SBU Sports: Baseball falls short in loss to Seton Hall, series tied
Despite scoring in each of the first five innings, the Stony Brook baseball team was unable to hold off Seton Hall’s late surge, falling 8-6 on March 15 at Joe Nathan Field. The Pirates plated three runs across the final three innings to even the series at 1-1
Right-hander John Rizzo took the mound for Stony Brook and worked around a first-inning threat, inducing a double play to end the frame.The Seawolves wasted no time getting on the board, as Evan Goforth launched a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first for an early 1-0 lead.
Seton Hall responded with three straight singles in the second to tie the game at 1-1, but Rizzo escaped further damage by striking out three consecutive batters to leave the bases loaded.
In the bottom half, Chanz Doughty and Cam Santerre worked walks before executing a double steal. The Seawolves capitalized on a Seton Hall balk to regain the lead, 2-1.
The Pirates countered with a power surge in the third, blasting two home runs as part of a three-run inning to take a 4-2 advantage.
Stony Brook cut into the deficit in the bottom of the third when Goforth led off with a double, Paulsen walked, and Nico Azpilcueta lifted a sac fly to make it 4-3.
Seton Hall tacked on another run in the fourth with an RBI single, extending their lead to 5-3.
The Seawolves answered once again, as Santerre singled and later scored on a Nick Solorzano base hit to pull within 5-4.
Reliever Ryan Dieguez entered in the fifth and stranded a runner at second to keep the game within reach.
Johnny Pilla delivered the equalizer in the bottom half, crushing a solo home run to left field, knotting the score at 5-5.
Micah Worley worked a perfect sixth out of the bullpen, but Seton Hall regained the lead in the seventh with an RBI single to center, moving ahead 6-5.
The Pirates added two insurance runs in the eighth to stretch their lead to 8-5.
Stony Brook kept battling in the bottom of the frame as Solorzano led off with a single, Goforth followed with his fourth hit of the game, and Paulsen delivered an RBI single to make it 8-6.
Matthew Canizares took the mound for Stony Brook in the ninth and retired the first two batters before allowing a double. He stranded runners on the corners to keep the deficit at two, but the Seawolves were unable to rally in their final at-bat.
Up next, the team will look to claim the series victory in the rubber match against Seton Hall on March 16 at Joe Nathan Field. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m., with live coverage available on FloBaseball.
