Softball Rolls Into San Diego State This Weekend
2/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
25TH ANNUAL CAMPBELL/CARTIER CLASSIC
Friday-Sunday, Feb. 13-15 • San Diego, Calif.
Friday, Feb. 13
Seton Hall (5-0) vs. North Dakota State (4-1) - 5 p.m. (ET) | Live Stats
Seton Hall (5-0) at San Diego State (3-2) - 10 p.m. (ET) | Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 14
Seton Hall (5-0) vs. Central Michigan (0-4) - 2:30 p.m. (ET) | Live Stats
Seton Hall (5-0) vs. Oregon State (5-1) - 5 p.m. (ET) | Live Stats
Sunday, Feb. 15
Seton Hall (5-0) vs. Central Michigan (0-4) - 12 p.m. (ET) | Live Stats
Tournament Website | Seton Hall Game Notes 
The Seton Hall University softball team will look to build momentum off its success from opening weekend as it heads out west to compete in the three-day 25th Annual Campbell/Cartier Classic at San Diego State University on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 13-15.
The Pirates impressed last week, winning the North Texas Invitational with a flawless 5-0 record while posting incredible offensive numbers. Seton Hall outscored its opponents 54-21 and hit .392 as a team with 30 extra-base hits. Senior Sara Haefeli had the best power numbers, hitting five homers, including a school-record three in a 17-6 rout of North Texas. Senior Danielle DeStaso and sophomore Lauren Fischer both won twice on the mound.
This weekend the level of competition takes a step up as the Pirates face San Diego State, North Dakota State, Oregon State and Central Michigan. Host San Diego State and Oregon State were both receiving votes in the latest ESPN/USA Softball Poll, with San Diego State going 3-2 over opening weekend while the Beavers enter the week at 5-1.
North Dakota state has won three-straight Summit League titles and were the Coaches' pick to repeat as league champions. The Bison went 4-1 last week, with wins over Iowa and Drake. Ace Krista Menke is already 3-0 with sub one (0.97) earned run average.
The important thing for Seton Hall will be continuing to progress during the early stages of the season. The Pirates had trouble getting going in 2014, which led to just six non-conference victories, a total that was nearly equaled last weekend in Texas.
While the team earned run average of 4.94 will need to improve for The Hall to find similar success this weekend, head coach Paige Smith has to be pleased with how her squad is hitting and that they are getting off to fast starts. Seton Hall was outscored 42-28 in the first inning last year, but the Pirates posted a 19-5 edge last weekend. If the offense can continue to provide early leads, that should in turn lead to a more comfortable position for the pitching staff.
And it was not just Haefeli getting it done at the plate. DeStaso hit a team-leading .636 with four extra-base hits and nine RBI, and senior Whitney Jones was on fire as well, batting .533 with four doubles and a pair of home runs.
Sophomore Valerie Suto hit .556 with a .600 on-base percentage and three steals, and freshman Alexis Walkden burst onto the scene with three home runs in just nine at-bats.
OFF TO A HOT START
Seton Hall is off to a 5-0 start for the first time in 16 years, as the the 1999 season was the last time The Hall won five-straight games to start the year. That season, the Pirates won their first seven games and finished the season with a 29-8 overall mark. With five wins, Seton Hall is already one third of the way to matching its win total from last season.
HAEFELI AND FISCHER LAND ON HONOR ROLL
Senior slugger Sara Haefeli and sophomore pitcher Lauren Fischer were both named to the first BIG EAST Softbally Weekly Honor Roll of the season it was announced on Feb. 9. Haefeli hit a spectacular .529 and slugged 1.529 while hitting five home runs and driving in 12. Fisher posted a 2-0 record on the mound, beating Texas Southern twice. She struck out eight and held opponents to a .167 average in 11 innings of work.
HAEFELI HOMERS RECORD THREE TIMES
Senior center fielder Sara Haefeli broke the Seton Hall single-game home run record, sending three balls over the fence in a 17-6 win over North Texas on Feb. 7. The old record of two homers in the same game had been accomplished 14 times, including by Alexis Walkden in that same game, until Haefeli stook alone with three long balls in the same game. She also drove in six runs in the win.
NOW ENTERING THE TOP-10
With five home runs on opening weekend, senior Sara Haefeli moved into 10th-place in program history with 15 home runs in her career. She entered her senior season with 10 homers, and needed just five games to match half that total and enter the top-10. She is just two home runs shy of moving into a tie for ninth.
PIRATES BREAK OFFENSIVE RECORDS
It its 17-6 win over North Texas on Feb. 7, Seton Hall made history, breaking the school record for home runs and runs scored. The 17 runs scored topped the old mark of 16, set three times, most recently against Saint Peter's in 2013. The home run mark was actually shattered, as The Hall blasted eight bombs in the win, moving well past the previous record of five, which came against St. John's in 2009.
RIGHT WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
Sophomore pitcher Lauren Fischer came on strong at the end of the 2014 season, posting a team-best 2.33 earned run average in conference play with a pair of wins. She needed just two starts to match that win total in 2015, as she beat Texas Southern twice at the North Texas Invitational on opening weekend. She struck out four batters in each game, and held foes to a .161 batting average.
