Pirates Head to Creighton for Crucial Road Series

May 4 - 6, 2018
Omaha, Nebraska – TD Ameritrade Park

SETON HALL (21-15-1, 8-1) at CREIGHTON (25-13, 4-7)

Date

Seton Hall
Probable Starter

Creighton
Probable Starter

Live
Video

Live
Audio

Live
Stats

Twitter

Friday,
May 34
8:30 p.m. ET

SHANE
MCCARTHY
(3-3, 4.68 ERA)
RHP

Ryan Tapani
(7-1, 2.48 ERA)
RHP

None

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

Saturday,
May 5
7:30 p.m. ET

RICKY
DEVITO
(3-1, 1.66 ERA)
RHP

Mitch Ragan
(4-3, 4.42 ERA)
RHP

NET
NEBRASKA

None

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

Sunday,
May 6
1:00 p.m. ET

BILLY
LAYNE, JR.
(3-1, 4.50 ERA)
RHP

Preston Church
(5-3, 4.57 ERA)
LHP

GoCreighton
.com

None

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

PREVIEW:
Seton Hall will return to action this weekend with a crucial three-game BIG EAST series in Omaha, Nebraska against Creighton. Friday night's game begins at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised live on FS1. Games on Saturday and Sunday will be streamed live.

The Pirates are coming off their second straight weekend sweep of a BIG EAST opponent. The Hall swept three games from Villanova at Owen T. Carroll Field. Behind strong pitching all weekend, they defeated the Wildcats, 8-2 on Friday, 2-1 on Saturday and 11-2 on Sunday. All three Seton Hall starters went at least five innings and didn't allow more than two runs. Starters Ricky DeVito and Billy Layne, Jr., who started on Saturday and Sunday respectively, each earned victories and struck out nine batters.

For is efforts in scattering just three hits over six shutout innings against the Wildcats on Saturday, DeVito was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.

On Tuesday, the Pirates won their fourth game in a row, an 11-2 win over Saint Peter's.

SERIES INFORMATION:
Seton Hall and Creighton don't have a long history, and the results have been somewhat lop-sided, but the games have been close and the matchup has turned into one of the better new rivalries in the BIG EAST. The Bluejays have won 13 of the first 17 games between the teams, but 11 of the 17 games have been decided by two runs or less. Last year, Creighton won two of three games during the regular season at Owen T. Carroll Field, and defeated the Pirates, 4-1, in the 2017 BIG EAST Championship. The Pirate offense batted only .175 over the four games last year, but their pitching staff had an ERA of just 2.31. Matt Leon had a 1.80 ERA in two appearances.

Creighton enters this weekend with a 25-13 overall record, but just a 4-7 mark in BIG EAST Conference play. So far, they split a two-game series with Butler (one game was cancelled), they were swept by St. John's and dropped two of three most recently at home to Georgetown.

THINGS TO KNOW:
DEVITO EARNS HONOR ROLL
Sophomore Ricky DeVito was named to the BIG EAST Baseball Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. The right-hander scattered just three hits and struck out a career-high nine batters with only three walks against Villanova on Saturday. The victory improved DeVito to 3-1 on the season and his performance lowers his ERA to a miniscule 1.66.

MIDWEEK MATCHUP
Sophomore Connor Hood reached base four times, and junior Chris Villa had three hits as the Pirates routed Saint Peter's, 11-1, on Wednesday. Hood reached base four times, going 2-for-2 with a double, two walks, an RBI, a stolen base and three runs scored. Villa had a team-best three hits, going 3-for-3 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs.

SWEEPING THE WILDCATS
Seton Hall is coming off its second straight BIG EAST Conference series sweep. The Pirates upended Villanova last weekend to improve to 8-1 conference play. The Hall defeated Nova, 8-2 on Friday, edged them 2-1 on Saturday and routed the Wildcats, 11-2 on Sunday.

STELLAR STARTERS
Seton Hall starting pitchers Shane McCarthy, Ricky DeVito and Billy Layne, Jr. have been the key to the Pirates' recent success. They haven't allowed more than two earned runs over their last eight combined starts and are 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA over that period.

STRONG START
It's the first time since 1989 that Seton Hall has won eight of its first nine BIG EAST games. That year, the Pirates won 13 of their first 14 games.

LEON CLIMBING CHARTS
Senior Matt Leon's save on Saturday is the 11th of his career. He passed Chris Noonan for fifth-most in Seton Hall history. He needs just two more to tie the record for most saves in a single-season. Additionally, Leon's 81st career pitching appearance on Sunday puts him in fourth place on the Pirates' career list.

GOING DEEP
The home run by Casey Dana on Sunday in the series finale against Villanova was his team-leading fifth of the season, and the Pirates' 19th of the year. The 19 home runs matches the season total from 2017 and there are still 10 games remaining in the regular season.

LEAGUE LEADERS
Since Seton Hall is 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.

400 WIN CLUB
With a victory over Xavier on April 13, Seton Hall head coach Rob Sheppard became only the second Pirate baseball coach to reach 400 career victories. Only his father, Hall of Famer Mike Sheppard, Sr., has more wins at Seton Hall, 998.

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!

Scoreboard

Seton Hall University Athletics

Next Event

Related Videos

Sponsors Slider