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5/10/1999 12:00:00 AM | General
May 10, 1999 Sports Information, 973-761-9493 BASEBALL (27-16-1; 12-10)
The baseball team won three games last week extending their current winning streak to eight games. The Pirates defeated Princeton, 6-5 and swept a doubleheader from New York Tech, 13-3, 14-2. Seton Hall improves its record to 27-16-1 overall and 12-10 in the BIG EAST.
On Saturday (May 8), sophomore first baseman Brian Leighton (Brewster, NY) crushed a home run in each game and the Pirates pounded out a total of 29 hits en route to the sweep over New York Tech at Owen T. Carroll Field. Junior righthanders Cameron Esslinger (South Orange, NJ) and Damon Ponce de Leon (Demarest, NJ) were the winning pitchers. Neither allowed an earned run. Esslinger struck out five in five innings of work in game one to improve his record to 6-2 on the year. Ponce de Leon notched his fifth win of the season against one loss, with an eight strikeout performance. Brian Leighton (4-for-7, 2 HR, 4 RBI on the day) was just one of the offensive stars for the Pirates. Tony Calabrese (Riverside, CT) had a double and triple in each game and was 4-for-7 with four runs scored and two RBI. Senior outfielder Brian McGee (Marlton, NJ) was 6-for-8 on the day with three RBI and five runs scored, including 4-for-4 with three RBI and three runs in game one. Senior second baseman John Bravette (Belleville, NJ) knocked in five runs on the day and was 2-for-5 with a triple and three walks. Junior Alfie Critelli (Summit, NJ) hit his seventh homer of the season in the second game and knocked in four runs on the day. Junior third baseman Ray Navarrete (Morgan Hill, CA) was 4-for-8 with three RBI in the twinbill.
On Thursday (May 6), McGee saved a potential game-winning home run with a crashing catch up against the left field wall and junior Paul Viole (Demarest, NJ) threw 4.1 innings of hitless relief as Seton Hall built a 5-0 lead and held on for a 6-5 victory over Princeton University on May 6 at Clarke Field. The Pirates led 5-0 after three innings, scoring a run in the first inning on an RBI single by freshman outfielder Jeff Miller (Springfield, NJ). Miller's two-out, two-run single in the third inning made the score 3-1 and keyed a four-run inning. He was 2-for-3 with three RBI. The Pirates scored their next two runs on back-to-back doubles by sophomore Shawn Tarkington (Peekskill, NY) and sophomore Calabrese.. Viole (1-0) came in with no one out and shut the door on Princeton for 4.1 innings. He did not allow a hit and struck out seven. Viole ran into trouble in the ninth when he walked Princeton's Jay Mitchell and allowed him to advance to third base on two wild pitches. Probst entered the game with one out and after Mitchell scored on an error by senior third baseman Bravette, Princeton's Matt Evans hit the towering shot to left field that got caught up in the wind and hauled in by McGee. Senior Matt Duignan (New York, NY) came in to retire Princeton's Jon Watterson to end the game and record his first save of the year.
NEXT FOR THE PIRATES: Seton Hall travels to Montclair State for a 7:30 game on Tuesday (May 11). The Pirates host William Paterson on Wednesday (May 12) at 3:00 p.m. Connecticut comes to South Orange for a three-game series with a noon doubleheader on Saturday (May 15) and a single game on Sunday (May 16).
SOFTBALL (39-8; 12-4)
The softball team lost to top-seeded Notre Dame, 5-1, in the championship
game of the 1999 BIG EAST Championship, held at Connecticut Softball Stadium,
Sunday (May 9). The second-seed Pirates opened the tournament on Saturday
(May 8) with a 4-3 loss to third-seed Boston College. Seton Hall
bounced back on Sunday with wins over Connecticut, 4-1 in eight innings
and Boston College, 4-3 to advance to the championship showdown with Notre
Dame. The Pirates finish the season with a 39-8 overall record, 12-4 in
the BIG EAST and are currently awaiting a possible at-large bid to the
NCAA Tournament. The announcement will be made on Sunday (May 16).
