Postseason Berth on the Line at Georgetown
5/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 2, 2014
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - It will all come down to the final series of the year for Seton Hall and Georgetown as the two will play for a berth in the BIG EAST Championship this Saturday-Sunday, May 3-4, in Washington, D.C. The Hoyas are currently in a three-way tie for second place in the league standings, a half game ahead of Seton Hall with three games to play. The means the winner of the final regular season series of the year will be guaranteed a spot in the four-team BIG EAST Tournament.
LAST TIME OUTDespite winning its most dramatic game of the season, using back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat Butler last Sunday afternoon, Seton Hall lost 2-of-3 to the Bulldogs to fall to fifth in the BIG EAST standings. Sophomore Jackie DiPietro went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and freshman Lauren Fischer and sophomore Faith Laudano were responsible for the late home runs. On the mound, Fischer pitched eight innings of relief to pick up the first BIG EAST win of her career.
SETON HALL: Offensively, senior Meredith Henze and sophomore Jackie DiPietro are providing the biggest punch for Seton Hall. Henze has recorded a base hit in six-straight games, including three-straight contests with multiple base hits in the series win at Villanova. DiPietro hit .545 (6-for-11) in the Butler series and boasts a .414 batting average over the past three weeks. Freshman Lauren Fischer came in to throw eight solid innings of relief in a win over Butler. Junior Danielle DeStaso is 2-4 in her last six starts with 26 strikeouts.
GEORGETOWN: Megan Hyson does it all for the Hoyas. She leads the team with a .387 batting average and has 19 extra-base hits, including seven home runs, to slug .669 with a .497 on-base percentage. She also has 13 wins on the mound with a 2.58 earned run average and 168 strikeouts. In a series where the winner advances to the postseason the performance of the second starter is also likely to be vital, that would be Lauren O'Leary, who is 10-10 with a 3.63 ERA.
SCOUTING GEORGETOWN
The Hoyas raced out to a 7-0 start in league play but Georgetown is just 2-8 over its last 10 BIG EAST games and has not won a conference series since sweeping Creighton on March 29-30, in Omaha. Georgetown ranks fifth in the league in batting with a .247 team average and the Hoyas' pitching staff boasts a 3.25 earned run average. Megan Hyson (.387) and Elyze Graziano (.302) are the only two batters hitting better than .300.
FUTURE SCHEDULE
The regular season comes to an end on Sunday afternoon with the top four teams in the conference standings qualifying for the BIG EAST Championship, to be held Friday-Saturday, May 9-10, in Rosemont, Ill.
POSTSEASON PROGNOSIS
With three conference games remaining there are five teams still in the race for the final three BIG EAST Tournament spots in Seton Hall, Georgetown, St. John's, Butler and Creighton. For the Pirates it is simple, winning the series at Georgetown guarantees a berth in the conference championship but there is also a scenario where SHU still qualifies with just one win over the weekend. If the Pirates take one from the Hoyas, Butler or St. John's are swept, and Creighton loses once to Providence, Seton Hall would enter the BIG EAST Championship as the No. 4 seed.
FAMILIAR TERRITORY
For the second-straight year Seton Hall will need to pick up at least two wins at Georgetown in the final series of the year to clinch a berth to the BIG EAST Championship. Last season the Pirates beat the Hoyas 2-1 on the final day of the regular season to secure their first postseason appearance since 2009. Jen Metzger pitched a complete game on the mound and Sara Haefeli homered in the top of the seventh inning to score the winning run.
HENZE ON THE HONOR ROLL
Senior third baseman Meredith Henze was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on April 28, for the second time this season after leading the Pirates to a 3-3 record in conference series with Villanova and Butler the week before. She hit .476 with a double and two RBI's, recording at least one base hit in all six games with multiple base knocks in all three games at Villanova. For the year, Henze ranks second on the team with a .317 average and has belted a team-high eight home runs.
WALK IT OFF
It was the most dramatic victory of the season when Seton Hall used back-to-back home runs from freshman Lauren Fischer and sophomore Faith Laudano to beat Butler 7-6 in 10 innings on April 27. Trailing by two in extra innings and down to the last strike, Fischer homered to right to tie the game at 6-6 and one pitch later Laudano ended it with a shot to right center. It was the first-career home run for both underclassmen.
FISCHER SHINES IN WIN OVER BUTLER
It was a tough spot for freshman pitcher Lauren Fischer, inheriting a bases loaded situation with no outs in the third inning against Butler, but she escaped that jam without giving up a run and went on to pitch eight strong innings to pick up the first BIG EAST victory of her career. Fischer scattered seven hits over eight innings, giving up one earned run with two strikeouts as Seton Hall came back to beat the Bulldogs 7-6 in 10 innings.
DIPIETRO TAKES OVER BATTING LEAD
Sophomore outfielder Jackie DiPietro has been red hot at the plate and has taken over the team lead in batting average at .328. She went 6-for-11 in the Butler series and is hitting .414 over the past three weeks. DiPietro has a hit in nine of the last two games, including a career-best six-straight contests that stretched from the Creighton series to game two at Villanova.
