Entering their final series of the regular season, Seton Hill knew what was needed to clinch a spot on the PSAC Tournament next week. The Griffins needed to win three of four over Cal to leapfrog the Vulcans for the coveted spot. In a pair of hard-fought contests, it was Cal who would strand Seton Hill's tying run on base in both games to claim 7-5 and 4-3 wins over SHU.
The setbacks drop the Griffins' record to 29-17-1 overall and 13-13 in the conference and eliminates Seton Hill from contention for the PSAC Tournament.
The opening game was a back-and-forth tilt that came down to the final pitch. Cal used a SHU error to score an unearned run in the first, but the Griffins struck back for two runs in the third inning.
Isaiah DiAndreth had an RBI ground out and
Vincenzo Rauso hit an RBI single for a 2-1 Seton Hill lead that was short-lived. The Vulcans tied the game in the bottom of the third with a solo homer and then scored twice in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead.
Seton Hill got a run back in the fifth when
Jack Oberdorf blasted a solo home run, his team-leading eighth of the season, but Cal responded with a run in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-3. In the sixth, SHU tied the game with a clutch two-run pinch-hit double by Tanner Froelich, but once again, the Vulcans answered back in their half of the inning. A two-out, two-run homer lifted the home team back into the lead at 7-5.
In the seventh, the Griffins loaded the bases with two walks and a single with two outs, but a strike out ended the threat the game with Cal coming away with the win. Two Griffins went 3-for-3 in game one, including Oberdorf and
Max Mandler, while Rauso collected two hits. On the mound,
Kevin Vaupel threw the first three innings and struck out a pair.
Ian Korn threw the final three innings and also had two Ks.
In game two, the Griffins fell behind early and a late rally came up a run short. The Vulcans plated solo runs in the first and second inning for a 2-0 lead and added two more in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead, which stood until the sixth inning.
The Seton Hill bats were held silent through the first five innings, as the first 15 hitters were retired entering the sixth inning. The leadoff batter in that inning,
Braden Durham, struck out but reached on a wild pitch. After the next two batters were retired, the Griffins ripped off three straight hits.
Owen Sabol started it with an RBI double, which was followed by Oberdorf's RBI single and then Mandler stroked an RBI double and suddenly, the Cal lead was cut to 4-3.
In the Griffin seventh, a one-out walk by DiAndreth and single by Durham had the tying run in scoring position with one out, but the final two batters were retired and Cal had again squeezed out a win. Seton Hill had four hits in the game, with Sabol and Mandler having the run-scoring doubles. Griffin lefty
Andino Vecchiolla started and threw the first two innings.
Aidan Layton relieved and threw the next three frames and
Brian Pirone struck out a pair in his inning of work.
The series will conclude on Sunday when Seton Hill hosts the Vulcans in Greensburg, which will also be Senior Day for the Griffins.
