Softball's Spring Break Swing Opens Friday
3/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
CLEARWATER,FLA. - USF Under Armour Showcase
Friday-Sunday, March 6-8 • Clearwater, Fla.
Friday, March 6
Seton Hall (6-8) vs. Bowling Green (4-4) - 4:15 p.m.
Seton Hall (6-8) vs. North Florida (13-6) - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 7
Seton Hall (6-8) vs. Wisconsin (6-10) - 11:15 a.m.
Seton Hall (6-8) vs. SIUE (10-4) - 1:45 p.m.
Sunday, March 8
Seton Hall (6-8) vs. Robert Morris (7-6) - 11:15 a.m.
The Seton Hall University softball team opens a lengthy Spring Break trip to the sunshine state with five games at the USF Under Armour Showcase this Friday-Sunday, March 6-8, in Clearwater, Fla.
The Pirates will face Bowling Green and North Florida on Friday, Wisconsin and SIUE Saturday, and conclude tournament play against Robert Morris on Sunday morning.
Seton Hall is eager to get back to action after taking last weekend off. The Pirates are coming off a 1-3 showing at the ECU Pirate Invitational, but SHU closed out that tournament with a 10-8 win over host ECU, which was highlighted by the second two-home run game of the season for freshman third baseman Alexis Walkden, a performance that helped her earn BIG EAST Honor Roll accolades for the first time in her career.
SHU will play 12 games over 10 days during Spring Break, and the key for the Pirates is finding some consistency. After jumping out to a 5-0 start after the first weekend of play, SHU lost eight in a row prior to bouncing back at ECU.
The hitting seems to be explosive at times, as SHU is slugging .481 as a team with 39 of its 90 hits going for extra bases, including 18 home runs, which ranks second in the BIG EAST.
Last season, The Hall struggled during its Florida swing, but suffered four losses by two or fewer runs. Cutting down on mistakes on the mound and the field is still a focus for head coach Paige Smith; when the team lost eight straight, three came by two or fewer runs.
Lauren Fischer continues to be the leader on the mound with a 3.63 earned run average and a .265 opponent batting average. However, Danielle DeStaso has a team-high three wins and has struck out 26 batters in 28.1 innings.
SETON HALL SOFTBALL HEADLINES
- Seton Hall returns to action after having nearly two weeks off. The Pirates are coming off a 10-8 win over East Carolina two weekends ago.
- Last Monday, Alexis Walkden was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the first time in her career.
- Walkden hit .375 at the East Carolina Invitational, scoring twice and driving in five runs. She homered twice in the win over ECU, just the 15th multi-home run game in program history.
- Danielle DeSaso earned the victory against ECU and in doing so moved into a tie for sixth place all-time at Seton Hall with 30-career wins. She leads SHU with three wins on the mound so far this year.
- Walkden and senior Sara Haefeli are tied for the team lead with five home runs apiece. Seton Hall ranks second in the BIG EAST with 18 homers.
WALKDEN NAMED TO FIRST HONOR ROLL
Freshman Alexis Walkden was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the first time in her career on Feb. 23. Walkden led the Pirates at the East Carolina Invitational, hitting .375 with a .444 on-base percentage, two runs scored and five RBI.
WALKDEN RECORDS ANOTHER MULTI-HOME RUN GAME
Freshman slugger Alexis Walkden homered twice in Seton Hall's 10-8 win over East Carolina on Feb. 22. It was the second time this season she went yard twice in the same game. It is a rare feat to be sure. In Seton Hall's history, there have been just 16 multi-home run performances, but three have them have come this season.
PIRATES GET BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN
Seton Hall snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 10-8 win over East Carolina on Feb. 22. The Pirates saw three of those losses come by two or fewer runs.
DESTASO SIXTH IN WINS
With a win on the mound against East Carolina on Feb. 22, Danielle DeStaso moved into a tie with Ashley Forsyth for sixth-place in program history with 30 wins. She is 30-41 all-time at Seton Hall, posting a career-best 14 victories in 2013.
HARRELL ON HONOR ROLL
Yasmin Harrell landed on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 16, after leading the Pirates offensively at the 25th Annual Campbell/Cartier Classic in San Diego. Harrell hit a team-best .375 with a base hit in four of the five games of the tournament and two multi-hit games. She also scored twice and had an RBI and a stolen base.
