Softball Picked Sixth in Preseason Poll
2/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 5, 2014
NEW YORK - The Seton Hall University softball team has been selected to finish sixth in the BIG EAST Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll Wednesday it was announced by the league office.
Led by second-year head coach Paige Smith, the Pirates return 15 letterwinners, five positional starters and three pitchers to a team that posted a 21-30 overall record and 8-13 mark in BIG EAST action in 2013, which resulted in an eighth-place regular season finish and the program's first BIG EAST Tournament berth since 2009.
In the eight-team conference DePaul University garnered six first-place votes to tally 48 points and grab the top spot in the preseason poll, followed by newcomer Creighton University, which placed second with 44 points and the other two first-place ballots.
Georgetown and Providence tied for third place with 30 points and St. John's was slotted fifth with 27. Rounding out the preseason prognosis was Villanova (12 points) in seventh place and Butler (10 points) in eighth.
The 2014 BIG EAST Championship will be held over two days, May 9-10, in Rosemont, Ill. The top four teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for the single elimination conference tournament with the winner receiving the BIG EAST's automatic bid for the NCAA Regionals.
The 2014 Seton Hall squad features a pair of student-athletes who received All-BIG EAST accolades last season in Second-Team All-BIG EAST selections Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.) and Maria DeLuca (Cedar Grove, N.J.).
DeStaso led the Pirates with 14 wins and 163 strikeouts as a pitcher, and also boasted some of the best power hitting numbers of the team with nine home runs and 37 RBI while slugging .551. DeLuca started 50 games at second base and ranked second on the team with a .344 average, and she saw that average jump to .377 against BIG EAST opponents.
In all Seton Hall welcomes back six players that started at least 44 games last season. Sophomore Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) started every game at certfield and led the team with a .357 average while setting a new school record with 31 stolen bases.
Junior Colltey Sheldon (Peoria, Ariz.) hit .308 with seven doubles, sophomore Alex Rabbetts (Corona, Calif.) made 49 starts and blasted five homers with 24 RBI, and junior Sara Haefeli (Montclair, N.J.) tallied six home runs and six doubles in 47 outfield starts.
Joining DeStaso as returning pitchers are senior Jen Metzger (Pine Hill, N.J.) and junior Casey Moses (Lower Burrell, Pa.). Metzger emerged as Seton Hall's go-to starter late in the season, posting a 3.61 earned run average over her last seven starts. Moses appeared in 27 games and ranked second on the team with a 5.35 ERA.
Seton Hall opens the 2014 season on Friday, Feb. 7, when it begins competition at the Hampton Inn Campbell Stampede Tournament in Buies Creek, N.C. The Pirates face IPFW on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
