Seton Hall University
DePaul
Softball Drops Heartbreaker at DePaul 4-3
4/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 6, 2014
CHICAGO, ILL. - The Seton Hall University softball team lost a heartbreaker in game three of its series at DePaul University on Sunday afternoon in Chicago, Ill. as the Blue Demons erased a one-run deficit to walk off with a 4-3 win in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Seton Hall took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh, looking for its first win over the Blue Demons since 2009, but DePaul used a bit of small ball to bring two runs across the plate to escape with a win.
After pinch hitter Hanna Penna was retired to start the frame, Gena Lenti and Megan Coronado recorded back-to-back infield base hits to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Leadoff batter and starting pitcher Kirsten Verdun, who had homered back in the first inning, drew a walk to load the bases and DePaul came up with a run on each the next two at-bats.
Allie Braden, who went 2-for-4 on the day, hit a grounder to Maria DeLuca (Cedar Grove, N.J.) at second base and she immediately threw home but not in time to catch the speedy Lenti from third. With the bases still loaded and only one out Mary Connolly hit a fly ball to straight away center field, and Coronado tagged up from third to end the game.
Seton Hall starter Jen Metzger (Pine Hill, N.J.) turned in an impressive effort for Seton Hall despite falling to 4-5 on the year. After giving up two runs on three hits in the first she settled in to retire 14-of-15 batters faced over a stretch from the end of the first inning to the top of the sixth. She struck out four and scattered seven hits giving up four runs, only three of them earned.
DeLuca was the offensive start for Seton Hall going 3-for-4 with a pair or RBIs and a run scored. She drove in what nearly proved to be the winning run with a base hit to right in the top of the fifth inning to push her average up to .303 on the year.
After yesterday's no hitter the Pirates were able to get to Kirsten Verdun early as DeLuca recorded an infield hit with one out in the top of the first inning. Junior Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.) was the next to step to the plate for the Hall and she hammered a double through the left side of the infield and into left center.
Coronado took an awkward angle in center field trying to cut off DeStaso's laser shot in the outfield, but she failed to get in front as the ball rolled all the way to the fence, allowing DeLuca to come all the way around to score from first.
Seton Hall's lead was short lived. Verdun led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run to left and a pair of fielding errors resulted in a second DePaul run as Dylan Christensen drove in Mary Connolly three batters later.
Seton Hall threatened in the fourth, putting runners at first and second with no outs but failed to bring a run across. Junior first baseman Whitney Jones (Skowhegan, Maine) was the beneficiary of a two-base error by Brittany Boesel on a pop up into right field. Boesel tracked the fly ball from second base but failed to make a play and Jones took second base as the ball deflected out into right field.
Senior Meredith Henze (Elkton, Md.) singled up the middle but her base hit hung in the air just long enough that Jones was forced to use precaution and she was unable to advance to third. Verdun settled in and came up with a pair of strikeouts escape the inning unscathed.
Finally in the top of the fifth Seton Hall strung together several hits, scoring two runs to retake the lead for the first time since the top of the first. Junior Sara Haefeli (Montclair, N.J.) drove a double into deep right field and off the fence to lead off the frame, and moved up to third when sophomore Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) smacked a single into shallow left field.
Harrell wasted no time taking second base, stealing on the first pitch for her team-leading 13th base swipe of the season. From there DeLuca came through with the clutch base hit, lining a hit into right, initially off the glove of first baseman Connolly as she leapt into the air. Haefeli scored easily on the play and Harrell was safe on a play at the plate.
Metzger pitches out of a jam in the sixth as DePaul had a great chance to tie or take the lead. Braden's leadoff single was just the second base hit for DePaul since the first inning. A pair of wild pitches allowed Braden to advance all the way to third but she would not score. After falling behind Kali Gardner 3-0 Metzger came back to strike her out for the second out of the inning and Morgan Maize flew out to right for the final out of the fame.
Seton Hall returns to action for an out of conference game at Rutgers on Wednesday, April 9, in Piscataway, N.J. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. The Pirates resume BIG EAST play with a three-game series against Creighton next Saturday-Sunday, April 12-13, at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field in South Orange, N.J.
