Hall Headed to Las Vegas
2/27/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 27, 2014
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall University softball team will be westward bound for a second-straight week as it prepares for five games at the UNLV Eller Stadium Classic this Friday-Sunday, Feb. 28-March 2. The Pirates open up tournament play with a doubleheader on Friday as they will face New Mexico State and Binghamton. Saturday's action brings two more foes in Weber State and host UNLV, before action wraps on Sunday afternoon with a second meeting against Binghamton.
HISTORY LESSON
- Seton Hall has faced New Mexico State twice in program history, splitting a pair games against the Aggies at the UNLV Eller Media Tournament back in 2012.
- The Pirates have faced Binghamton once before, but it has been nearly a decade since the teams matched up; SHU won the only meeting, 4-3, back in 2004.
- Seton Hall is 2-3 all-time against UNLV and last played the Lady Rebels when the squads matched up twice at UNLV's home tournament back in 2012, splitting two games.
LAST TIME OUT
Seton Hall was out in Tempe, Ariz., last weekend where it went 0-4 against a challenging field at the Arizona State Diamond Devil Invitational. Junior Sara Haefeli led the squad offensively, batting .500 with a home run and a double for a slugging percentage of 1.000. Sophomore Jackie DiPietro also continues to swing one of the hottest bats on the team, hitting .375 with a pair of RBI last weekend. Junior Whitney Jones has also been providing an offensive spark over at first base, recording three base hits last week to hit .429 with two runs scored.
SCOUTING THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
New Mexico State (The all-time series is tied,1-1)
New Mexico State will enter Las Vegas with a 10-5 record and an eight game winning streak. The Aggies swept the WAC conference weekly honors with senior pitcher Celisha Walker receiving the pitching honors and sophomore Fiana Finau was the hitter of the week. Finau hit .545 with six RBI and two home runs and Walker threw nine innings picking up a win, allowing no runs while holding the opposition to a .074 batting average.
Binghamton (SHU leads the all-time series, 1-0)
Binghamton enters the tournament with a 2-3 record. The Bearcats are led by senior pitcher Demi Laney who is coming off a junior season where she was named First Team All-American East Conference and has been named the American East Pitcher of the Week once already this season. The Bearcats return four first team all conference players from their 30-17 season a year ago.
Weber State (First Meeting)
Weber State enters the tournament with a record of 6-4. The Wildcats are led by senior Brooke Silva who led the team in hits last season and is coming off of Big Sky Weekly Offensive honors after batting .500 with two homers over her last five games. The Wildcats were predicted to finish 6th in the Big Sky.
UNLV (UNLV leads the all-time series, 3-2)
UNLV is looking to improve its 5-9 record as it hosts the Eller Stadium Classic this weekend. They return senior outfielder Stefany Valentino who is a two-time all-conference team member. Morgan Ettinger is the reigning Mountain West Pitcher of the Week.
HAEFELI ON THE HONOR ROLL
Junior outfielder Sara Haefeli on Feb. 24, was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the first time in her career. Haefeli led Seton Hall offensively at the Arizona State Diamond Devil Invitational, batting .500 with a home run and a double. She also slugged 1.000 with two runs scored, two RBIs and a stolen base at the four-game tournament.
HEADED BACK TO VEGAS
This will mark the second time over the last three seasons Seton Hall has headed to Las Vegas to compete in the UNLV Eller Stadium Classic. When the Pirates made the trip in 2012 they went 3-3 overall, which included two games apiece with a pair of this year's foes in New Mexico State and UNLV, splitting with both squads.
KNOCKING ON THE DOOR OF THE TOP-10
Senior Jen Metzger is on the verge of breaking into the top-10 in school history in career strikeouts. She has 165 over her four-year career and needs just two more to move past Casey McDevitt (2001-04) for 10th-pace all-time. This season she ranks third on the team with four strikeouts.
HOME RUN HENZE
Senior third baseman Meredith Henze blasted her fifth home run of the season against Drake on Feb. 22, which ties her career home run total heading into the 2014 season. She currently leads the BIG EAST in home runs and also boasts a conference-best 1.034 slugging percentage.
ADDING ANOTHER BAT
Sophomore utility Jackie DiPietro is enjoying one of the Pirates' best offensive starts to the season. She ranks second on the team with a .412 average and opened the year with a career-best four-game hitting streak. DiPietro has already recorded a pair of multi-hit and multi-RBI games this season.
PAIR OF PIRATES HONORED
Seton Hall saw a pair of student-athletes in senior Meredith Henze and junior Danielle DeStaso land on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 17. Henze garnered BIG EAST recognition for a second-straight week after batting .556 with a 1.000 slugging percentage and .667 on-base percentage at the ECU Pirate Snow Classic. She homered in a win over Drexel, extending her home-run streak to four-straight games. DeStaso shined in the circle, scattering five hits in five innings against Drexel to pick up a 9-1 win. She also threw 2.2 innings of scoreless relief against East Carolina. At the plate she was 2-for-10 but both of her hits were two baggers and she tallied four RBIs on the week.
SWING AND A MISS
Junior right hander Danielle DeStaso led Seton Hall with 163 strikeouts last season, which ranks as the fifth-highest single season total in program history. DeStaso currently ranks sixth all-time at Seton Hall with 280 strikeouts, and she needs just 16 more to take sole possession of the fifth position on the list.
