#SHUMonmouthBaseball Live Blog:
Top of the first inning: It is a beautiful day in South Orange, N.J. as the Seton Hall Pirates prepare to take on Monmouth University in baseball. Starting pitchers are Billy Layne for the Pirates and James Kelly for the Hawks.
Top of the first inning: Not an ideal start for Seton Hall, as Monmouth jumps out to an early 3-0 lead. Kyle Norman gets an RBI single to bring home John LaRocca, and Danny Long and JP Walsh each drive home another on an infield single and a fielder’s choice respectively.
Bottom of the first inning: The Pirates get one back as Mike Alescio singles to center, scoring Al Molina. Hawks still lead 3-1.
Top of the second inning: Dylan Verdonk comes in to pitch for Seton Hall, but the onslaught continues. Nick Campana doubles to left-center field to increase the Monmouth lead to 5-1. Then, on a ball that got lost in the sun, Matt Graber triples to right field to drive in another and make it a 6-1 lead.
Top of the third inning: Hunter Waldis in to pitch for Seton Hall. Monmouth continues to pile it on, as Shaine Hughes doubles to right and brings two past the plate. Due to another fielder’s choice the next batter, Monmouth increases their lead to 9-1.
Top of the fourth inning: Sean Miller is now pitching for Seton Hall, and he quickly walks two onto base. JP Walsh follows that with a single past the shortstop to give the Hawks a 10-1 lead.
Top of the fifth inning: Seton Hall is up to their fifth pitcher in five innings now, as Blake Espinal takes the mound. The Hawks get two on base, but do no damage. It is the first scoreless inning the Pirates have thrown all game.
Bottom of the sixth inning: Now pitching for Monmouth is Ryan Lillie. Seton Hall has begun to cycle in multiple pinch hitters to the order.
Bottom of the seventh inning: The Hall gets one back on a double by Connor Hood. Tyler Shedler-McAvoy scores on the play. Jerry Huntzinger adds to the lead with an RBI on a fielder’s choice. Hawks still lead 10-3.
Bottom of the eighth: Pirates fail to score again, and will head into the ninth inning down by seven. They will need to piece together a miraculous comeback to take this one.
Top of the ninth: Monmouth loads the bases but does no damage. They end the day with 16 hits.
Bottom of the ninth: Pirates go down in order and drop the game by a final score of 10-3. They return to action on Friday, April 20 when they take on Butler University.
Thank you for following along the live blog and stay tuned to Hall Pass for more postgame coverage.