Pirates Open 2024 Season at Joan Joyce Classic - Seton Hall University Athletics
Boca Raton, Fla. – The defense of a title begins on Friday. The 2024 Seton Hall softball season gets underway on Friday morning as the Pirates take part in...
Boca Raton, Fla. – The defense of a title begins on Friday. The 2024 Seton Hall softball season gets underway on Friday morning as the Pirates take part in the Joan Joyce Classic, hosted by Florida Atlantic University. Seton Hall will open against Michigan and Louisville on Friday before squaring off with Maine and FAU on Saturday. The weekend wraps up with a second matchup with the Wolverines on Sunday morning.
2023: A SEASON TO REMEMBER
The Pirates experienced one of the greatest seasons in program history in 2023, going 42-18 overall and 18-6 in BIG EAST play en route to the team's first BIG EAST title since 2005. The title was the third in program history as The Hall went a perfect 4-0 in the tournament, hosted by UConn, to capture the crown. Seton Hall earned the BIG EAST's automatic bid, where they were placed in the Austin Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
Friday, Feb. 16
9 a.m. – Seton Hall vs. Michigan (Live Video | Live Stats)
11:30 a.m. – Seton Hall vs. Louisville (Live Video | Live Stats)
Saturday, Feb. 17
1:30 p.m. – Seton Hall vs. Maine (Live Video | Live Stats)
6 p.m. – Seton Hall at FAU (Live Video | Live Stats)
Sunday, Feb. 18
9 a.m. – Seton Hall vs. Michigan (Live Video | Live Stats)
NEWS & NOTES
- 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. Center fielder 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 is set to coach against her alma mater in Michigan. 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. 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.
All five games this weekend will be available to watch live. The Pirates' matchup with FAU on Saturday night will be streamed for free on FAUsports.com. All other Seton Hall games this weekend can be seen on FloSoftball.
