Pirates Head to Charlottesville for Series at UVA

March 1 - 3, 2019
Charlottesville, Virginia – Davenport Field

SETON HALL (0-5) at VIRGINIA (4-4)

Date

Seton Hall
Probable Starter

Virginia
Probable Starter

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Video

Live
Audio

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Stats

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Friday,
March 1
3:00 pm

NOAH
THOMPSON
(0-1, 7.88 ERA)
RHP

Noah Murdock
(0-0, 4.09 ERA)
RHP

None

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

Saturday,
March 2
1:00 pm

COLE
PATTEN
(0-0, 3.38 ERA)
RHP

Griff McGarry
(1-1, 6.00 ERA)
RHP

None

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STATS

@SHUBaseball

Sunday,
March 3
1:00 pm

TBD

Mike Vasil
(0-1, 6.48 ERA)
RHP

None

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STATS

@SHUBaseball

PREVIEW:
Seton Hall returns to action this weekend with a three-game series in Charlottesville against the University of Virginia. All three games will be carried live via the ACC Network and the Watch ESPN app.

The Pirates are coming off a pair of losses during a significantly altered weekend schedule. Instead of going to Cary, N.C. to face Dayton for a three-game series, rain kept The Hall local. They played both Fairleigh Dickinson and Dayton at FDU's home in Teaneck. On Friday, the Pirates got a pair of RBIs from both Casey Dana and Alex Clyde, and rallied from a 5-0 deficit, but ultimately fell, 6-5, in 10 innings.

On Saturday, five Seton Hall pitchers limited Dayton to just one earned run, but the Pirates ran into a tough pitcher and couldn't get the offense going in a 2-1 setback.

SERIES INFORMATION:
For being non-conference opponents, Seton Hall and Virginia have a lengthy history playing one another. The Cavaliers lead the all-time series, 34-20-1, but it's been four seasons since they've met. Most recently, The Hall fell to then No. 4 Virginia in Myrtle Beach, 4-1, early in the 2015 season. Seton Hall hasn't been to Charlottesville since dropping a pair of games to Virginia during the UVA Tournament in 2012. The teams haven't played a three-game series since 2004.

Virginia enters the weekend with a 4-4 overall record, having already played three ranked opponents. The Cavaliers lost to No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 17 TCU and No. 24 Cal State Fullerton. They played a three-game series against BIG EAST foe Villanova in Charlottesville, and swept all three contests. Most recently, Virginia dropped a mid-week contest to William & Mary, 9-3, on Tuesday.

THINGS TO KNOW:
PIRATES DROP PAIR
Seton Hall lost its two games last weekend after a schedule adjustment. Instead of heading to Cary, N.C. to face Dayton for a three-game series, the Pirates went to Fairleigh Dickinson to face the Knights and the Flyers. The Hall fell to FDU on Friday, 6-5, in 10 innings. They lost to Dayton in a pitchers' duel, 2-1, on Saturday.

BOUNCE BACKS
A pair of Pirate pitchers that didn't fare well against Ohio State had nice relief outings last weekend. Junior Blake Espinal scattered just three hits over four scoreless innings with three strikeouts and no walks against FDU. Sophomore Tyler Burnham also didn't allow a hit and struck out four batters in two innings of relief against Dayton.

YOUNG ARMS
Two freshmen, David Festa and Nick Payero are off to strong starts in their collegiate careers. Neither have allowed a run yet, with Payero yet to allow a hit. Festa has struck out five batters and walked two in four innings, while Payero has held opponents hitless through three innings.

CLYDE EXCELS
Freshman infielder Alex Clyde has been the most pleasant offensive surprise to far this season. The newcomer currently leads the Pirates with five hits and three RBIs this season and is batting .385.

HONOR ROLL FOR THOMPSON
Junior Noah Thompson was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 18 for the first time in his career. The right-hander registered career-highs of six innings pitched and 10 strikeouts, while allowing only two runs in a loss to Ohio State on Saturday.

TOKE GOES DEEP
Junior Matt Toke was the first Pirate to hit a home run in the 2019 season. The first baseman hit a towering two-run homer in the eighth inning of Seton Hall's 4-3 loss to Ohio State on Feb. 15. It's the fourth of Toke's career.

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.