Pirates Open BIG EAST Home Slate with Georgetown on Friday - Seton Hall University Athletics
The Seton Hall softball team welcomes a BIG EAST foe to Mike Sheppard Sr. Field for the first time this season, as Georgetown visits South Orange for a three...
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South Orange, N.J. – The Seton Hall softball team welcomes a BIG EAST foe to Mike Sheppard Sr. Field for the first time this season, as Georgetown visits South Orange for a three-game series beginning on Friday afternoon. First pitch for Friday is set for 2 p.m., while Saturday's start time is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday's finale will get underway at 12 p.m. All three games can be seen live on the Pirate Sports Network on FloSoftball.
LAST TIME OUT
The Pirates swept a doubleheader on Wednesday at home against Manhattan, winning game one by a score of 8-0 before defeating the Jaspers in game two, 9-7. Kelsey Carr (Ridgewood, N.Y.) got the start in the circle in game one and shut down Manhattan's offense, while Andrea Perez (Corona, Calif.) had a pair of hits and three RBI. In game two, the Pirates scored all nine of their runs in the second inning and were able to fend off a late Manhattan rally to claim the win. Seven different Pirates drove in a run across the two games, including Perez who had four RBI over the doubleheader. Olivia Gilbert (Johnston, R.I.) went 5-for-7 with two doubles and three RBI in the two games.
SCOUTING GEORGETOWN (5-16, 1-2)
- The Hoyas opened BIG EAST play last weekend at home against Villanova, winning the opener before dropping the final two games.
- Most recently, Georgetown defeated Hampton, 4-2, in non-conference action on Wednesday.
- This will be Georgetown's first trip to South Orange since Apr. 27-28, 2019, a series in which the Pirates took two out of three.
- Offensively, the Hoyas are led by Kayla Dunn and her team-leading .370 batting average. Cameron Kondo provides the power for the Georgetown lineup with a team-best five home runs this season.
- Seton Hall and Georgetown have met 33 times previously, with the Pirates holding a 21-12 edge in the series. The Pirates have won four of the last five meetings.
- Seton Hall's nine-run inning on Wednesday against Manhattan was its most in one frame since a 10-run rally in the fifth inning against Army on March 6, 2020.
- The Pirates collected 24 hits across Wednesday's doubleheader, their most in a double dip since banging out 28 hits against UMBC and Saint Joseph's on Feb. 20, 2022.
- Kelsey Carr was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week for her performance on Sunday at UConn in which she struck out a career-high 11 batters and allowed just one run in a complete game win.
- The Pirates have received BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks, as Shelby Smith (Friendswood, Texas) shared the honor the week prior after striking out 24 batters over two appearances against North Dakota and Texas Tech. Smith was the first Pirate hurler since at least 2016 to have back-to-back appearances with double digit strikeouts.
- Seton Hall's pitching has been the story so far this season. The team's 2.66 ERA ranks second-best among BIG EAST staffs. Carr's 1.59 ERA is the lowest among BIG EAST hurlers.
- Carr has allowed just one run over her last 12.1 inning of work.
- Shelby Smith enters Friday with 270 career strikeouts to her name, just 30 shy of 300 for her career. She would become the seventh Pirate pitcher to reach 300 strikeouts and the first to reach the milestone since Reganne Camp in 2020.
- Abby Wingo (Portland, Ore.) tallied her 100th career base hit on March 4 against Texas Tech.
- Taylor Hill (Little Falls, N.J.) hit her fourth home run of the season on March 5 against Rutgers, her 14th game of the season. During Hill's freshman season it took her 31 games before she hit her fourth homer.
- Hill has reached base in 18 of the 19 games this season, including a 14-game on-base streak to open the season.
- Seton Hall's game against Rutgers on March 5 was its third extra innings game so far this season, already nearly matching its total of four such games from the 2022 season.
All three games this weekend can be seen live on the Pirate Sports Network. A link to sign up with special Seton Hall pricing can be found here. Live stats for the game can be accessed here.