Baseball Hosts Stony Brook in Home Opener on Wednesday
3/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J.-- The Seton Hall baseball team opens up its 2007 home season on Wednesday, hosting Stony Brook. The game will be the first game to be played on the renovated Owen T. Carroll field, which now features artificial turf and lights. A field blessing and pre-game ceremony will take place prior to first pitch at approximately 3:15 p.m. First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast via audio on SHUPirates.com. The Pirates enter the game with a 5-8 overall record while Stony Brook stands at 2-7.
WHAT’S AHEAD THIS WEEK
Overview: The Pirates host Stony Brook on Wednesday, Mar. 14, in their first home game of the season. The game is the first game to be played on the newly renovated Owen T. Carroll field. Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., with Field Blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony to take place prior to first pitch. Seton Hall will host Connecticut in the first weekend of BIG EAST play on Friday-Sunday, Mar. 16-18. Game times are set for 6:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. and Noon, respectively.
SCOUTING REPORTS
WEEKDAY OUTLOOK
vs. Stony Brook: Stony Brook currently stands at 2-7. The Seawolves are led by Michael Stephan who holds a .400 average. Three players have tallied 10 hits. Kurt Jung, Mike Errigo and Tom Koehler lead the pitching staff, each having started three games. Seton Hall holds a 4-2 edge in the all-time series record. In the last meeting between the two teams, Seton Hall won, 4-0 in 2006.
On the Web: The game will be broadcast live audio via SHUPirates.com. Dave Popkin will be on play-by-play while Matt Sweeney will do color-commentary.
WEEKEND OUTLOOK
vs. Connecticut: As of Mar. 13, Connecticut is 3-9. The Huskies were picked to finish fifth in the BIG EAST preseason poll. Both Seton Hall and Connecticut has a common opponent in Ohio State: Connecticut lost 2-1, while the Pirates won 6-5.
Huskies Hits: The Huskies are led by Pat Mahoney who is batting .326. Mahoney is also first in runs. Dennis Donavan is also batting well, as he is first in hits and second in runs. Matt Untiet is first in RBI.
Probable Pitching: UConn will most likely throw Mike Tarsi, Greg Nappo and Robert Van Woert. Tarsi has logged the most innings and leads the team in strikeouts with 12. Nappo leads the team with a 1.54 ERA.
Series History: Seton Hall holds a 35-25 lead in the all-time series record. The Pirates have recorded 353 runs while UConn has recorded 279. The teams last faced in 2005 where UConn took two of three games.
Pirates Stealing the Honors
For the third consecutive week, the Pirates earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll awards. For the week of Mar. 12, sophomore left handed pitcher Corey Young was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for his 10 K, 1 run, 8.0 inning performance at Norfolk State. Young joins Dan Merklinger, Mike Young and Greg Miller to the list of honorees.
Close Calls at Norfolk
In the weekend series at Norfolk, both of the Pirates losses came within two runs. The Hall lost 5-3 on Saturday and fell 6-5 in extra innings on Sunday afternoon.
SHU-Iona Location Changed
The Seton Hall game originally scheduled at Iona on Mar. 20 has been moved to SHU’s Owen T. Carroll field, due to poor field conditions. Game time has also been modified, with the game now scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Walsh Connects
Senior John Walsh is currently on a 10-game hit streak, the longest streak of any Pirate this season, dating back to the Feb. 23 4-2 loss to Kansas State.
Multiple Miller
Sophomore Greg Miller leads the team in multiple hit games with eight. He has tallied six two-hit games, one three and four hit games.
Six Game Homestand
Starting with Stony Brook, the Pirates will begin a six-game homestand. Seton Hall hosts Connecticut in a weekend series and then will play Iona and Manhattan on the following Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Ninth Inning Shut-Out
The Hall has not allowed an opponent to score a run in the ninth inning all season. The Pirates have out-scored opponents 11-0. On the flip side, Seton Hall has been limited in the sixth inning: having been outscored 18-1 by opponents.
Pirates Sweep Double-Header at Campbell
Seton Hall swept Campbell in the double-header over the weekend of Mar. 2-3. The Pirates won the first game 8-6 in comeback fashion, and dominated the second 11-2.
BIG EAST Honorees
Junior Dan Merklinger and senior Mike Young were named to the BIG EAST Weekly honor roll for their efforts in the Campbell series. Merklinger pitched 8.0 innings and struck out 11, while Young batted .636. The two followed in the footsteps of Greg Miller, who had been named to the Honor Roll the week before.
Gotham Baseball Tabs Merklinger
After his efforts at Campbell, Merklinger was named Gotham Baseball Pitcher of the Week.
Six Plus Gets the W
In games of 0-2 runs, the Pirates are 0-5. However, four of the Hall’s five wins came in games of six runs or more.
