Pirates and Blue Demons square off in BIG EAST semifinal on FOX Sports 2 (2 PM ET)
May 7, 2015
2015 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY NEW YORK LIFE - ROSEMONT, ILL.
SEMIFINAL ROUND
First Pitch: 2:00 PM ET TV: FOX Sports 2
#2 DE PAUL
#3 SETON HALL
Seton Hall Game Notes
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
After picking up a series victory over Georgetown on the final weekend of the regular season, the Seton Hall softball team will make its second BIG EAST Championship appearance in three years as the third-seeded Pirates are set to face off with reigning champions and #2 seed DePaul on Friday afternoon in the semifinal round of the four-team tournament.
The Hall and the Blue Demons (22-23, 13-4) will play the first of three games slated to be played at the tournament between Friday and Saturday. Top-seeded St. John's will meet Villanova in the other semifinal with the winners advancing to Saturday's title game.
All three contests are scheduled to be shown live nationally on FOX Sports 2 and the FOX Sports Go app.
Posting double-digit victories in BIG EAST play for the first time since 2009, the Pirates (24-27, 10-10) enter Rosemont as winners of seven of their last 10 games. Making their 11th appearance on the BIG EAST stage, Seton Hall is seeking its third conference title and its first since going back-to-back in 2004 and 2005.
Head coach Paige Smith has guided the program back to the postseason after a 2014 campaign in which the team won 15 games. The improvement of nine victories matches the second-largest turnaround in program history and marks the first time that SHU has made such a significant leap since capturing its first BIG EAST championship over a decade ago.
With a lineup that is headlined by three All-BIG EAST First Team honorees in Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.), Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) and Alexis Walkden (Cibolo, Texas), the Pirates boast one of the most prolific offenses in the conference.
Entering the weekend, SHU leads the league in runs scored (250), home runs (59) andstolen bases (56) and ranks second with 380 hits for the season.
A unanimous selection to the first team as well for Rookie of the Year, Walkden has launched a single-season program record 20 HR as part of the squad's record-setting power display.
As a team, the Pirates have combined to rack up 59 home runs in 51 games, shattering the previous program record of 40 in one season.
Senior Sara Haefeli (Montclair, N.J.) has belted 13 homers of her own behind Walkden in the middle of the order and completed the regular season tops among all BIG EAST outfielders in HR, RBIs (39), doubles (12) and total bases (98).
Only the fourth Pirate to be named an All-BIG EAST honoree in three seasons, DeStaso has delivered both at the plate and in the pitcher's circle. The Congers native has tallied a career-high 11 home runs this season and now stands second in Seton Hall history with 34 on her career, trailing only Laura Taylor's 59.
The impact of the power surge is minimized without runners on base and that is where the top of the Seton Hall order has excelled. Harrell logged a .548 on-base percentage in nine games against the other three teams in the field; highlighted by a .700 mark in the DePaul series. Ranked third in the league in hits and stolen bases, Harrell went 14-for-28 from the plate in those nine contests and was a perfect 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts.
Seton Hall dropped all three games to DePaul in the regular season but were just three outs away from taking the opener of the three-game set after taking a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning.
For the Blue Demons, second team All-BIG EAST selection Mary Connolly is a dangerous two-way player who serves as the team's ace and one of its primary sources of offensive production. SHU did get to Connolly for five runs in her first outing however and she will be up against a Pirate team that is peaking at the right time.
The Pirates have won seven of their last 10 games overall and six players have recorded four or more RBIs during that span. Both DeStaso and classmate Casey Moses (Lower Burrell, Pa.) have held opposing hitters to a batting average under .265 while the two have combined with sophomore Lauren Fischer (Robbinsville, N.J.) to post a staff earned-run average of 3.15 down the stretch.
The success has also been driven by a mix of tested veterans and impact newcomers has enabled the Pirates to thrive in the tightly-contested games characteristic of postseason play.
Less than a week ago, senior Whitney Jones (Skowhegan, Maine) ripped an 11th-inning single that helped The Hall past Georgetown, 4-3. The victory was part of a doubleheader sweep that clinched a trip to Rosemont and marked the seventh time that Seton Hall has walked off a winner this season.
Overall, 11 of SHU's 24 wins have come by a one-run margin; evidencing the fact that this team is not short on those who can come up with decisive contributions in pressure situations.
Should Friday's matchup follow a similar script to that of the previous postseason meeting between Seton Hall and DePaul - a 1-0 Blue Demons win in 2009 -- the Pirates will have those experiences to call upon as they seek their first BIG EAST Tournament triumph since hoisting the hardware in 2005.
First pitch from the Ballpark at Rosemont is slated for 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. CT. For info in where to find FOX Sports 2 on television, click HERE. A live stream will also be available on FOX Sports Go.
