After being swept on the road by Butler over the weekend, Seton Hall baseball bounced back with a much-needed 4-2 victory over Saint Peter’s on Tuesday afternoon at Owen T. Carroll Field.
The Pirates improved to 15-25 overall and snapped their losing streak heading into a crucial final home BIG EAST series against UConn this weekend.
Saint Peter’s got runners on in the first and third innings before Bobby Lavely drove in the first run with an RBI single in the top of the third, giving the Peacocks a 1-0 lead.
Seton Hall’s offense struggled to get going early against Saint Peter’s starter Zaine Toneske. He struck out seven batters through the first three innings and held the Pirates hitless through the first five innings.
Stephen Curry on the mound for Seton Hall. Photo credit: Seton Hall Athletics .
That changed quickly in the bottom of the fifth, when Seton Hall put together a rally to take the lead. Joe Marini led off, getting on via a hit by a pitch, while Vincent Duffy moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. After Ty Acker walked, Gabe Cavazzoni tied the game with a squeeze play that brought home Marini.
Later in the inning, Ryan Frontera delivered the biggest hit of the game, a two-run single to give Seton Hall a 3-1 lead. Magnus Krieger capped off the inning with a 1 run RBI single of his own, which extended Seton Hall’s lead to 4-1.
Saint Peter’s cut the deficit to 4-2 in the seventh inning after an RBI double from Alex Manent, but reliver Stephen Curry stranded the runner in scoring position to keep the Pirates in control.
On the mound for the Pirates, Derek Benzinger got the start and allowed just one run through 4.2 innings. Curry tossed four innings, allowing only one run. Ryan Reich recorded the final out in the ninth inning to secure the save.
Seton Hall will now return to BIG EAST play this weekend when they host UConn in their final home conference series of the season from May 8-10.
Jaden Highsmith is a junior Journalism major at Seton Hall University and the Assistant Sports Editor for The Setonian, the university’s official student-run newspaper.
