Baseball Opens at #1 North Carolina
2/15/2013 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
February 15-17, 2013
SETON HALL (0-0) at
#1 NORTH CAROLINA (0-0)
Boshamer Stadium
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Game 1: Fri., Feb. 15 - 3:00 p.m. - Boshamer Stadium
Jon Prosinski (RHP) vs. Kent Emannuel (LHP)
Live Video Stream: CLICK HERE
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
Game 2: Sat., Feb. 16 - 2:00 p.m. - Boshamer Stadium
Brian Gilbert (RHP) vs. Benton Moss (RHP)
Live Video Stream: CLICK HERE
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
Game 3: Sun., Feb. 17 - 1:00 p.m. - Boshamer Stadium
TBD vs. Hobbs Johnson (LHP)
Live Video Stream: CLICK HERE
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
SETON HALL STATUS
Seton Hall begins the 2013 campaign with a three-game set against the nation's number-one ranked team, North Carolina. Last season, the Pirates won 34 games for the second consecutive year and their 17 BIG EAST Conference victories were the most since 2000. Season highlights also included road series wins against BIG EAST regular season champion, Louisville, and St. John's, the BIG EAST Tournament champion. All of the regular season success added up to their second consecutive trip to the BIG EAST Championship at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla. and a #3 seed in the tournament. Entering this year, senior ace Jon Prosinski has been named BIG EAST Preseason Pitcher of the Year and Seton Hall was predicted to finish sixth in the preseason coaches' poll. The Pirates welcome 10 newcomers.
SETON HALL - NORTH CAROLINA'S SERIES
Seton Hall and North Carolina will play for the 65th, 66th and 67th time in history with the Tar Heels holding a commanding 53-11 advantage. The last time the teams met was in 2011 when North Carolina took two out of three games. The Tar Heels had won 20 straight games before the Pirates won the finale of their three-game set, 3-1, in 2011. In that game, Joe DiRocco pitched six and one-third innings of one run baseball to earn the victory. Zack Granite went 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Giuseppe Papaccio had two hits in the series opener vs. North Carolina that season. Granite had three hits in game two. For the series, Zack Granite batted .545 (6-for-11).
CUNDARI HONORED
Seton Hall baseball associate head coach Phil Cundari was celebrated by the New Jersey Sportswriters Association for his "Distinguished Service to College Baseball" and was honored at the organization's 77th Anniversary Banquet on January 20. Cundari has been instrumental in developing what is annually one of the strongest pitching staffs in the BIG EAST Conference.
PROSINSKI NETS PRESEASON HONOR
Senior Jon Prosinski was named Preseason BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year. A First Team All-BIG EAST selection last season, Prosinski went 9-3 with a 3.52 ERA and did not allow a home run in 94.2 innings of work. An All-NJCBA pick, he was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll four times and earned NJCBA Pitcher of the Week honors on April 16. The right-hander pitched back-to-back complete-game shutouts against Fordham and Rutgers respectively. Prosinski led the conference with a 1.91 ERA in 2011, while helping lead the Pirates to the BIG EAST Championship.
PIRATES PICKED SIXTH
The Seton Hall baseball team was picked to finish sixth in the 11-team BIG EAST Conference by the 2013 Preseason Coaches' Poll. Louisville is expected to win the conference this year and garnered eight first place votes. St. John's was second, and received three first place votes. Notre Dame, Connecticut and USF round out the teams above the Pirates in the standings.
PIRATES TEAM WITH ST. BALDRICKS
For the first time, Seton Hall Athletics partnered with the St. Baldrick's Foundation to encourage people to voluntarily have their head shaved to recognize children suffering from pediatric cancer. Each member of the baseball team had their heads shaved in an effort to raise money for research and childhood cancer awareness. St. Baldrick's "BaseBald" campaign encourages baseball teams specifically to have their heads shaved in solidarity with childhood cancer patients.
PIRATES WELCOME 10
The Pirates will welcome 10 new members to the team this season. Sam Burum, Luke Cahill, Chris Chiaradio, Brett Fontenelli, Derek Jenkins, Steven Lombardi, Adnan Pjetrovic, Blaise Scerbo, Nate Vahedi and Zack Weigel will all don Seton Hall uniforms for the first time this spring. All are true freshmen.
DUNCAN A PIRATE AGAIN
Eric Duncan, former minor leaguer and Seton Hall Prep standout, is the Pirates' new volunteer assistant coach for 2013. The talented Duncan recently wrapped up a 10-year professional baseball career, but it was his performance at nearby Seton Hall Prep that put him on the local scene. Duncan attended Seton Hall Prep from 2000-03 where he was a four-year letterman on the baseball team. He was a part of two state championship teams and county titles, in 2001 and 2003, as well as three conference championships (2000, 2001, 2003).
FOR A TEAMMATE
For the fourth straight season, the Pirates baseball team will honor David Bachner, a 2009 in-coming freshman who passed away on August 11, 2009, by hanging a t-shirt with his name and high school number in the dugout each game.
BASEBALL GOING RETRO
In the 1980's, the Seton Hall Pirates wore a light blue and black horizontal striped jersey. In 2011, the Pirates brought them back by wearing them throughout season, and it brought the team luck, as they went on to win their third BIG EAST Championship. 2013 will be the third year of the retro renaissance.
STRIKE OUT CANCER
March 15-17 will mark the fifth annual Strike Out Cancer Tournament hosted by Seton Hall. Each season, the Pirates have hosted the tournament to raise funds through donations and merchandise sales to support cancer awareness and research.
NEW SCOREBOARD COMING TO OWEN T.
A new, state-of-the-art scoreboard, equipped with cutting edge graphic and video capabilities, is currently being installed for Seton Hall baseball home games this spring. The scoreboard will improve the fans' viewing experience and will be wired to supplement the enhanced coverage offered on the Pirate Sports Network.
