Pirates Host Butler in Queens This Weekend

April 26 - 28, 2019
QUEENS, NEW YORK – Jack Kaiser Stadium

SETON HALL (16-21, 2-4) vs. BUTLER (20-18, 2-6)

Date

Seton Hall
Probable Starter

Butler
Probable Starter

Live
Video

Live
Audio

Live
Stats

Twitter

Friday,
April 26
2:00 pm

NOAH
THOMPSON
(3-2, 4.19 ERA)
RHP

Ryan Pepiot
(4-3, 2.45 ERA)
RHP

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

Saturday,
April 27
1:00 pm

RICKY
DEVITO
(1-4, 4.46 ERA)
RHP

Connor Schultz
(5-0, 1.75 ERA)
RHP

None

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

Sunday,
April 28
Noon

DAVID
FESTA
(2-2, 4.00 ERA)
RHP

Kevin Napoleon
(1-2, 2.54 ERA)
RHP

LIVE
STATS

@SHUBaseball

PREVIEW:
Seton Hall returns to action this weekend for its second home BIG EAST series of the season. With Owen T. Carroll Field renovations ongoing, the Pirates will host Butler for three games at Jack Kaiser Stadium on the campus of St. John's University in Queens, N.Y. this weekend. Friday's contest will begin at 2:00 p.m. and will be carried by the BIG EAST Sports Network. Sunday's broadcast will be shown on the Pirate Sports Network.

Seton Hall got decent pitching last weekend against Creighton, but struggled offensively. The Bluejays won all three contests, defeating the Pirates, 5-1 on Friday, 11-1 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday. Junior Noah Thompson allowed only two unearned runs over six strong innings with six strikeouts in the series finale. Sophomore Casey Dana was the lone Pirate with a multi-hit game. he went 2-for-4 with a run scored on Saturday.

On Wednesday, The Hall fell at Penn, 5-2. Tyler Shedler-McAvoy reached base three times, going 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two RBIs. The Quakers scored three times in the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie.

SERIES INFORMATION:
This will be the sixth all-time series between Seton Hall and Butler. The Pirates and Bulldogs met five times in 2018, with The Hall sweeping the regular season series in Indianapolis and the teams going 1-1 against each other in the BIG EAST Championship. In the first round of the Championship, Butler outlasted The Hall, 2-1, but the Pirates bounced back to eliminate the Bulldogs two days later with a 4-3 victory.

Ricky DeVito tossed eight shutout innings with eight strikeouts against Butler during the regular season last year. Connor Hood hit .333 against the Bulldogs last season, while Christian Del Castillo batted .294.

Butler enters the weekend with a 2-6 BIG EAST record. Last weekend, the dropped two contests at Xavier before the finale was rained out. Harrison Freed currently ranks second in the BIG EAST with a .365 average and leads the conference with 13 home runs and 50 RBIs. Ryan Pepiot leads the league by 41 strikeouts.

THINGS TO KNOW:
PIRATES FALL AT PENN
Junior Tyler Shedler-McAvoy reached base three times and drove in two runs, but Penn scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the Pirates, 5-2, on Wednesday. Shedler-McAvoy went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two RBIs to lead the Pirate offense. Starting pitcher Brennan O'Neill allowed only one run over four innings in a no decision.

CREIGHTON SERIES
Seton Hall dropped its first "home" BIG EAST series of the season. The Pirates hosted Creighton at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in Staten Island, and dropped all three contests. The Hall fell on Friday, 5-1, on Saturday, 11-1, and on Sunday, 3-1. The Hall received solid pitching throughout, but couldn't break out its bats.

NOAH PITCHES WELL
On Sunday, junior Noah Thompson allowed only two unearned runs over 6.1 innings pitched against a strong-offensive Creighton team. Thompson struck out six batters and walked three in the Pirates' 3-1 loss on Sunday.

SHUCADEMY AWARDS
A pair of baseball players came away with recognition from Seton Hall's SHUcademy Awards on Monday. David Festa was named Male Freshman Athlete of the Year, while junior Christian Del Castillo earned Male Breakthrough Athlete of the Year. Furthermore, senior Matt Ponsiglione was one of the co-hosts for the annual event.

CONSISTENT COREY
Junior Corey Sawyer has been arguably the top reliever in the BIG EAST Conference so far this season. The left-hander currently leads the conference in appearances (20) and games finished (17) and ranks second with four saves. Sawyer has a 1.61 earned run average and batters are hitting just .149 against him.

TOKE TOP DEFENDER
Junior Matt Toke has cemented himself was one of the top defenders at first base in the BIG EAST Conference. Toke has not committed an error yet this season, and his 271 defensive chances without an error are the most in the conference.

OFF TO THE RACES
Seton Hall has three of the top base stealers in the BIG EAST Conference. Tyler Shedler-McAvoy is currently second in the conference with 12 steals, while Jerry Huntzinger is tied for third with 11. Casey Dana is seventh with eight steals. As a team, the Pirates' 47 steals are the most in the BIG EAST.

NO-HITTER
Seton Hall recorded a no-hitter for the third time in four seasons on March 30. Five Pirates combined to keep Iona hitless, Noah Thompson, Tyler Burnham, Nick Payero, Hunter Waldis and Sean Miller. Burnham earned the victory as he went the longest, 3.2 innings pitched. This no-hitter follows Shane McCarthy's perfect game in 2016, and Zach Prendergast's no-no in 2017.

A LEGEND PASSES AWAY
On April 6, former Seton Hall student-athlete, coach and administrator Mike Sheppard, Sr. passed away at the age of 82. The skipper was the head coach of the Pirate baseball program for 31 years compiling 998 victories and guiding The Hall to four College World Series appearances. He was a member of several Halls of Fame and leaves a significant legacy on all who were fortunate enough to have known him.