Pirates Open 2019 Season Against Ohio State

Friday, February 15

Port Charlotte, Fla. / Charlotte Sports Park

2:00 PM

Seton Hall University

Ohio State

2/14/2019 10:00:00 AM | Baseball

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FEBRUARY 15-17, 2019
Port Charlotte, Florida – Snowbird Classic

SETON HALL (0-0) vs. OHIO STATE (0-0)

Date

Seton Hall

Probable Starter

Ohio State
Probable Starter

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Friday,
Feb. 15
2:00 pm

RICKY
DEVITO
(0-0, 0.00 ERA)
RHP

Seth Lonsway
(0-0, 0.00 ERA)
LHP

None

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STATS

@SHUBaseball

Saturday,
Feb. 16
2:00 pm

NOAH
THOMPSON
(0-0, 0.00 ERA)
RHP

Garrett Burhenn
(0-0, 0.00 ERA)
RHP

None

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

Sunday,
Feb. 17
Noon ET

TYLER
BURNHAM
(0-0, 0.00 ERA)
LHP

Jake Vance
(0-0, 0.00 ERA)
RHP

None

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

PREVIEW:
Seton Hall will open the 2019 regular season with three games against Big Ten power Ohio State this weekend in Port Charlotte, Fla.

The Pirates will have a new look this season with several regular starters from the 2018 team having graduated and 14 newcomers on the roster. The Hall will have a new starting catcher, second baseman, shortstop and outfielder this season following the graduations of Mike Alescio, Rob Dadona, Al Molina and Ryan Ramiz respectively.

On the mound, reigning BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Ricky DeVito returns to bolster a young staff. Former starters Shane McCarthy and Andrew Politi graduated, while Billy Layne, Jr. left for the MLB Draft. That leaves room for returnees like Noah Thompson and Tyler Burnham to get their first attempt at pitching in the weekend rotation. Junior Corey Sawyer is expected to take over for the departed Matt Leon as team closer, with Matt Ponsiglione, Ryan McLinskey, Blake Espinal, Sean Miller and Hunter Waldis all likely to see their bullpen roles expanded.

SERIES INFORMATION:
Seton Hall and Ohio State have met nine prior times in history, but this will be the first three-game series between the programs. The Buckeyes hold a slim, 5-4 edge in the prior games, and have won the last three. Most recently, the Pirates fell to Ohio State, 9-3, during the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. in 2016. Chris Villa is the only current Pirate to have played in that game. He went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Ohio State is coming off a 36-24 season in 2018, which included an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes fell in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament and dropped both of its contests at the Greenville Regional to end their season. Ohio State played BIG EAST competitor Georgetown last year, and won two of three games in Columbus. Returning for OSU is All-Conference Second Team outfielder Dominic Canzone and Third Team third baseman Conner Pohl.

THINGS TO KNOW:
PICKED SECOND
Fresh off their second place finish in 2018, the Pirates were picked to finish tied for second in 2019 according to the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Hall is tied with Creighton for second place with 25 points. St. John's is predicted to win the conference and received 36 points, including six of seven first place votes. Expected to finish fourth is Xavier with 24 points, followed by Butler (17), Georgetown (13) and Villanova (7).

DEVITO, DANA PRESEASON HONORS
Junior Ricky DeVito has been named 2019 BIG EAST Preseason Pitcher of the Year. He was also a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Teammate Casey Dana was Seton Hall's other honoree named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.

GETTING NOTICED
Junior Ricky DeVito is gaining national attention as a 2019 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft top prospect. Baseball America released its top-100 draft prospects and listed DeVito as No. 58. The same publication had him as their No. 26 college baseball senior. The Pirates have had 16 pitchers drafted in the last 10 years, but none in the first two rounds since Jason Grilli went fourth overall in 1997.

ROAD WARRIORS
With Owen T. Carroll Field undergoing major renovations, the Pirates will play all of its games away from South Orange in 2019. Its three BIG EAST "home" series will be played at venues in New York. Seton Hall will host Creighton at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in Staten Island, April 18-20. The Pirates will host both Butler and Georgetown at Jack Kaiser Stadium at St. John's University. The Butler series is April 26-28 and the Georgetown series is May 10-11.

2019 FIRST PITCH DINNER
The 2019 Seton Hall Baseball First Pitch Dinner was held on January 25 in Bethany Hall on Seton Hall's campus. The crowd of approximately 180 people officially met the 2019 team and heard from head coach Rob Sheppard as well as guest speaker Eric Duncan, a former Pirate coach and current Miami Marlins hitting coordinator.

ARMS RACE
The Pirates lost a talented class of pitchers, including Shane McCarthy, Billy Layne, Jr. and Matt Leon, but have reloaded with a massive freshman class. Refilling the Pirates' staff in 2019 are freshman right-handers Brennan O'Neill, Niko Piccolo, Nick Payero, Blaise Panzini, Mark Diaz, Alex Nicolosi, David Festa and Cole Patten. The Hall also added left-hander Joe Cinnella, and right-handed senior transfer Chris Miranda.

NEW STAFF
Seton Hall has welcomed two new members to its coaching staff for 2019. Replacing Giuseppe Papaccio at volunteer assistant coach is Tyler Smarslok, while the new Director of Baseball Operations is Bruin Campbell. Both come with strong baseball backgrounds and will undoubtedly contribute to the Pirates' success this season.

PIRATES ON TV
Seton Hall will have five games broadcasted nationally externally of the Pirate Sports Network in 2019. Three contests will be shown on the BIG EAST Digital Network, Seton Hall's game at Villanova on April 5, against Butler on April 26 and against St. John's on May 17. The Pirates' game at St. John's on May 16 will be shown on FS1, and the finale of that series will be on CBS Sports Network.