Pirates Return Home for Wednesday Doubleheader with Manhattan

South Orange, N.J. – The Seton Hall softball team returns home to Essex County Mike Sheppard Sr. Field for a doubleheader against Manhattan on Wednesday. First pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m.

PROMOTIONS
Free hot chocolate and cookies will be available to students while supplies last!

LAST TIME OUT
Seton Hall went 1-2 to open BIG EAST play this past weekend on the road at defending regular season league champion UConn. The Pirates won the middle game on Saturday, led by strong pitching from BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week Kelsey Carr (Ridgewood, N.Y.). The junior struck out a career-high 11 Huskies and stranded 12 runners on base while allowing just one run in the complete game victory. Olivia Gilbert (Johnston, R.I.) hit what proved to be the game-winning home run in the sixth, a two-run shot to left field which was the difference in Seton Hall's 3-1 win.

SCOUTING MANHATTAN (3-11)

One week after the Pirates spent the weekend in Lubbock, Texas, the Jaspers did so as well this past weekend at the Red Raider Classic.
Manhattan went 1-4 on the weekend, with the lone win coming against Buffalo on Saturday by a final of 4-2.
The Jaspers played Texas Tech twice over the weekend, losing 10-0 (5) and 13-5 (5) in the two affairs. Seton Hall went 1-1 against the Red Raiders the weekend prior.
Marika Deemer and Gabriella Mazzotta both lead the way offensively for Manhattan, batting .350 and .304, respectively.
Seton Hall is a perfect 14-0 all-time against Manhattan, with the latest meeting coming on April 2, 2022 in Riverdale. The Pirates swept a doubleheader by scores of 1-0 and 5-2, led by Sydney Babik (Gilbert, Ariz.) complete-game shutout in game one and Taylor Hill (Little Falls, N.J.) three-RBI performance in game two. That meeting was the first between the two schools in 10 years.

NEWS & NOTES

Kelsey Carr was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week for her performance on Sunday at UConn in which she struck out a career-high 11 batters and allowed just one run in a complete game win.
The Pirates have received BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks, as Shelby Smith (Friendswood, Texas) shared the honor the week prior after striking out 24 batters over two appearances against North Dakota and Texas Tech. Smith was the first Pirate hurler since at least 2016 to have back-to-back appearances with double digit strikeouts.
Seton Hall's pitching has been the story so far this season. The team's 2.51 ERA ranks best among BIG EAST staffs.
Pirate pitching has allowed more than three runs in a game just five times through 17 games this season. They also have 12 games of allowing three runs or less as well as five shutouts to their name.
Shelby Smith enters Wednesday with 268 career strikeouts to her name, just 32 shy of 300 for her career. She would become the seventh Pirate pitcher to reach 300 strikeouts and the first to reach the milestone since Reganne Camp in 2020.
Abby Wingo (Portland, Ore.) tallied her 100^th career base hit on March 4 against Texas Tech.
Hill hit her fourth home run of the season on March 5 against Rutgers, her 14^th game of the season. During Hill's freshman season it took her 31 games before she hit her fourth homer.
Hill has reached base in 16 of the 17 games this season, including a 14-game on-base streak to open the season.
Seton Hall's game against Rutgers on March 5 was its third extra innings game so far this season, already nearly matching its total of four such games from the 2022 season.

FOLLOW
Wednesday's doubleheader can be seen live on the Pirate Sports Network. A link to sign up with special Seton Hall pricing can be found here. Live stats for the game can be accessed here.