Softball Ready for Pirate Snow Classic
2/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 14, 2014
The Seton Hall University softball team heads down to North Carolina for a second-straight week as the Pirates are slated to play four games in two days at the East Carolina Pirate Snow Classic, SHU was originally prepared to travel to Charlotte, N.C., this weekend but that tournament was cancelled due to inclement weather. Instead the Hall will now open weekend competition against Drexel on Saturday at 12 p.m. The Pirates face host East Carolina on Saturday and Sunday, and will also play Delaware State on Sunday morning.
HISTORY LESSON
• East Carolina leads the all-time series with Seton Hall 3-1, and the teams last faced on Feb. 17, 2006, resulting in a 3-0 ECU victory. That was also the last time the Pirates competed in an ECU hosted tournament in Greenville.
• The Pirates have played Drexel 12 times, with the Dragons holding a 7-5 edge in the all-time series, but the two programs have met just twice since 1990. The last meeting was an 8-2 loss at the UMBD Dawg Pound Classic on March 11, 2011.
• Seton Hall beat Delaware State 15-0 in the only meeting between the two programs back on March 14, 1998.
LAST TIME OUT
Seton Hall opened the season by posted a 1-3 record at the Hampton Inn Campbell Stampede Classic last weekend. The Pirates split on the first day, falling to IPFW before topping UMass Lowell, and fell to Valparaiso and Campbell. Senior third baseman Meredith Henze was the offensive star, blasting three home runs on the weekend to bat .556. Sara Haefeli, Danielle DeStaso and Whitney Jones also homered.
SCOUTING THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
DREXEL (Drexel leads the all-time series 7-5)
Drexel is coming off a 15-36 campaign and the Dragons posted a 2-19 record in the Colonial Athletic Association. Jenn Reading led Drexle with a .283 average last year, starting in 37 games with a team-high three home runs and 16 RBI. In the circle Tara Konopka threw 16 complete games and posted an 8-18 overall record with a 4.42 earned run average.
EAST CAROLINA (East Carolina leads the all-time series, 3-1)
East Carolina went 21-31 last season and was 11-12 in Conference USA, falling to Marshall in the first round of the C-USA Tournament. This year the Pirates were picked to finish fourth in the 13-team Conference USA Coaches Preseason Poll. ECU returns 11 players from last season including its top seven hitters from 2013. East Carolina went 2-3 last weekend at Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah, beating Grand Canyon and Southern Utah.
DELAWARE STATE (SHU leads all-time series, 1-0)
Delaware State will open its 2014 campaign this weekend after the Hornets were unable to travel to the Littlewood Classic last weekend in Glendale, Ariz. because of inclement weather on the East Coast. Last season Delaware State was 22-35 overall and saw its season end with a loss to Norfolk State in the MEAC Tournament. Nicole Gazzola is the Hornets' top returning offensive player, starting all 57 games last season and hitting .443 while setting a school single-season record with 86 hits.
HENZE NAMED ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Senior third baseman Meredith Henze on Feb. 10 was named the BIG EAST Softball Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Henze opened the season with a stellar offensive weekend batting .556 with four extra base hits, three home runs and a double, to slug 1.667 with six RBI and five runs scored. It is just the second time in her career Henze has received a BIG EAST weekly honor; she was also named to the Weekly Honor Roll back on March 21, 2011, during her freshman season.
POWER SURGE
It was an offensive explosion for senior Meredith Henze during the first weekend of competition as the Pirate third baseman blasted three home runs in four games at the Hampton Inn Stampede Classic. Entering the season, Henze had hit just five home runs in her career and she has already matched her career-high of three home runs from her freshman campaign in 2011.
PIRATES PUT ONE IN THE WIN COLUMN
Seton Hall registered its first win of the year with a 13-1 victory over UMass Lowell in five innings on Feb. 7. The Pirates strung together 14 hits, including home runs from Meredith Henze and Sara Haefeli. Senior Jen Metzger lasted four innings at pitcher, striking out four to pick up her first win of the year.
