Saturday, March 29
South Orange, N.J.
12 PM
Seton Hall University
18-14, 0
4
vs
9
Villanova
16-15, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Villanova
0
0
0
8
0
1
0
9
10
2
Seton Hall
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
9
1
Despite Early Surge, Pirates Fall to Wildcats
3/29/2025 5:16:00 PM | Softball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Despite a four-run first inning, the Seton Hall softball team (18-14, 6-4 BIG EAST) fell to Villanova (16-15, 8-3 BIG EAST), 9-4, in the second game of the Pirates' weekend series at Mike Sheppard Sr. Field.
How It Happened (Game One
In her first outing of the week, Kyra Kreuscher dominated the Wildcats in a ten-pitch first inning to give the Pirates a chance to strike first for the second straight game.
In the bottom of the frame, Katey Brennan and Caroline Hobbes gave The Hall a strong opportunity to score after both got on base to start the inning. Hannah Alexander broke the dead heat with one out with a sacrifice fly to deep center field, giving The Hall an early 1-0 lead. Naya Martinez immediately followed up Alexander's sacrifice fly with a single down the right field line, bringing home Hobbes and doubling the Pirates lead to 2-0.
With the offense humming, Olivia Gilbert stepped to the plate with Martinez on first. Gilbert pushed her to third on a single, but Martinez would cross home plate on a passed ball with Taylor Hill at the plate to make it a 3-0 game. After Hill and Andrea Perez walked to load the bases, the Wildcats quickly went to their bench to make an early change in the circle. While Kreuscher would immediately draw a bases-loaded walk to make it a 4-0 game, the Pirates would do no more damage in the opening frame and headed to the second inning up 4-0.
With a lead at her back, Kreuscher retired six of the next seven batters she faced to keep Villanova off the scoreboard. However, at the plate, the Pirates could only scatter a pair of doubles across the second and third inning, sending The Hall to the fourth inning still up 4-0.
In the fourth inning, however, the Pirates lead dissipated quickly. After opening the inning with a strikeout, seven straight batters reached based tie the game at 4-4. The Pirates collected a second out with the bases loaded in this tied BIG EAST clash, but a grand slam from the Wildcats put The Hall behind 8-4 at the end of the top of the fourth.
Now in a hole, The Pirates offense began to press for answers. A leadoff double in the fourth inning and a pair of runners reaching base in the fifth inning provided the Pirates with an opportunity to pull back the deficit. However, the Pirates could not convert either opportunity into additional runs.
Villanova made it a 9-4 game in the sixth inning with an RBI double, forcing the Pirates to hunt for scoring opportunities with greater intent. The Pirates stranded a pair of runners again in the sixth, before heading to the seventh in need of five runs to force extra innings. Two singles from Hill and Gilbert to open the inning presented hope to the home side. That became a false hope, however, as the next three Pirate batters went down in order and the Pirates fell 9-4 in the second game of the series.
News & Notes
What's Next
The Pirates close out the season series against Villanova on Sunday, March 30, with one final game at Mike Sheppard Sr. Field. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.
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How It Happened (Game One
In her first outing of the week, Kyra Kreuscher dominated the Wildcats in a ten-pitch first inning to give the Pirates a chance to strike first for the second straight game.
In the bottom of the frame, Katey Brennan and Caroline Hobbes gave The Hall a strong opportunity to score after both got on base to start the inning. Hannah Alexander broke the dead heat with one out with a sacrifice fly to deep center field, giving The Hall an early 1-0 lead. Naya Martinez immediately followed up Alexander's sacrifice fly with a single down the right field line, bringing home Hobbes and doubling the Pirates lead to 2-0.
With the offense humming, Olivia Gilbert stepped to the plate with Martinez on first. Gilbert pushed her to third on a single, but Martinez would cross home plate on a passed ball with Taylor Hill at the plate to make it a 3-0 game. After Hill and Andrea Perez walked to load the bases, the Wildcats quickly went to their bench to make an early change in the circle. While Kreuscher would immediately draw a bases-loaded walk to make it a 4-0 game, the Pirates would do no more damage in the opening frame and headed to the second inning up 4-0.
With a lead at her back, Kreuscher retired six of the next seven batters she faced to keep Villanova off the scoreboard. However, at the plate, the Pirates could only scatter a pair of doubles across the second and third inning, sending The Hall to the fourth inning still up 4-0.
In the fourth inning, however, the Pirates lead dissipated quickly. After opening the inning with a strikeout, seven straight batters reached based tie the game at 4-4. The Pirates collected a second out with the bases loaded in this tied BIG EAST clash, but a grand slam from the Wildcats put The Hall behind 8-4 at the end of the top of the fourth.
Now in a hole, The Pirates offense began to press for answers. A leadoff double in the fourth inning and a pair of runners reaching base in the fifth inning provided the Pirates with an opportunity to pull back the deficit. However, the Pirates could not convert either opportunity into additional runs.
Villanova made it a 9-4 game in the sixth inning with an RBI double, forcing the Pirates to hunt for scoring opportunities with greater intent. The Pirates stranded a pair of runners again in the sixth, before heading to the seventh in need of five runs to force extra innings. Two singles from Hill and Gilbert to open the inning presented hope to the home side. That became a false hope, however, as the next three Pirate batters went down in order and the Pirates fell 9-4 in the second game of the series.
News & Notes
- The Pirates move to 18-14 on the season and 6-5 on BIG EAST play.
- Seton Hall is 44-54 all-time against Villanova.
- Brennan has gotten on-base in 19 straight games.
- With one run scored, she now has a team-leading 33 runs scored.
- Martinez logged her fifth RBI of the season.
- Alexander collected her 29th RBI of the season.
- Gilbert registered her 15th run of the season.
What's Next
The Pirates close out the season series against Villanova on Sunday, March 30, with one final game at Mike Sheppard Sr. Field. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: KOBRYN, Lexi (6-7)
L: Kreuscher, Kyra (4-6)
Batting:
2B: FRANZ, Ava 3 ; MAHNKEN, Ava 1
HR: RUNCO, Maranda 1
RBI: RUNCO, Maranda 4 ; FRANZ, Ava 1 ; MAHNKEN, Ava 1 ; REED, Grace 1 ; OSTROWSKI, Madison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: RUNCO, Maranda 1 ; FRANZ, Ava 1 ; BURROWS, Maddie 1 ; OSTROWSKI, Brooklyn 1 ; MAHNKEN, Ava 1 ; KOBRYN, Lexi 1 ; REED, Grace 1 ; OSTROWSKI, Madison 1 ; GRAY, Elizabeth 1
HBP: BURROWS, Maddie 1
Batting:
2B: Brennan, Katey 1 ; Hobbes, Caroline 1 ; Hill, Taylor 1
RBI: Alexander, Hannah 1 ; Martinez, Naya 1 ; Kreuscher, Kyra 1
SH: Carr, Kelsey 1
SF: Alexander, Hannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brennan, Katey 1 ; Hobbes, Caroline 1 ; Martinez, Naya 1 ; Gilbert, Olivia 1
HBP: Hobbes, Caroline 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
Infield
/ SoftballOutfield
/ SoftballInfield
/ SoftballOutfielder
/ SoftballInfield
/ Softball
Pitcher
/ Softball
Infield
/ Softball
Infield
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