Pirates Suffer Pair Of One-Run Defeats At St. John's

Sunday, April 6

Queens, N.Y.

12 p.m.

Seton Hall University

12-19, 0-2

St. John's

14-13, 2-0

Seton Hall

St. John's

John Downing throws a pitch against Saint Joseph's

Photo by: RICHARD MORRIS

Pirates Suffer Pair Of One-Run Defeats At St. John's

4/6/2025 11:40:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Queens, N.Y. — Despite strong pitching performances from John Downing in game one and Steven Svenson in game two, the Seton Hall baseball team dropped a pair of one-run games on Sunday as St. John's defeated the Pirates 3-2 in the first game and 5-4 in the night cap on Sunday afternoon.

Downing continued his strong season as he went five innings and did not surrender a walk or a run in the seven-inning opener of the doubleheader. Svenson did not allow an earned run while striking out three in four innings of work. Ultimately it was the Seton Hall offense and defense that didn't help the cause as the bats went 2-for-16 on the day with runners in scoring position and despite committing two errors both were costly. Of St. John's eight runs scored over the two games on Sunday, three of them were unearned.

How It Happened

In game one, Seton Hall got on the scoreboard first by staying patient at the plate. Aiden Robbins led off the game with walk before Kevin Milewski and Magnus Krieger both drew two-out base on balls to load the bases. With Casey Cumiskey at the plate, an errant pitch went to the backstop and Robbins dashed home to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead.

St. John's however would answer with a three-run bottom of the first inning to take a 3-1 lead. The Red Storm put the lead off runner on in the second inning before Downing came out of the bullpen to retire the side. Downing would work around a lead off double in the bottom of the third inning before the Pirates cut their deficit to one, 3-2, on an RBI fielder's choice from Robbins that plated Ryan Frontera.

Downing continued the momentum by sitting down the side in order in the home half of the fourth, inducing an inning ending double play in the fifth and tossing a scoreless sixth. Despite Downing's stellar relief performance, the Pirates' bats went silent until the seventh inning when AJ Soldra reached on a one-out single to keep Seton Hall's hopes alive. Brennan was the next batter and drew a walk that put two runners on but a game-ending double play thwarted a Seton Hall comeback.

In game two, the Pirates were once again the first team to score. After Svenson retired the side in the first and second innings, Soldra stepped up to bat with two out and laced a triple to the left center field gap. An errant cutoff throw allowed him to race home and score to give Seton Hall an early 1-0 lead.

Svenson recorded two quick outs in the bottom of the fourth inning before St. John's loaded the bases. Svenson got the next batter to hit a grounder but a fielding error allowed a run to score as the Red Storm knotted up the score at 1-1. St. John's would go on to take a 3-1 lead the next inning on a two-run home run.

The Hall responded immediately in the top of the sixth inning where Robbins led off the inning with a walk. After Jimmy Brennan drew a one-out walk that put two runners on, Milewski drove both Pirates in with a double to left field that tied the game up at 3-3. Stephen Curry came out of the bullpen to retire the first six St. John's batters he faced, setting the table for a sac fly RBI off the bat of Brennan that gave Seton Hall a 4-3 lead, its first since the third inning. Despite taking a late lead, the Red Storm answered with a sac fly in the eighth inning that tied the score at 4-4 and an RBI, walk-off double in the ninth.