Pirates Head to Spartanburg, SC for Trio of Games

Friday, February 23, 2018
Cleveland S. Harley Park - Spartanburg, S.C.

SETON HALL (1-2) at USC UPSTATE (2-2-1)

Date

Seton Hall
Probable Starter

USC Upstate
Probable Starter

Live
Video

Live
Audio

Live
Stats

Twitter

Friday,
Feb. 23
4:00 p.m.

SHANE
MCCARTHY
(0-1, 3.60 ERA)
RHP

Blake Whitney
(0-0, 2.25 ERA)
RHP

None

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

Saturday, February 24, 2018 - Russell C. King Field - Spartanburg, S.C.

SETON HALL (1-2) at WOFFORD (1-3)

Date

Seton Hall
Probable Starter

Wofford
Probable Starter

Live
Video

Live
Audio

Live
Stats

Twitter

Saturday,
Feb. 24
2:00 p.m.

ANDREW
POLITI
(0-1, 5.79 ERA)
RHP

Austin Higginbotham
(0-1, 3.00 ERA)
LHP

SoCon
Digital
Network

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

Sunday, February 25, 2018 - Russell C. King Field - Spartanburg, S.C.

SETON HALL (1-2) vs. PITTSBURGH (3-1)

Date

Seton Hall
Probable Starter

Pittsburgh
Probable Starter

Live
Video

Live
Audio

Live
Stats

Twitter

Sunday,
Feb. 25
Noon

TBD

Blair Calvo
(0-0, 0.00 ERA)
RHP

None

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

PREVIEW:
Seton Hall returns to action this weekend with a trio of contests in Spartanburg, S.C. The Pirates will face USC Upstate, Wofford and Pittsburgh. The weekend begins with a game against USC Upstate on Friday at 4:00 p.m. The Pirate Sports Network will broadcast a free live audio stream for all three contests at SHUpirates.com.

The Pirates began the 2018 season last weekend with three games at No. 23 NC State. The Hall dropped the first two games of the series, a doubleheader, on Friday, but bounced back with a come-from-behind victory over the Wolfpack on Sunday. In Seton Hall's 8-6 victory, both Sebastiano Santorelli and Matt Toke clubbed their first career home runs. The victory went to sophomore Blake Espinal, who pitched two perfect innings in relief, while senior Matt Leon picked up the save.

For their efforts, Leon was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week on Monday, and Santorelli was added to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.

SERIES INFORMATION:
Seton Hall has never played either USC Upstate or Wofford, but has a lengthy history with Pittsburgh. The Pirates have dominated the all-time series against the former BIG EAST opponent, winning 64 of 92 all-time meetings. The Panthers however, won the last meeting in dramatic fashion, a 7-6 victory in 12 innings to eliminate the Pirates from the 2013 BIG EAST Championship in Clearwater, Fla.

THINGS TO KNOW:
BIG EAST PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Senior Matt Leon was named BIG EAST Baseball Pitcher of the Week on Monday. Facing one of the most explosive offenses in the NCAA, Leon made two appearances in three games and held NC State scoreless over a total of 3.1 innings. In game two of Friday's doubleheader, Leon pitched 2.1 innings of relief and recorded six of his seven outs by strikeout. He walked just one batter in a no decision. On Sunday, Leon was tasked with closing out an 8-6 victory over the Wolfpack. He tossed a scoreless ninth inning, striking out one batter, and collecting his first save of the season.

SANTORELLI'S HONOR ROLL
Junior Sebastiano Santorelli was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. Santorelli started all three games as the Pirates designated hitter over the weekend at NC State and led them with a .455 batting average. In game one of Friday's doubleheader, he was the lone Pirate with two hits, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. On Sunday, Santorelli erupted with a 3-for-4 performance, falling just a triple shy of the cycle. Leading off the top of the fourth inning, he belted his first career home run. Santorelli also had a double, a run scored and two RBIs vs. the No. 23 Wolfpack on Sunday in an 8-6 Seton Hall victory.

LAST SERIES
Seton Hall opened the 2018 season last weekend at No. 23 NC State and won the final game of the three-game series. Both Matt Toke and Sebastiano Santorelli hit their first career home runs as the Pirates out-slugged the Wolfpack, 8-6, in the finale. Blake Espinal earned the win in relief and Matt Leon picked up the save.

HOT HITTER
Sophomore Matt Toke has picked up where he left off last season, and currently carries a 14-game hitting streak entering this weekend. The first baseman finished the 2017 season with hits in 11 straight games and how has hit safely in all three games so far this season. None of his hits were larger than his three-run home run at No. 23 NC State on Sunday, which proved to be the winning runs.

ON THE MOUND
One of the many Pirates to make his pitching debut last weekend was sophomore Blake Espinal. After not making an appearance in 2017, Espinal took the ball in relief on Sunday and pitched two perfect innings, with two strikeouts to earn the victory in the Pirates' 8-6 win at No. 23 NC State.

DAZZLING DEBUTS
In addition to Espinal, freshmen Tyler Burnham and Ryan McLinskey made their collegiate debuts last weekend at NC State. Burnham didn't allow an earned run and struck out two batters in two innings in game one of Friday's double-header, while McLinskey made two appearances and allowed one earned run over 1.2 innings. In the field, Casey Dana, Christian Del Castillo and Nick Dabrio all appeared in a game for the first time for Seton Hall. Both Dana and Castillo made all three starts and collected two hits.

AROUND THE CONFERENCE
Last weekend, Butler, Villanova and St. John's all swept their season-opening series. Butler won four games in a tournament hosted by UNC-Wilmington, while Villanova swept its series at Norfolk State and St. John's won three at Campbell. Creighton won one game of three at Northeastern, while both Georgetown and Xavier were swept in the first weekend. Xavier however, was facing fifth-ranked Florida State.

PIRATE SPORTS NETWORK
The Pirate Sports Network at SHUpirates.com will again provide free live video streaming of all Seton Hall home baseball games. Additionally, Sports Information Director Matt Sweeney will provide a free live audio stream of most road contests. Be sure to visit the PSN at SHUpirates.com!