Pirates Take Down Butler in Series Opener

Published: Saturday, April 26, 2025

by Darren Worrell

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall Pirates (16-26, 3-7) rolled past the Butler Bulldogs (14-27, 3-7) with an 8-1 win Friday evening. What began as a slow, quiet game quickly turned into complete domination by the Pirates.

Head coach Rob Sheppard gave another freshman a chance, calling on right-handed pitcher Steven Svenson. Entering the night with six starts and an 0-1 record, Svenson stepped up in a big way. He looked composed and in control on the mound, pitching five strong innings and setting the tone for Seton Hall.

The first couple of innings didn’t feature much action. Neither team could get anything going offensively, and both sides were held scoreless through two. But in the third, Seton Hall finally broke through, but not in the typical way. With the bases loaded, Ferri was hit by a pitch, bringing in Cavazzoni for the Pirates' first run of the game.

Butler’s pitching began to unravel at that point, with three walks in the inning: one intentional to Robbins, followed by back-to-back walks to Soldra and Milewski. That walk to Milewski was just the beginning for him; he would go on to draw five free passes by the end of the night.

The score stayed 1-0 until the fifth inning, when the Pirates added another run off a sacrifice fly, stretching their lead to 2-0. Butler still couldn’t get on the board in the sixth, and Seton Hall took advantage once again, adding two more runs. The Bulldogs didn’t help themselves defensively either. At one point, they made the unusual decision to shift to five infielders and two outfielders: an odd move, especially against a team like Seton Hall.

Shortly after, they walked Pacheco and again intentionally walked Robbins, putting two runners on. Justin Ford then stepped to the plate and, on just the second pitch he saw, delivered a two-run triple that broke the game open, making it 4-0.

In the eighth inning, Butler finally scored its first run to make it a 4-1 game, keeping itself alive, at least for the moment. However, Seton Hall came right back with a huge response, bringing in four more runs in the bottom of the inning. Ferri and Ali came through with back-to-back two-RBI hits, stretching the Pirates' lead to 8-1. If the game wasn’t out of reach before, it certainly was now. Butler had no answers, and that’s where the score stayed when the final out was made.

It was a strong night all around for Seton Hall, but a rough one for Butler, whose game plan never seemed to click. Luckily for the Pirates, this is just the beginning of the series. They’ll be back at it on Saturday.

The first pitch was originally scheduled for 1 p.m., but with rain in the forecast, it has been pushed back to 4 p.m. Jake Marcial and Anthony Collins will be on the call.

Darren Worrell can be reached at darren.worrell@student.shu.edu. 

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