Baseball Prepares for BIG EAST Series at West Virginia
3/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J.-- The Seton Hall baseball team will travel to West Virginia for both teams BIG EAST opener series. The Pirates stand at 5-9 overall while West Virginia holds a 10-5 overall record. Seton Hall was supposed to open up its BIG EAST season against Connecticut last weekend, but was snowed out. Seton Hall and West Virginia will face off on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m., and will continue the two games on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
WHAT’S AHEAD THIS WEEK
Overview: The Pirates were originally scheduled to host Iona and Manhattan in weekday matchups on Tuesday and Wednesday, but due to weather-related field conditions, those games were postponed. Seton Hall will travel to West Virginia in its BIG EAST opener, after the original BIG EAST opening series with Connecticut was cancelled due to a winter snow storm.
SCOUTING REPORTS
WEEKEND OUTLOOK
vs. West Virginia: As of Mar. 22, West Virginia holds a 10-5 overall record. The series is the BIG EAST opener for both squads. The Mountaineers have won five of their last seven games and eight of its past eleven games. West Virginia was picked to finish eighth in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll, just two places higher than the Pirates.
BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week: Redshirt freshman Josh Whitlock was named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week following his efforts in a 11-1 victory over Hartford. Whitlock struck out 10 in seven innings pitched and gave up just one hit.
All-BIG EAST Preseason: West Virginia had two players named to the All-BIG EAST Preseason squad. Sophomore Adam White and senior Justin Jenkins each earned the honors.
Swinging Mountaineers: The Mountaineers have two players batting over .400. Adam White and Justin Jenkins are batting .446 and .403, respectively. White leads the team with 29 hits while Jenkins and and Tyler Kuhn are tied for first with 19 RBI. Kuhn is first on the squad in runs with 18. Austin Markel leads the team with six stolen bases.
Probable Pitching: West Virginia will most likely throw Kenny Durst, Levi Maxwell and Josh Whitlock in the series against the Pirates. Durst leads the pitching staff with a 1.72 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Matt Yurish is also a possiblity in the rotation.
Series History: West Virginia leads the all-time series with the Pirates 18-10. The Mountaineers took two of three games in the 2006 series. In the last meeting, Seton Hall took a 6-0 win from the Mountaineers.
Snowed Out!
Five of the Pirates six home games in a row were postponed or cancelled due to a late winter storm over the weekend of March 16-18. Since the field was covered in snow, the weekday games vs. Iona and Manhattan were postponed as well.
First game at Owen T. Carroll
The Pirates played the first game ever at the newly renovated Owen T. Carroll field, preceded by a field blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony on Mar. 14 vs. Stony Brook.
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.
Walsh Connects
Senior John Walsh ended the longest hit-streak of the season, a 10-game streak, the longest streak of any Pirate this season, dating back to the Feb. 23 4-2 loss to Kansas State and ending against Stony Brook.
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.
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.
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 14 games thus far this season, the Pirates are
2-0 against left-handed starters yet hold a 3-9 record against right-handed starters.
Get Swinging
Of the 14 games played this season, the opposing teams bats have been swinging and the runs have been coming across the plate sooner. In nine of the 14 games, opponents have scored first.
2007 Marks
In just the 14 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.
Blasts of Walsh
Senior John Walsh leads the team in home runs this season, having tallied four. He is the only player to have tallied more than one homerun.
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 Craig 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.