For updates throughout the weekend, follow @SHUSoftball on Twitter.
http://www.shupirates.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/050715aab.html
May 7, 2015
2015 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY NEW YORK LIFE - ROSEMONT, ILL.
SEMIFINAL ROUND
First Pitch: 2:00 PM ET TV: FOX Sports 2
Seton Hall Game Notes
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
After picking up a series victory over Georgetown on the final weekend of the regular season, the Seton Hall softball team will make its second BIG EAST Championship appearance in three years as the third-seeded Pirates are set to face off with reigning champions and #2 seed DePaul on Friday afternoon in the semifinal round of the four-team tournament.
The Hall and the Blue Demons (22-23, 13-4) will play the first of three games slated to be played at the tournament between Friday and Saturday. Top-seeded St. John's will meet Villanova in the other semifinal with the winners advancing to Saturday's title game.
All three contests are scheduled to be shown live nationally on FOX Sports 2 and the FOX Sports Go app.
Posting double-digit victories in BIG EAST play for the first time since 2009, the Pirates (24-27, 10-10) enter Rosemont as winners of seven of their last 10 games. Making their 11th appearance on the BIG EAST stage, Seton Hall is seeking its third conference title and its first since going back-to-back in 2004 and 2005.
Head coach Paige Smith has guided the program back to the postseason after a 2014 campaign in which the team won 15 games. The improvement of nine victories matches the second-largest turnaround in program history and marks the first time that SHU has made such a significant leap since capturing its first BIG EAST championship over a decade ago.
With a lineup that is headlined by three All-BIG EAST First Team honorees in Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.), Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) and Alexis Walkden (Cibolo, Texas), the Pirates boast one of the most prolific offenses in the conference.
Entering the weekend, SHU leads the league in runs scored (250), home runs (59) andstolen bases (56) and ranks second with 380 hits for the season.
A unanimous selection to the first team as well for Rookie of the Year, Walkden has launched a single-season program record 20 HR as part of the squad's record-setting power display.
As a team, the Pirates have combined to rack up 59 home runs in 51 games, shattering the previous program record of 40 in one season.
Senior Sara Haefeli (Montclair, N.J.) has belted 13 homers of her own behind Walkden in the middle of the order and completed the regular season tops among all BIG EAST outfielders in HR, RBIs (39), doubles (12) and total bases (98).
Only the fourth Pirate to be named an All-BIG EAST honoree in three seasons, DeStaso has delivered both at the plate and in the pitcher's circle. The Congers native has tallied a career-high 11 home runs this season and now stands second in Seton Hall history with 34 on her career, trailing only Laura Taylor's 59.
The impact of the power surge is minimized without runners on base and that is where the top of the Seton Hall order has excelled. Harrell logged a .548 on-base percentage in nine games against the other three teams in the field; highlighted by a .700 mark in the DePaul series. Ranked third in the league in hits and stolen bases, Harrell went 14-for-28 from the plate in those nine contests and was a perfect 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts.
Seton Hall dropped all three games to DePaul in the regular season but were just three outs away from taking the opener of the three-game set after taking a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning.
For the Blue Demons, second team All-BIG EAST selection Mary Connolly is a dangerous two-way player who serves as the team's ace and one of its primary sources of offensive production. SHU did get to Connolly for five runs in her first outing however and she will be up against a Pirate team that is peaking at the right time.
The Pirates have won seven of their last 10 games overall and six players have recorded four or more RBIs during that span. Both DeStaso and classmate Casey Moses (Lower Burrell, Pa.) have held opposing hitters to a batting average under .265 while the two have combined with sophomore Lauren Fischer (Robbinsville, N.J.) to post a staff earned-run average of 3.15 down the stretch.
The success has also been driven by a mix of tested veterans and impact newcomers has enabled the Pirates to thrive in the tightly-contested games characteristic of postseason play.
Less than a week ago, senior Whitney Jones (Skowhegan, Maine) ripped an 11th-inning single that helped The Hall past Georgetown, 4-3. The victory was part of a doubleheader sweep that clinched a trip to Rosemont and marked the seventh time that Seton Hall has walked off a winner this season.
Overall, 11 of SHU's 24 wins have come by a one-run margin; evidencing the fact that this team is not short on those who can come up with decisive contributions in pressure situations.
Should Friday's matchup follow a similar script to that of the previous postseason meeting between Seton Hall and DePaul - a 1-0 Blue Demons win in 2009 -- the Pirates will have those experiences to call upon as they seek their first BIG EAST Tournament triumph since hoisting the hardware in 2005.
First pitch from the Ballpark at Rosemont is slated for 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. CT. For info in where to find FOX Sports 2 on television, click HERE. A live stream will also be available on FOX Sports Go.
For updates throughout the weekend, follow @SHUSoftball on Twitter.
http://www.shupirates.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/050715aab.html
John Fanta @John_Fanta 
