 27 and defeating Hofstra on April 30. Seton Hall will face Xavier in a three-game series starting Friday, May 2 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
John Misiewicz writes for The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at john.misiewicz@student.shu.edu.
