Seton Hall Opens 2023 Campaign At No. 12 North Carolina - Seton Hall University Athletics
Seton Hall looks to bounce back following an uncharacteristic 2022 campaign
shupirates.com
Games 1-3: No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels (0-0) vs, Seton Hall Pirates (0-0)
Feb. 17-19 • Chapel Hill, N.C.
TV: ACC Network Extra Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Follow Along: Instagram | Twitter | Live Stats Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Friday: Senior Brennan O'Neill (Morristown, N.J.) vs. Max Carlson
Saturday: Sophomore Daniel Frontera (Red Bank, N.J.) vs. Will Sandy
Sunday: TBD vs. Connor Bovair
WHO'S BACK FOR THE PIRATES?
- Seton Hall returns 14 players that have been in South Orange for at least four years, including four veteran graduate pitchers in O'Neill, Nick Payero (Monroe, N.J.), Joe Cinnella (Mahwah, N.J.) and Alex Nicolosi (Stony Point, N.Y.).
- Highlighting the Pirates' redshirt junior class is All-BIG EAST performer Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.), Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Devin Hack (Somerville, N.J.).
- Gale was named to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team for the second time his career this season after struggling with injuries last season.
- Despite the setbacks, Gale hit .336 with an OPS of .800 in 35 games and hit .426 in conference play while stealing 20 bases.
- With a year under their belts, sophomores Daniel Frontera, Pat D'Amico (Lynnfield, Mass.), Jedier Hernandez (Trenton, N.J.) and Michael Callan Moss (Brooklyn, N.Y.) will look make an impact after seeing extended playing time as freshmen.
- The Pirates have added multiple transfers in redshirt sophomore pitcher Cole Hansen (Rutgers), junior pitcher Jay Allmer (UNC Asheville), junior infielder Max Viera (Northeastern) and graduate pitcher Dom DiRado (Vestal, N.Y.).
- As a freshman at Northeastern, Viera batted .348, the highest by any NU freshman since 2011, and was named Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American, CAA All-First Team and CAA All-Rookie Team
- The Seton Hall baseball coaching staff is now made up of three alums in head coach Rob Sheppard, entering his 19th season, associate head coach Giuseppe Papaccio and assistant coach Ryan Ramiz.
- Papaccio returns to South Orange following a successful four-year tenure as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at NJIT. He most notably helped guide the Highlanders to the 2021 America East championship and a victory at the NCAA Regional that season in Fayetteville, Ark.
- As a senior at The Hall in 2013, Papaccio had one of the finest offensive seasons in Seton Hall history. Unanimously named a First Team All-BIG EAST selection and New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association's (NJCBA) Player of the Year, he finished ranked third in the BIG EAST with a .365 batting average and led the conference in doubles. Further showing his prowess for the two-base hit, Papaccio set Seton Hall's career record with 56 doubles and tied the single-season Pirate record with 24. Batting primarily in the cleanup position in the Seton Hall lineup, Papaccio led the Pirates in seven offensive categories, including batting average, slugging percentage and RBIs.
- With 237 career hits, only three players in Pirates' history have garnered more. Only two Pirates have played in more games and only former teammate A.J. Rusbarsky had more at bats. Named to the Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-American Third Team by Collegiate Baseball, he was drafted in the 18th round by Chicago on June 8, 2013.
- Ramiz steadily progressed over his four-year career, collecting All-BIG EAST Second Team accolades as a junior and All-BIG EAST First Team honors as a senior. The Freehold, N.J., native hit a team-best .316 with 13 doubles and 32 RBI as a senior for a Seton Hall squad that advanced to the BIG EAST Championship game. In conference play, Ramiz led the BIG EAST with a .429 batting average (24-for-56) and a .528 on-base percentage.
- The Pirates' first-year pitching coach is Jimmy Moran, who was an area scouting supervisor and Minor League coach for the Cincinnati Reds the past seven seasons and has BIG EAST as a pitcher at South Florida from 2010-11.
