Pirates Travel to Iona for Series this Weekend

March 29 - 31, 2019
NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK - City Park

SETON HALL (8-12) at IONA (5-18)

Date

Seton Hall
Probable Starter

Iona
Probable Starter

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Friday,
March 29
3:00 pm

RICKY
DEVITO
(1-0, 1.12 ERA)
RHP

Stephen Hansen
(1-3, 4.79 ERA)
RHP

None

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Saturday,
March 30
1:00 pm

NOAH
THOMPSON
(2-1, 4.26 ERA)
RHP

Hunter Sibley
(1-3, 3.38 ERA)
RHP

None

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Sunday,
March 31
Noon

DAVID
FESTA
(1-1, 1.93 ERA)
RHP

Paul Sullivan
(2-2, 4.02 ERA)
RHP

None

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PREVIEW:
Seton Hall returns to action this weekend with a three-game series in new Rochelle, N.Y. against local rival Iona. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

Last weekend, the Pirates' bats did the talking, erupting for 22 runs over two games against Wagner and Monmouth. On Saturday, the Pirates shut out Wagner behind seven scoreless innings from starting pitcher Ricky DeVito and a five-RBI outburst by junior Christian Del Castillo. On Sunday, The Hall routed Monmouth, 12-2, in West Long Branch. Del Castillo, Tyler Shedler-McAvoy and Thomas Holdorf all drove in three runs, with Del Castillo going 4-for-5 with a home run for the second straight day.

On Tuesday vs. NJIT, freshman Brennan O'Neill tossed six scoreless innings and both David Haberman and Steve Grober belted home runs in an 8-5 Seton Hall victory.

On Wednesday at FDU, freshman Cole Patten allowed only two hits over six scoreless innings and sophomore Casey Dana hit a home run as the Pirates won, 8-1.

SERIES INFORMATION:
Seton Hall and Iona have met 35 times in history, with the Pirates having won 31 of the games. The Pirates have won the last 10 meetings between the teams, including their last game, a 5-4 victory at Owen T. Carroll Field in 2016. The last time The Hall has made the trip to New Rochelle was in 1985, a 10-4 loss, the Pirates' last loss in the series.

The only current Pirate to play in Seton Hall's last meeting with Iona was Chris Villa. The catcher went 0-for-2 with a walk, a run scored and a pair of strikeouts.

Iona enters the weekend with a record 5-18 overall. Last weekend, they dropped two of three games against Fairfield. Most recently they split a pair of midweek contest, defeating FDU on Tuesday and felling in 12 innings to Albany on Wednesday.

THINGS TO KNOW:
DEL CASTILLO PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Christian Del Castillo was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Monday. The outfielder batted a team-best .600 with a 1.133 slugging percentage in three Seton Hall victories last week. Del Castillo's strong week was capped on Saturday with a 4-for-5 performance at Monmouth.

DEVITO HONOR ROLL
Junior Ricky DeVito was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. The Pirate's ace tossed seven scoreless innings against Wagner, and scattered just three hits to earn his first victory of the season.

MARVELOUS MIDWEEK
Seton Hall won both of its midweek game this week vs. NJIT and at Fairleigh Dickinson. On Tuesday, freshman Brennan O'Neill tossed six scoreless innings as the Pirates defeated NJIT, 8-1. On Wednesday, The Hall got nearly the same pitching performance from another freshman, Cole Patten. He went six scoreless at FDU in an 8-1 victory.

PIRATES ROUT MONMOUTH, WAGNER
The Pirates swept their last weekend games, beating both Wagner and Monmouth in West Long Branch. The Hall shut out Wagner behind seven scoreless from Ricky DeVito, and a five-RBI outburst by Christian Del Castillo. On Saturday, the Pirates routed Monmouth, 12-2, thanks to a four-hit game by Del Castillo and three-RBI performances by Tyler Shedler-McAvoy and Thomas Holdorf.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING
Seton Hall enters the weekend having won five straight games after beginning the season 3-12. Over that stretch, the Pirates have had a .293 team batting average, have slugged six home runs, and own a 2.20 team earned run average.

OFFENSE EMERGING
Through their first 15 games, the Pirates team batting average was just .223, but in the five games since, they've raised the average to a season-high .242. In their last five games, The Hall is averaging 10.6 hits and 9.8 runs per game. Both Christian Del Castillo (.355) and Jerry Huntzinger (.340) rank among the top six in the BIG EAST Conference in batting.

STREAKS
While Seton Hall has won five straight as a team, some players also have impressive streaks going. Sophomore Casey Dana has reached base in 13 consecutive games. Both Tyler Shedler-McAvoy and Matt Toke have done so in 10 straight games. In terms of hits, both Christian Del Castillo and Steve Grober have hit safely in five straight.

PIRATES GO DEEP
Seton Hall has belted home runs in four straight games (six during that span). Against NJIT on Tuesday, both David Haberman and Steve Grober belted their first career home runs. The dingers came in back-to-back fashion in the second inning. It's the first time that The Hall has gone back-to-back since D.J. Ruhlman and Kyle Grimm did so on March 10, 2014.

STRONG STARTERS
Seton Hall starters have pitched to a 1.61 earned run average over the team's last five games, with Brennan O'Neill claiming a pair of victories in the span. In Seton Hall's last five games, Pirate starters have allowed only 14 hits combined and have struck out 25 batters.