Pirates Head West for Sun Devil/GCU Classic - Seton Hall University Athletics
Phoenix, Ariz. – Weekend number two of the regular season gets underway on Friday for Seton Hall softball as it takes part in the Sun Devil/GCU Classic .
Phoenix, Ariz. – Weekend number two of the regular season gets underway on Friday for Seton Hall softball as it takes part in the Sun Devil/GCU Classic.
The event, hosted by Arizona State and Grand Canyon, begins for the Pirates on Friday with a doubleheader against Texas State and ASU at Farrington Stadium on the Sun Devils' campus in Tempe. Saturday features another double dip with contests against New Mexico State and Grand Canyon, to be held at GCU Softball Stadium in Phoenix. On Sunday, the Pirates return to ASU to face Utah Valley to conclude the weekend.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Four of the Pirates' opponents enter the weekend with winning records so far in 2024, and the lone team with a losing record, Utah Valley, lost a pair of one-run contests to nationally ranked No. 5 Washington and No. 13 Nebraska. Grand Canyon took down No. 17 Virginia Tech last weekend, and is one season removed from downing No. 2 UCLA in perhaps the biggest upset in NCAA Softball history. Arizona State and New Mexico State each enter the weekend with seven wins and have faced competition either in or just outside the top 25 this year.
PIRATES AND BOBCATS DO BATTLE AGAIN
The Pirates will open the weekend with a matchup against Texas State, a rematch of the Austin Regional elimination game from last year's NCAA Tournament. That game saw the Bobcats overcome an early deficit to eliminate the Pirates with a 4-3 victory. Texas State scored three times in the fifth and once more in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead. The Pirates would tack on a run in the seventh and get the tying run to third in their final at bat but could not knot things up.
Friday, Feb. 23 (Farrington Stadium – Tempe, Ariz.)
12:30 p.m. – Seton Hall vs. Texas State (Live Stats)
6 p.m. – Seton Hall at Arizona State (Live Video | Live Stats)
Saturday, Feb. 24 (GCU Softball Stadium – Phoenix, Ariz.)
1 p.m. – Seton Hall vs. New Mexico State (Live Stats)
6 p.m. – Seton Hall at Grand Canyon (Live Video | Live Stats)
Sunday, Feb. 25 (Farrington Stadium – Tempe, Ariz.)
11 a.m. – Seton Hall vs. Utah Valley (Live Stats)
NEWS & NOTES
- Taylor Hill was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll this past week after going .500 (6-for-12) at the plate with three doubles, four runs scored and two RBI.
- This weekend will be a homecoming for a pair of Seton Hall seniors. Lela Allen and Sydney Babik both hail from the state of Arizona. Allen is from Phoenix and attended Sandra Day O'Connor High School, while Babik is from Gilbert and played softball at Chandler High School.
- 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.
- Seton Hall will face a tough non-conference slate in 2024, including matchups against three teams that won NCAA regional games last season an six opponents who won at least 34 games. Included in that bunch are dates with Grand Canyon, who pulled off a shocker last season against No. 2 UCLA, as well as a rematch of the Austin Regional elimination game against Texas State.
- The Pirates will face off against opponents from three of the power conferences this season: ACC (Louisville, Syracuse), Big 10 (Michigan) and PAC-12 (Arizona State).
- Head Coach Angie Churchill coached against her alma mater in Michigan last weekend for the first time in her career. Churchill was a four-year member of the Wolverines softball team from 2001-04, winning three Big Ten titles and reaching the College World Series three times.
- The Pirates earned several All-BIG EAST awards. 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. Enterting 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.
The Pirates' matchups against Arizona State on Friday and Grand Canyon on Saturday will be live streamed. Friday's game against ASU is available for free on PAC-12.com and Saturday's game against GCU requires an ESPN+ subscription. All five games can be followed through live stats here.
