Pirates Face Stetson in Pair of Mid-Week Contests

March 7-8, 2017
DeLand, Florida - Melching Field at Conrad Park

SETON HALL (4-6) at STETSON (5-7)

Date

Seton Hall
Probable Starter

Stetson
Probable Starter

Live
Video

Live
Audio

Live
Stats

Twitter

Tuesday,
March 7
6:30 p.m. ET

BILLY
LAYNE, JR.
RHP

Austin Bogart
(0-0, 8.44 ERA)
RHP

HATTER
VISION

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

Wednesday,
March 8
3:00 p.m. ET

CHRIS
MORRIS
RHP

Ben Onyshko
(1-2, 11.42 ERA)
LHP

HATTER
VISION

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

PREVIEW:
Seton Hall will continue its Spring Break trip this week with a pair of mid-week, non-conference games at Stetson University. The Pirates will play the Hatters on Tuesday at 6:30 pm ET and on Wednesday at 3:00 pm ET. Both games will have a free live audio stream via the Pirate Sports Network at SHUpirates.com.

The Hall is coming off 1-2 weekend at the Cox Diamond Invitational in Pensacola, Fla. The Pirates lost 6-3 in the opener on Friday. Senior Mike Caputo went 3-for-4 with a double in the loss. Starter Shane McCarthy allowed four earned runs over six innings. On Saturday, the Pirates fell to Southeastern Louisiana, 13-1. The Hall bounced back on Sunday however, with a 3-2 victory over South Alabama. Senior Zach Prendergast pitched seven strong innings, allowing just two runs, while striking out four batters. Ryan Ramiz went 2-for-3, including a two-RBI double in the victory.

SERIES INFORMATION:
Seton Hall and Stetson have only met four other times in history with the teams splitting the contests with two wins apiece. This brief series will be the first time the teams have met since a 9-2 Seton Hall victory in 1982.

The Hatters enter the mid-week series with a record of 5-7. They're hitting .244 as a team and pitching to a 3.73 team earned run average. Most recently, Stetson dropped two of three games at home last weekend. They lost to Western Michigan, 5-3, and Connecticut, 9-3. The Hatters opened the weekend with a 6-2 victory over St. Joseph's. Stetson will already be the third Atlantic Sun opponent the Pirates have seen. Stetson was predicted to finish sixth in the eight-team conference this season. Their NCAA RPI entering the series is 248.

THINGS TO KNOW:
PRENDERGAST HONOR ROLL
Senior Zach Prendergast was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. The right-hander pitched a gem in a victory over South Alabama, throwing seven innings and allowing just two runs with four strikeouts and just one walk.

PIRATES DOWN SOUTH ALABAMA
Seton Hall was able to salvage the final game of the Cox Diamond Invitational in Pensacola on Sunday. The Pirates jumped out to a 3-0 lead on South Alabama with a trio of runs in the third inning, and was able to hold on for the 3-2 victory.

TESTANI EMERGING
After a strong summer league, senior Ryan Testani has emerged as one of the key bullpen arms for the Pirates this season. To date, he has appeared in five games, pitching a total of 8.0 innings and has yet to allow a run. Testani has five strikeouts and no walks. Most recently, he picked up a save vs. South Alabama.

100 FOR PODUSLENKO
With a hit against South Alabama on Sunday, senior Joe Poduslenko has reached 100 for his career. The Pirate third baseman currently is off to a hot start this season, leading the Pirates with a .368 batting average.

FLEXING MUSCLES
For the first time since May 4, 2013, the Pirates hit four home runs in a single game. Against San Diego State on Feb. 25, Mikael-Ali Mogues hit a two-run home run in the first inning, Al Molina hit a solo shot and Mike Alescio hit a two-run home run in the second inning, and Joe Poduslenko hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning.

COMEBACK KIDS
Trailing 6-3 to Michigan with one out in the top of the ninth inning on Feb. 19, the Pirates rallied for five runs to win the game, 8-6. Al Molina delivered a two-run single to cut the Wolverine lead to 6-5, and then Joe Poduslenko crushed a three-run home run over the left field fence to put The Hall in front.

MCCARTHY, ALESCIO PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST
Juniors Shane McCarthy and Mike Alescio were named to the 2017 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. McCarthy was one of only four players to be named a unanimous selection. The right-hander led the BIG EAST in ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched. Alescio was a Johnny Bench Award List member and batted .310.

FREE PIRATE SPORTS NETWORK
For the first time, all baseball broadcasts, both video and audio, will be free of charge on the Pirates Sports Network at SHUpirates.com. All home games will have a free live video stream, while select away contests will have a free live audio stream.

PIRATES PICKED FOURTH
Seton Hall was picked to finish fourth in the seven-team BIG EAST Conference by the coaches in the 2017 preseason poll. St. John's and Xavier tied for the top spot, while Creighton was selected third, just one point ahead of the Pirates.

SCHELLENGER AMONG TOP COLLEGE PROSPECTS
Junior Zach Schellenger is currently listed No. 89 in Baseball America's list of the Top-100 College MLB Draft Prospects. The Pirates' closer saved six games and struck out 70 batters in only 45.2 innings last season.

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
The season will conclude at the home of Creighton and the College World Series, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha with the 2017 BIG EAST Baseball Championship presented by Jeep. The championship will be played on Memorial Day weekend, May 25-28.