On Saturday (May 8), Boston College fought off two late-inning Pirate
rallies to defeat Seton Hall, 4-3. Seton Hall jumped out to a 2-0
lead in the first inning as Jen Rosant (Cliffwood Beach, NJ) hit a two-run
home run, scoring Kerry Kirk (Ramsey, NJ), who had reached first on a bunt
single. The Eagles tied the score in the second inning and added
two more in the third. The Pirates closed the gap to 4-3 in the bottom
of the third when Vickie Lamb (Yorktown Heights, NY) hit a solo home run.
Misty Beaver (Machesney Park, IL) suffered the loss giving up six hits
and striking out nine batters.
Because of rain on Saturday, the Pirates were forced to play three
games on Sunday (May 9) in the double-elimination tournament. Seton
Hall opened the day with a 4-1 victory over Connecticut in eight innings.
Beaver earned the win for the Pirates in relief of starter Jenn Berghoff
(Milford, NJ) who was forced to leave the game after being hit by a batted
ball early in second inning. Beaver threw seven innings, allowed
three hits and no runs while striking out three. Trailing 1-0, the
Pirate tied the game in the seventh inning when Kim Jackson (Rockaway,
NJ) led off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt.
She then moved to third on a passed ball, and then scored on a passed ball.
In the top of the eighth inning, Natalie Denning (Manahawkin, NJ) reached
base on an error and Kristina Self (Rockaway, NJ) reached first on a fielder's
choice. Rosant moved the runners to second and third forcing the
Huskies to intentionally walk Lamb to load the bases. Freshman Amy-Lynn
Mellin (Petaluma, CA) cleared the bases with a game-winning three-run triple.
The win was the Pirates' first BIG EAST Tournament win since 1991.
Game two on the day featured Seton Hall and Boston College.
The Pirates jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning when Kirk walked.
Denning followed with a single. Shye Nakabayashi (Irvine, CA) moved
the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Rosant laid
down a successful suicide squeeze to scored Kirk and Denning scored on
an error. Lamb singled and stole second with Rosant swiping home.
The Pirates added an insurance run in the fifth as Rosant singled, advanced
to second on a wild pitch. Lamb struck out but reached first on a
dropped third strike, with Rosant moving to third. Jackson grounded out
to the pitcher, but Rosant was breaking on the pitch and scored the run.
Beaver earned the win pitching 4.1 innings and surrendering seven hits
and two earned runs. Berghoff pitched 2.2 innings in relief and scattered
three hits and one run.
The Pirates dropped the 5-1 decision to Notre Dame in the championship
game. Seton Hall's lone run came in the sixth inning when Denning
was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a ground out and scored on Lamb's
RBI single. Berghoff suffered the loss for the Pirates, giving up
seven hits and striking out two.
SOFTBALL'S ALL BIG EAST AWARDS
Seton Hall softball coach Ray VanderMay was named the 1999 BIG
EAST Softball Coach of the Year at the annual awards banquet held prior
to the championship.
Vickie Lamb was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team and Misty
Jenkins was selected to the All-BIG EAST Second Team. Kim Jackson
was chosen to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.
VanderMay orchestrated the best turnaround in league history
as he guided the Pirates to a best-ever 12-4 conference record after going
0-15 the previous season. Seton Hall completed the regular season
with a 37-6 record, the best in school history. The Pirates set new
school records for overall wins and conference win, while recording the
most victories for a Seton Hall women's athletics team. The 1999
campaign was VanderMay's third with the Pirates.
Lamb, a sophomore third baseman, was the top hitter in the conference
with a .486 average. She also led the league in home runs (14) and
runs batted in per game with 1.12. Lamb topped the Pirates with 42
runs scored and 48 RBI. In the NCAA statistics as of May 3, Lamb
ranked fourth in the nation in hitting. She was a four-time honoree
as BIG EAST Player of the Week, and was named Seton Hall's Sophomore Athlete
of the Year.
