Pirates Open BIG EAST Softball Championships on Wednesday - Seton Hall University Athletics
Storrs, Conn. – The Pirates open their 2023 BIG EAST Softball Championship journey on Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. when they face sixth-seeded DePaul at Burrill
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Storrs, Conn. – The Pirates open their 2023 BIG EAST Softball Championship journey on Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. when they face sixth-seeded DePaul at Burrill Family Field. If the Pirates win, they will advance to take on No. 2 seed Villanova on Thursday in the winner's bracket. With a loss, The Hall would play in an elimination game on Wednesday night against either No. 4 Butler or No. 5 St. John's.
BACK IN THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
The Pirates are the No. 3 seed at this week's BIG EAST Softball Championship, making their first appearance in the field since the 2015 season. That year, the Pirates made the Championship Game in the then-single elimination tournament, defeating DePaul in the opening round before falling to St. John's in the title game. The Pirates were also the No. 3 seed in that year's event.
LAST TIME OUT
The Pirates went 2-1 over the weekend against Butler to close out the regular season. Seton Hall took game on, 2-1 after a pitcher's duel between Kelsey Carr (Ridgewood, N.Y.) and Butler starter Mackenzie Griman. Ashly Colonnetta (Cypress, Texas) won the game for the Pirates in the bottom of the seventh on a walk-off infield single. In game two, Abby Wingo (Portland, Ore.) hit a first inning grand slam to highlight a five-run first inning in the 6-2 win.
NEWS & NOTES
- The Pirates earned several All-BIG EAST awards on Tuesday afternoon. 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 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.
- 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.
- Wingo enters the week one hit shy of breaking the single season record of 64 hits held by Katie Pierce and Valerie Suto. Her grand slam on Senior Day on Saturday tied the record.
- Wingo has hit safely in 34 of her last 37 games. She has only gone hitless in eight of the 53 games she has played this season and has only failed to record a hit in back-to-back games once.
- The Pirates are closing in on breaking several single-season team records in 2023. The group has already set new marks in runs scored and RBI and are on pace to break the team's single-season hits mark of 449. Seton Hall also owns a .306 team batting average, just shy of the record of .307 from the 1999 season.
- Seton Hall's 18 BIG EAST victories this season are a new program record. The Pirates' 38 overall wins this season are their most since winning 46 games in 2004.
- Wingo is looking to become the third Pirate ever to bat over .400 for a season. Her .403 average currently sits as the third-highest single-season batting average in team history.
- Shelby Smith's no-hitter on April 22 at Providence was the 21st in program history and the first since Ashley Forsyth's perfect game at Saint Peter's on April 8, 2010. As a result of the no-hitter, Smith was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week on Monday.
- Kelsey Carr was electric during the month of April. She batted .469 with seven home runs, 30 RBI, a 1.567 OPS, and a 2.29 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched. In just BIG EAST games during the month of April, Carr batted .500 (14-for-28) with four home runs, 22 RBI and a 2.66 ERA in 23.2 innings.
- Carr has had a resurgent year in the circle, owning a 1.87 ERA through 104.2 innings of work this season. No Seton Hall pitcher has posted an ERA under 2.00 since 2005. She has been named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week twice this season and has been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll four times.
- The Pirates captured their 30th win of the season on April 18 at Marist, reaching that mark for the first time since 2005. That season was also the last time the program won a BIG EAST title.
- The Pirates will finish with an overall record above .500 for the first time since 2006, when they finished 29-27.
- Seton Hall has displayed an ability to win games in multiple different ways in 2023. The Pirates have won 11 games this year via mercy rule, and have won 14 of their last 17 games decided by two runs or less.
- Carr tied the single-game program record for runs batted in on April 16 at DePaul, finishing with seven RBI. She tied Danielle DeStaso's mark which was set against St. Bonaventure on Feb. 8, 2013.
- Smith picked up her 300th career strikeout on April 1 during her 10-strikeout performance. Smith became the seventh Pirate to achieve the milestone and the first since Reganne Camp in 2020.
- Smith was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on March 27 for her two-way prowess at Creighton. She went 6-for-11 (.545) with two RBI at the plate while also firing a complete game victory in game one of Saturday's doubleheader. This is Smith's second BIG EAST honor of the season, as she was named Co-Pitcher of the Week on March 6.
- Erin Howard was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on April 3 after a strong run producing weekend against St. John's. In four games, she batted a team-best .556 (5-for-9) with six RBI. In the 10 games she has started this season, she has RBI's in five of them.
- Seton Hall's nine-run inning on March 15 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' 3-2 win over Texas Tech on March 4 was the program's second ever win against a Big 12 opponent, and first since defeating Kansas, 3-2, on Feb. 17, 2008.
- Wingo tallied her 100th career base hit on March 4 against Texas Tech.
Wednesday's game against DePaul can be seen live on the BIG EAST Digital Network.