Seton Hall University
Rutgers
Tie Game Slips Away in the Seventh Against Rutgers
4/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 1, 2014
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall University softball team saw a close back-and-forth game against in-state rival Rutgers University slip away as the Scarlet Knights used a seven-run seventh inning to break open a tie game en route to a 12-5 victory.
The seventh inning made all the difference in a game that had seen the Pirates (9-21) twice come back from a deficit to tie the score, but the Scarlet Knights (14-10) scored seven runs on five hits in the decisive final frame. Chandler Howard and Jackie Bates each came up with two-RBI base hits during the rally to pace the Rutgers offense.
After yielding a pair of runs, only one of which was earned, in the top of the second, Seton Hall bounced back with two in the fourth to complete its first comeback. Senior Meredith Henze (Elkton, Md.),who went 3-for-4 on the day, led off with a single to left and came all the way around from first to score as junior Whitney Jones (Skowhegan, Maine) slammed a two-out double off the wall in left center field.
A walk to junior Sara Haefeli (Montclair, N.J.) gave the Pirates runners at first and second with two outs and at that point Seton Hall starter Jen Metzger (Pine Hill, N.J.) helped her own cause with a slap hit up the middle to bring Jones in from second.
The tie did not last long as Rutgers posted three runs in the fifth to make it 5-2 as three different players recorded an RBI base hit in the inning. Seton Hall was much more economical in coming back to tie things once again in the bottom half of that inning, needing just one hit in a three-run scoring burst.
Sophomore Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) drew a walk to lead off the last of the fifth and swiped second for her team-leading 12th stolen base of the year. Senior Maria DeLuca (Cedar Grove, N.J.) hit a grounder toward second and the speedy Harrell immediately broke for third on the play. The ball rolled under the glove of Rutgers' second baseman Stephanie Huang, allowing Harrell to score easily on the sequence.
DeLuca did not need to be nearly as crafty to score just a few moments later as Henze sent her team-leading eighth home run of the season over the fence in right center field, knotting the score at 5-5. Henze's eight home runs this year leave her just one shy of cracking the SHU single-season top-10 list and she now has 13 for her career.
Seton Hall was not able to string together any more runs despite the hot start to the fifth and both teams went scoreless in the sixth inning before Rutgers pulled away in the seventh.
Freshman Lauren Fischer (Robbinsville, N.J.), who relieved Metzger during the fourth inning, received the loss to fall to 1-5 on the year. Junior Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.) faced seven batters in the seventh, giving up three runs but striking out two in an inning of work. Alyssa Landrith threw all seven for the Scarlet Knights, striking out 12 in a winning effort.
Seton Hall will return to action this Saturday-Sunday, April 5-6, when it heads to the Windy City for a three-game series at DePaul University. First pitch for Saturday's double header is scheduled for 12 p.m., with Sunday's finale slated for 11 a.m. (CT).