Beaver, a sophomore pitcher, compiled an 18-3 record with a 1.27
ERA during the regular season, the third best ERA in the league.
She led the Pirates' pitching staff in strikeouts with 159, an average
of 8.79 per game, also the third best in the BIG EAST.
Jackson, a freshman shortstop, ranked eighth in the BIG EAST
in batting with a .376 average and was first among conference rookies.
She scored 30 runs and drove in 26 for the Pirates, while posting a fielding
percentage of .932. In the NCAA statistics of May 3, Jackson ranked
fourth nationally in doubles with a team-high 16.
1998-99 Pirate Varsity Club Award Winners
Seton Hall University's annual Pirate Varsity Club Awards Banquet was
held Wednesday (May 5) in the Bishop Dougherty Student Center. Senior volleyball
player Renee Powell (Lincoln Park, MI) and senior baseball player John
Probst (Parsippany, NJ) were honored as the Female and Male Scholar-Athletes
of the Year. Junior Kelly Smith (Garston Watford Herts, England), a women's
soccer standout, was named the Female Athlete of the Year for the second
straight year, while senior golfer Mike Costigan (London, Ontario) and
junior soccer player Peter Scavo (Raritan, NJ) were named Male Co-Athletes
of the Year.
Track standout Audrey Griffin (Hollis, NY) was honored as the Senior
Female Athlete of the
Year, while baseball player John Bravette (Belleville, NJ) and swimmer
Rich Munson (Maplewood, NJ) are the Senior Male Co-Athletes of the Year.
Diver Kate Kelleher (North Reading, MA) was named Junior Female Athlete
of the Year and middle distance runner Ned Brooks (North Babylon, NY) was
named Junior Male Athlete of the Year.
Softball player Vickie Lamb (Yorktown Heights, NY) is the Sophomore
Female Athlete of the Year and golfer Eugene Smith (Glen Ridge, NJ) is
the Sophomore Male Athlete of the Year. The Freshman Female Co-Athletes
of the Year are Nolle Graham (Bronx, NY) of the track team and Kim Jackson
(Rockaway, NJ) of the softball team. The Freshman Male Athlete of
the Year is wrestler Dave Ilaria (Jersey City, NJ).
Powell played in 95 games at middle blocker for the Pirate volleyball
team, averaging 1.62 kills and .92 blocks per game. She maintained
an impressive 3.691 grade point average with a dual major of elementary
education and fine arts. She has been a Dean's List student every semester
and was named Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities
this past academic year. She is a two-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star
Team member who will graduate in May magna cum laude.
Probst, a lefthanded pitcher on the baseball team, has appeared in
15 games with a record of 3-3. He set the Seton Hall career record
for pitching appearances with 67 in his four-year career. He has
maintained a 3.635 grade point average as a management major. A two-time
member of the BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team and a six-time Dean's List
student, he will graduate in May magna cum laude.
Also honored were the following student-athletes who were named to
the Seton Hall Academic All-Star Team for having the highest grade-point
averages among student-athletes: Pille Arike (Tallinn, Estonia), women's
tennis; Todd Crawford (Lancaster, PA), baseball; Kathleen Crombie (West
Chester, PA), women's swimming; Christy Dellapenta (River Edge, NJ), softball;
Marybeth Ferrigno (Chester, NY), women's soccer; Todd Green (Oakville,
Ontario), men's tennis; Amanda Kline (Green Brook, NJ), women's diving;
Kadri Kruus (Tallinn, Estonia), volleyball; Laura McCracken (Greystones,
Ireland), women's tennis; James McGovern (Highlands, NJ), men's track;
Leslie Smith (Shoreview, MN), women's soccer; Deidre Tillman (Westfield,
MA), women's swimming; Sarah Wishard (Somerset, WI), women's basketball.