Pre-Game Blessing and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
The Pirates will open its home season on Wednesday, Mar. 14 at 3:30 p.m. vs. Stony Brook. This is the first game to be played on the newly renovated Owen T. Carroll field. The Blessing and a ribbon cutting ceremony will take place prior to the first pitch. The Hall will open up its BIG EAST schedule against Connecticut on Friday, Mar. 16.
Comeback Kids
Seton Hall has had two games of come-from-behind victories. The Pirates earned the win over Campbell with an 8-6 victory, scoring the winning runs in the top of the ninth inning. Against Ohio State, the team scored five of its six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, 6-5 on a walk-off double by junior Mark Pappas.
Misleading Score
Although the Pirates technically lost to JMU 7-2 in the second game of the double-header, the game was called with two outs and a runner on base in the top of the sixth inning. At the end of five innings, the Pirates were down just 3-2, but JMU scored seven runs in the top of the sixth and the game was called due to darkness before the Pirates had a chance to respond.
All Tournament Team
Senior John Walsh and sophomore Greg Miller were each named to the All-Tournament team at the Buckeye Classic.
Week Two Honors
Sophomore Greg Miller was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after batting .600 with three doubles and a homerun.
Righty vs. Lefty
In the 13 games thus far this season, the Pirates are
2-0 against left-handed starters yet hold a 3-8 record against right-handed starters.
Get Swinging
Of the 13 games played this season, the opposing teams bats have been swinging and the runs have been coming across the plate sooner. In eight of the 13 games, opponents have scored first.
2007 Marks
In just the 13 games played so far in 2007, players have already surpassed their season highs from 2006. Miller surpassed his doubles and homerun mark, John Walsh passed his homerun total from 2006, Dombrowski surpassed his mark in hits and doubles.
Go For 2... Plus 8
When the Pirates have held their opponents to two runs or less they hold a 2-0 record... Add eight to the two and games where the Pirates have scored 10 runs or more they are 2-0.
Closing In
Junior Dan McDonald has shown tremendous capabilities as the team’s closers. McDonald has earned two wins and a save in relief duties.
Tough Tar Heels
The Pirates were swept by No. 2 UNC, 11-0, 2-3, and 2-13 in the opening weekend of Feb. 16-18. The Hall was limited offensively, with Dan McDonald leading the team with four hits. Greg Miller, Dan Lopez and Matt Smedberg each tallied two hits. The last time that Seton Hall defeated UNC was in 2002. The Tar Heels have swept five straight series with the Pirates.
Just Short of an Upset
Despite being down 3-0 entering the top of the ninth, the Pirates scored two runs in the top of the inning to bring the squad within one run. However, the efforts fell short as UNC preserved the win.
Lopez Over the Fence
Junior Dan Lopez hit thie first homerun of the season in the opening weekend at UNC. The blast was just his second of his career.
On the Watch
Junior Dan McDonald was named to the Wallace Watch List. The Wallace Award is presented to the National College Player of the year. McDonald was just one of six BIG EAST players named to the list.
Reigning Captains of the Ship
Junior Dan McDonald and Mike Morano are both second-year captains for the Pirates, having both served as captains during the 2006 season.
Classy Pirates
For the first time in a few years, the Pirates finally have a balanced mix of classes. The team has eight seniors, eight juniors, 10 sophomores and seven freshman.
Porcello Joins Coaching Staff
Zach Porcello is the newest addition to the Seton Hall coaching staff, which is under the direction of Rob Sheppard, who is in his fourth season.
Renovated Home Turf
Previously grass, Owen T. Carroll field went under construction during the summer of 2007, and now boasts a brand new artificial turf playing surface. The renovated field also features lights, which will be in use during the Hall’s BIG EAST season. Seton Hall will host Stony Brook on Wednesday, Mar. 14, in the first game to be played on the new field.
BIG EAST in Brooklyn
The 2007 BIG EAST Championship is being held in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Championship is being held at KeySpan park on May 22-26. The top eight teams (of 12 teams in the conference) qualify for the tournament.
Experience Returns
The Pirates lost just one starting position player in 2006, and return all starting pitchers.
20th Anniversary
The 2007 season is the 20th year anniversary the 1987 baseball season, arguably one of the best season’s in the programs history. The 1987 Pirate squad won a team record 45 games, made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament and won a BIG EAST title. The team included major league star Graig Biggio and former major league stars Mo Vaughn and John Valentin.
Single Season Marks In 2006
Dan McDonald and Dan Merklinger placed sixth in games started with 15.
Luis Fernandez placed ninth in relief appearances with 21.
Dan Lopez placed fifth in chances without an error with 101.
2006 Accolades
Dan McDonald was named All-BIG EAST Third Team in 2006.
Luis Fernandez, Dan McDonald and Dan Merklinger were named to the NJCBA First Team.
Brandon Cohen, Robbie Hine, Dan Lopez and Corey Young were named to the NJCBA Second Team.
Matt Smedberg and Keith Cantwell were named to the NJCBA All-Rookie team.
