Pirates Set for Non-Conference Clashes with Rider, Lehigh - Seton Hall University Athletics
Riding a 12-2 stretch over its last 14 games, the Seton Hall softball team looks to continue its winning ways this week.
shupirates.com
South Orange, N.J. – Riding a 12-2 stretch over its last 14 games, the Seton Hall softball team looks to continue its winning ways this week. The Pirates will play five games against a pair of non-conference foes, starting with a home doubleheader on Wednesday against Rider. The Hall will then travel to Lehigh for a three-game set beginning on Friday.
LAST TIME OUT
The Pirates picked up their second straight sweep over a conference opponent, this time going 3-0 against St. John's at home. Stellar pitching led the way for the Pirates in this series, outscoring the Red Storm, 13-2, over the three-game sweep. Kelsey Carr (Ridgewood, N.Y.) pitched 10 scoreless innings, including a three-hit complete game shutout on Friday, en route to being named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season. Olivia Gilbert (Johnston, R.I.) had four hits and two RBI in the series, while BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Erin Howard (Skillman, N.J.) had three hits and three runs driven in.
SCOUTING RIDER (6-20, 0-4 MAAC)
- Rider enters Wednesday on a seven-game losing streak, most recently dropping a doubleheader on Monday at Fairfield. Both losses for the Broncs came by just one run.
- Jaedyn Merrill leads the team with a .327 batting average to go along with a pair of home runs and 14 RBI.
- Fallyn Stoeckel leads Rider's pitching staff with a 2.73 ERA in 41 innings of work.
- Though separated by just under 50 miles, Rider and Seton Hall have not met in 23 years. This will be the first meeting between the sides since March 23, 2000, when the Pirates swept a doubleheader from the Broncs. Rider leads the all-time series, 17-10-1, but Seton Hall has won the last five.
- The Mountain Hawks are defending Patriot League champions and enter the week having won 10 straight games.
- Josie Charles paces the Lehigh offense with a batting average of .448. Four other Mountain Hawks enter with averages north of .300, including Emily Cimino who has a club best 29 RBI and ties for the team lead with six home runs.
- The Mountain Hawks also boast a pair of aces with Chloe Hess and Katelyn Young. Both have season ERA's below 2.00, with Hess leading the staff at 1.59. Young is the workhorse on the Lehigh pitching staff with 106 innings pitched thus far in 2023 to go with a 1.72 ERA.
- Lehigh leads the all-time series, 8-6, but the Pirates swept a doubleheader from the Mountain Hawks during their last meeting on March 7, 2021. Seton Hall has won four of the last five meetings.
- The Pirates enter the week 12-2 over their last 14 games, the team's best 10-game stretch since 2006.
- Friday's win over St. John's brought the Pirates to 7-3 through 10 BIG EAST games, marking the program's best 10-game start to conference play since 2005 when the Pirates opened BIG EAST play at 8-2 through 10 games.
- Shelby Smith picked up her 300th career strikeout on Saturday during her 10 strikeout performance. Smith became the seventh Pirate to achieve the milestone and the first since Reganne Camp in 2020.
- Abby Wingo (Portland, Ore.) saw her career-best 14-game hitting streak come to an end on Sunday. The streak tied for the second-longest hitting streak in Pirates history, just two shy of matching Yasmin Harrell for the program record.
- Wingo has hits in 21 of her last 23 games, a stretch which has seen her bat .452. Her average over that stretch is more than .100 points better than the next closest teammate (Gilbert: .348).
- Carr was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week on Monday, the second time this season she has earned the honor. It is also the fourth straight week with a BIG EAST honor for Carr after landing on Honor Roll the last two weeks. Carr pitched 10 scoreless innings last weekend against St. John's, allowing just three base hits and striking out nine.
- Carr has established herself as one of the top pitchers in the BIG EAST. Her 1.48 season ERA and 1.24 conference ERA both rank as best in the league. She is on pace to have be the first Pirate pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA in a season since Megan Meyer in 2005 (0.92).
- Howard was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for her run production last week. 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.
- Gilbert landed on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after batting .471 with a home run and four RBI last week. On the season, Gilbert leads the team with 26 RBI and 10 multi-hit games.
- Taylor Hill and Abby Wingo are both riding lengthy on-base streaks. Hill's currently sits at 16 straight games, while Wingo has reached base in 15 straight.
- Smith was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on March 27 for her two-way prowess this 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 Pitcher of the Week on March 6.
- 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 collected 24 hits across the doubleheader against Manhattan on March 15, their most in a double dip since banging out 28 hits against UMBC and Saint Joseph's on Feb. 20, 2022.
- Shelby Smith earned BIG EAST Co-Pitcher of the Week honors on March 6 after striking out 24 batters across back-to-back starts against North Dakota and Texas Tech. Smith was the first Pirate hurler since at least 2016 to have back-to-back appearances with double digit strikeouts.
- 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 games against Rider will not be live streamed. This weekend's games against Lehigh can be seen on ESPN+. Live stats for all games this week can be accessed here.
