Pirates Ready to Host Pittsburgh
4/12/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
SOFTBALL RESUMES LEAGUE PLAY AGAINST PITTSBURGH
Seton Hall hosts Pittsburgh in a three-game BIG EAST series this Saturday-Sunday, April 13-14, at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field in South Orange, N.J. Saturday’s doubleheader starts at 12 p.m., while the series finale on Sunday morning is scheduled for 11 a.m. The all-time series between Pittsburgh and Seton Hall is tied 14-14. Pittsburgh swept a three-game series against the Pirates when they last met during the 2011 season, but Seton Hall edged the Panthers by taking two of three games back in 2010.
LAST TIME OUT
Seton Hall played three non-conference games last weekend and each had a flair for the dramatic. In a twinbill with Marist, both teams accounted for one run apiece through nine innings before the Red Foxes scored three in the top of the 10th, only to be outdone by Seton Hall’s four runs in the bottom of the frame. Marist came away with split in game two. Battling extremely high winds the Pirates held off Siena in a high scoring game, 14-10 on Sunday afternoon.
WHO TO WATCH
SETON HALL: Senior Brittany Hammer and freshman Yasmin Harrell continue to carry the hot bats for Seton Hall. Over the past 10 games Hammer is hitting .414 with three doubles for a .621 slugging percentage, while Harrell is just a hair behind her with a .412 average, 10 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. Over that same stretch Danielle DeStaso has driven in 12 runs with four homers and she is also 3-3 at pitcher with a 3.68 earned run average.
PITTSBURGH: Carly Thea is off to a hot start in BIG EAST play, batting .429 with four doubles and four runs scored against league foes. Holly Stevens became Pittsburgh’s all-time RBI leader with a grand slam in a loss to Penn State on Wednesday afternoon. Tori Nirschl has started in all 35 games and is the only Panther hitting over .300 this season, with a .309 average and a team-high .609 slugging percentage.
SCOUTING PITTSBURGH
Pittsburgh has lost eight-straight games heading into this weekend, falling three times to USF last weekend and dropping a midweek game with Penn State on Wednesday. The Panthers are 14-21 overall and 3-6 in the BIG EAST and are led offensively by Tori Nirschl, who is batting .309 with 14 extra-base hits including eight homers to go along with 17 RBI. Savannah King has received 16 starts and is 6-11 overall with a 3.51 ERA, in 17 starts Alexa Larkin boasts a 7-9 record and a 4.47 ERA. Larkin has 90 strikeouts in just 92.1 innings.
FUTURE SCHEDULE
Seton Hall hosts regional power Hofstra in a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, April 16, at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field before heading up to Syracuse for a BIG EAST series with the Orange next Saturday-Sunday in upstate New York.
HEAT CHECK
• Senior Brittany Hammer is hitting a team-best .414 over the past 10 games, including three doubles and a home run.
• Freshman Yasmin Harrell is just a hair behind Hammer in batting average with a .412 mark to go along with 10 steals.
• Sophomore Danielle DeStaso is hitting just .281 over her last 10 games but has a team-high four home runs and 12 RBI over that stretch with a .688 slugging percentage.
COMEBACK KIDS
Seton Hall played its longest game of the season and used a late comeback to beat Marist, 5-4, in 10 innings on April 6. After both teams tallied just one run through nine innings, Marist scored three times in the top of the 10th, only to see the Pirates surge back with four in the bottom half of the inning. Sophomore Colltey Sheldon notched the game-winning RBI to lift SHU to a win in walkoff fashion. Sheldon has the game-winning base hit for Seton Hall in both of its extra-inning victories.
CATCH HER IF YOU CAN
Freshman center fielder Yasmin Harrell added three more stolen bases to her season total in Seton Hall’s 14-10 win over Siena on April 7, and now has 18 steals to her credit this season. She ranks second in the BIG EAST in steals and 29th in the nation in steals per game with 0.59 per contest.
DESTASO FANS CAREER-HIGH 14
In the Pirates’ 10-inning comeback win over Marist on April 6, sophomore Danielle DeStaso threw all 10 innings for Seton Hall and finished with a career-high 14 strikeouts against the Red Foxes. She currently ranks eighth in school history with 222-career strikeouts.
HAEFELI ENJOYS MONSTER DAY
Sophomore right fielder Sara Haefeli played a big role in Seton Hall’s ability to hold off Siena in a high scoring game on April 7. She went 3-for-5 at the plate, driving in five runs, and hit her second home run of the season as the Pirates picked up a 14-10 win in Loudonville.
WINNING BIG
Seton Hall defeated St. John’s University, 10-0, in game two of a doubleheader on March 28. It marked the largest margin of victory for Seton Hall this season and the biggest win for the Pirates since a 15-0 victory over Central Connecticut State on March 23, 2010. It was the first time Seton Hall needed just five innings of play to secure a victory since an 11-3 win over Morgan State on Feb. 19, 2011.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
So far this season Seton Hall has been getting substantial contributions from several members of its freshman class:
• Alex Rabbetts has started all 32 games and has made 19-straight starts at catcher. She is batting .256 with two homers
• Yasmin Harrell has started all 32 games at center field and leads the team with a .349 average, 21 runs scored and 18 steals
• Jackie DiPietro has seen action in 28 games, making 20 starts and has seen time in the infield and outfield
SENDING IT DEEP
Seton Hall combined to hit three home runs in its BIG EAST opening series with Notre Dame on March 23-24, hitting one in each game. Freshman Sara Haefeli recorded a solo homer in game one, the first home run of her career, and sophomore Danielle DeStaso hit her team-leading third home run in game two. Senior Brittany Hammer made it three-straight games with a SHU home run, sending a two-run shot over the wall in game three.
DOUBLE DELUCA
Junior Maria DeLuca leads Seton Hall with six doubles, and she recorded back-to-back two-base hits in the first game of the series against Notre Dame on March 23.
