Providence, R.I. – The reigning champs are back. The Pirates travel to Providence this week to try and capture a second straight title at the BIG EAST Tour...
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Providence, R.I. – The reigning champs are back. The Pirates travel to Providence this week to try and capture a second straight title at the BIG EAST Tournament, a quest which starts on Wednesday at 12 p.m. with a showdown against St. John's. With a win, the fourth-seeded Pirates would advance to face No. 1 seed Villanova on Thursday at 12 p.m. A defeat would mean Seton Hall would play an elimination game at 6 p.m. on Wednesday against the loser of the matchup between No. 3 Creighton and No. 6 Butler.
BIG EAST POSTSEASON AWARDS ANNOUNCED
Katey Brennan (Yardley, Pa.) was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year on Tuesday, becoming the second Pirate in three years and third Seton Hall player overall to win the award (
Taylor Hill '22, Alexis Walkden '15). Brennan was second on the team with a .363 batting average in BIG EAST play while leading the team in RBI (21) and hits (29) against league opponents. Brennan ranked in the top-10 in the conference in hits, RBI, doubles and total bases. In Brennan's 89 plate appearances in BIG EAST games, she struck out just eight times.
For the second straight year, the Pirates placed three players on the All-BIG EAST First Team. Freshman of the Year Brennan joined first baseman
Olivia Gilbert (Johnston, R.I.) and pitcher/utility
Kelsey Carr (Ridgewood, N.Y.) on the team. It marks the first time in program history in which the Pirates have had three players on the First Team in back-to-back seasons. Carr, who was named to the First Team in 2023 after winning BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, became the first Pirate to land on the First Team in consecutive seasons since Danielle DeStaso in 2014-2015.
NEWS & NOTES
- The Pirates are in search of their fourth BIG EAST Tournament title, and are looking to go back-to-back for the second time in program history (2004 & 2005).
- Kelsey Carr's no-hitter on April 23 was the 22nd in program history and was nearly one year to the day of the last no-no thrown by a Pirate (Shelby Smith on April 22, 2023 at Providence).
- Carr also picked up her 100th career base hit last week, doing so by hitting an RBI single in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader at Army.
- Taylor Hill is closing in on breaking the single-season record for runs scored for the second consecutive season. Hill has crossed the plate 47 times so far in 2024, nearing her mark of 48 runs set last season. Hill's 0.98 runs per game is tops in the BIG EAST and 42nd in the country.
- Seton Hall owns the best fielding percentage in country at .984. The Pirates have committed only 22 errors in 1,381 chances so far this season.
- Olivia Gilbert was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after batting .625 over the series victory against DePaul last weekend.
- Taylor Hill picked up her 150th career hit earlier this season and also became just the fifth in program history to surpass the 40 double mark. Hill's .347 career batting average sits as the third-highest in program history.
- The Pirates have won at least 10 BIG EAST games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004-2005.
- Seton Hall will finish with an overall record above .500 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2005-2006.
- The Pirates have won 47 of their last 48 games when scoring six or more runs.
- Caye's walk-off home run against UIC on March 2 was the first non-run rule walk-off home run for the Pirates since Baylee Allender hit one against Georgetown on April 6, 2019.
- For Caye, it was her first home run since April 16, 2022 against Georgetown.
- The Pirates were picked to finish third in the BIG EAST preseason poll, behind second-place UConn and first-place Villanova. Seton Hall finished in third place in last year's standings.
- Seton Hall will be tasked with replacing some key producers from last year's squad. Centerfielder and last year's team leader in batting average Abby Wingo, second baseman Ashly Colonnetta, and left fielder Marisa Pla have all graduated along with reserves Grace Dawson, Ally Taylor and Jordan Tressler. Pitcher Shelby Smith, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Tournament, transferred to Houston. Catcher Regan Rand has also transferred to Division-II Indiana (Pa.).
- The Hall welcome in a pair of freshmen to the 2024 squad. Outfielder Katey Brennan and pitcher Karissa Dupuis will both look to be key contributors in South Orange this upcoming season.
- The Pirates earned several All-BIG EAST awards at the conclusion of the 2023 season. Kelsey Carr was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, Abby Wingo was named Defensive Player of the Year, and the coaching staff led by Angie Churchill was named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. Carr, Wingo and Shelby Smith were all named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, with Carr being a unanimous selection.
- Carr is the first Pirate pitcher to be named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year. The junior led the league in ERA (1.82), reaching that number after 61.2 innings of work. Carr only allowed more than two earned runs in a start just twice during BIG EAST play.
- Carr was one of just two players in the country last season to finish with a sub-2.00 ERA, hit 10+ home runs and drive in 50+ runs (Valerie Cagle, Clemson).
- Wingo was the first Pirate recipient of the Defensive Player of the Year award. The senior had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 31 chances in center field. Wingo had the third-highest number of chances among BIG EAST outfielders and had the most chances among center fielders in the league.
- Abby Wingo set new single-season records in base hits (71) and longest hitting streak (19 games) last season. Her .397 average led the club, and she only failed to collect a base-hit in consecutive games twice all year.
- Seton Hall's 18 BIG EAST victories last season were a new program record, and the team's 42 wins rank as the second-most in program history (46, 2004).
- Seton Hall's win over Villanova on Day Two of the BIG EAST Tournament was its 40th win of the season, reaching that plateau for just the second time in program history. Entering the year, Seton Hall had not won 30 games in a season since 2005.
- The Pirates finished with an overall record above .500 for the first time since 2006, when they finished 29-27.
