Pirates Set to Battle St. John's for First Place

May 11 - 12, 2018
South Orange, N.J. - Owen T. Carroll Field

SETON HALL (24-16-1, 10-2) vs. ST. JOHN'S (32-11, 11-1)

Date

Seton Hall
Probable Starter

St. John's
Probable Starter

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Friday,
May 11
4:30 p.m. ET

SHANE
MCCARTHY
(3-4, 4.77 ERA)
RHP

Sean Mooney
(9-2, 2.44 ERA)
RHP

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STATS

@SHUBaseball

Saturday,
May 12
1:30 p.m. ET

RICKY
DEVITO
(4-1, 1.61 ERA)
RHP

Kevin Magee
(5-3, 2.56 ERA)
LHP

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STATS

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Saturday,
May 12
TBD

BILLY
LAYNE, JR.
(4-1, 3.57 ERA)
RHP

Mike LoPresti
(4-1, 2.67 ERA)
RHP

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@SHUBaseball

PREVIEW:
Seton Hall returns to the friendly confines of Owen T. Carroll Field this weekend for its final home series of the year. The Pirates will host St. John's in a battle for first place in the BIG EAST Conference. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. The game will shown on the Fox Sports Go app via the BIG EAST Digital Network. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, with first pitch of game one scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Senior Day festivities will commence beforehand.

The Pirates are coming off a series victory in Omaha against Creighton last weekend, thanks in large part to excellent pitching. The Hall fell 4-2 on Friday, but bounced back with a 2-1 victory on Saturday and a 3-0 shutout on Sunday. DeVito allowed only one run over 6.2 innings in Saturday's victory, while Billy Layne, Jr. set career-highs with 8.1 scoreless innings and 11 strikeouts on Sunday. Matt Leon earned the save in both games and now has nine for the season, which ties Seton Hall's single-season record.

For their efforts over the weekend, Layne, Jr. was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week and DeVito was added to the Weekly Honor Roll.

On Tuesday, the Pirates defeated Rider, 5-3, behind 11 hits and seven pitchers.

SERIES INFORMATION:
Seton Hall and St. John's will resume their very long rivalry this weekend. St. John's owns a 68-58 all-time series lead. Last year, the teams met four times, three in the regular season at Owen T. Carroll Field, and once in the BIG EAST Championship. The Red Storm won two of the three regular season games, and edged the Pirates, 3-2, in the tournament. The last time Seton Hall host St. John's at Owen T. Carroll Field, in 2016, the Pirates won two of three games.

St. John's enters the weekend ranked No. 17 in the country by Collegiate Baseball and possessing an impressive 32-11 overall record and 11-1 mark in BIG EAST play. Their only loss in conference games was a 7-3 setback at Xavier on April 27. The very next day, the Red Storm defeated the Musketeers, 34-7, and enter South Orange having won six straight. They are coming off their BIG EAST bye week, and swept non-conference Liberty in Queens last weekend. The Red Storm have a team batting average over .300 and an ERA under 3.00.

PROMOTIONS:
FRIDAY – FREE Dinosaur BBQ for All Students!! That's right… FREE Dino BBQ!!
SATURDAY - $1.00 Hotdogs, drinks and popcorn!!

THINGS TO KNOW:
LAYNE NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Billy Layne, Jr. was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week on Monday. On Sunday at Creighton, the junior had the best start of any Seton Hall pitcher so far this year. Layne, Jr. tossed a career-best 8.1 scoreless innings and scattered just two hits. He struck out a career-high 11 batters and walked only two.

DEVITO NAMED TO HONOR ROLL
For a third consecutive week, the BIG EAST honored sophomore Ricky DeVito on Monday. He was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after allowing just one run over 6.2 innings in Seton Hall's 2-1 victory at Creighton on Saturday. He struck out six batters and walked only two.

BUCKING THE BRONCS
Four Pirates collected at least two hits and seven pitchers combined to limit the Broncs offense as Seton Hall defeated Rider, 5-3, on Tuesday, in its final midweek game of the season. In the bottom of the third inning, senior Al Molina delivered his BIG EAST-leading 17th double of the season, which scored Santorelli from first base, and gave the Pirates the lead for good.

PIRATES WIN CREIGHTON SERIES
Seton Hall won its fourth straight BIG EAST Conference series last weekend with a series victory in Omaha against Creighton. It's the Pirates first series victory ever over the Bluejays. The Hall fell, 4-2, on Friday, but bounced back with a 2-1 victory on Saturday and a 3-0 shutout win on Sunday.

FOUR STRAIGHT SERIES WINS
Seton Hall has won its first four BIG EAST series for the first time since 1995. That year, the Pirates' pitching staff was led by future MLB all-stars Matt Morris and Jason Grilli.

CLINCHED
With last weekend's stellar performance at Creighton, Seton Hall became the second team to clinch a berth in the upcoming BIG EAST Championship. The Pirates are now 10-2 in conference and trail only St. John's 11-1 for the BIG EAST lead. It is the eighth straight season that the Pirates have qualified for the conference tournament.

LEON CLIMBING CHARTS
Senior Matt Leon's is cementing his place as one of the greatest relief pitchers in Seton Hall history. His save on Sunday gave him nine for the season, which ties the Pirates' single-season record, and 13 for his career, which ties for the second-most ever. Leon's 83 career appearances ties Matt Singer for third-most in Seton Hall history.

GOING DEEP
The home run by Al Molina at Creighton on Sunday, was the 20th of the season by a Seton Hall hitter, which surpasses its total for all of 2017. With its next home run, The Hall will have hit its most home runs since belting 24 in 2008. The Pirates still have a minimum of eight games remaining this season.

LEAGUE LEADERS
Since Seton Hall is more than halfway through its BIG EAST Conference schedule, it makes sense to see who the league leaders are in BIG EAST only games. Senior Ryan Ramiz currently leads the conference with a .469 batting average and a .575 on-base percentage. Matt Leon leads the conference in ERA, appearances, saves and games finished. Leon has six saves in BIG EAST play, the second-best closer in conference-only games has only two. Tyler Shedler-McAvoy is tied for the BIG EAST lead in sacrifice bunts, while Al Molina leads the conference in defensive assists.