Pirates Travel to Butler for Three-Game Set Starting Thursday

Indianapolis, Ind. – Winners of eight of its last nine games, the Seton Hall softball team heads to Indianapolis for Easter weekend for a three-game series at Butler. The action kicks off on Thursday with first pitch set for 3 p.m., with Friday's middle game set for the same time. Saturday's finale will get underway at 1 p.m. Fans can catch all the action on FloSoftball.

LAST TIME OUT
Coming off their second straight BIG EAST series victory over the weekend against Creighton, the Pirates notched a 4-0 non-conference victory over Stony Brook on Tuesday. Sydney Babik (Gilbert, Ariz.) and Kelsey Carr (Ridgewood, N.Y.) combined for a one-hitter, with Babik earning the win by pitching the first four innings and Carr retiring all nine batters she faces over the final three frames.

SCOUTING BUTLER (14-17, 3-6 BIG EAST)
Butler enters the weekend after salvaging the final game of its series with UConn last weekend at home in walk-off fashion. The Bulldogs sport one of the top offenses in the conference, led by Ella White and Paige Dorsett who both hold batting averages north of .370. Last season, Seton Hall took two of three from Butler in South Orange, though the Bulldogs' win in the series finale denied the Pirates a share of the BIG EAST regular season crown.

NEWS & NOTES

Kelsey Carr and Olivia Gilbert were each named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. Carr struck out 27 batters across 16.2 innings of work last week, while Gilbert posted a team-best .462 batting average with a home run and six runs driven in.
Katey Brennan was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on March 19 after batting .455 (5-for-11) with five RBI. The freshman also reached base at least twice in all three games over the weekend against Georgetown.
Brennan hit her first career home run on March 10 at Villanova. Hitting in the middle of the order in all 20 games so far this season, the freshman sports a .317 batting average and 15 RBI, both of which rank in the top-three on the team.
Caye's walk-off home run against UIC on March 2 was the first non-run rule walk-off home run for the Pirates since Baylee Allender hit one against Georgetown on April 6, 2019.
For Caye, it was her first home run since April 16, 2022 against Georgetown.
The Pirates have won 41 consecutive games when scoring six or more runs. Their last loss in such a game came on April 9, 2022 in an 8-7 loss to DePaul.
Kyra Kreuscher was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 26 after her strong outing on Saturday against New Mexico State. The sophomore pitched all seven innings, allowing just five hits and two runs to pick up her second win of the season.
Now in her sophomore year, Kreuscher has an ERA of 2.58 through the first 81.1 innings of her career.
Taylor Hill was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 19 after going .500 (6-for-12) at the plate with three doubles, four runs scored and two RBI in the season's opening weekend at FAU.
The Pirates were picked to finish third in the BIG EAST preseason poll, behind second-place UConn and first-place Villanova. Seton Hall finished in third place in last year's standings.
Seton Hall will be tasked with replacing some key producers from last year's squad. Centerfielder and last year's team leader in batting average Abby Wingo, second baseman Ashly Colonnetta, and left fielder Marisa Pla have all graduated along with reserves Grace Dawson, Ally Taylor and Jordan Tressler. Pitcher Shelby Smith, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Tournament, transferred to Houston. Catcher Regan Rand has also transferred to Division-II Indiana (Pa.).
The Hall welcome in a pair of freshmen to the 2024 squad. Outfielder Katey Brennan and pitcher Karissa Dupuis will both look to be key contributors in South Orange this upcoming season.
Seton Hall will face a tough non-conference slate in 2024, including matchups against three teams that won NCAA regional games last season an six opponents who won at least 34 games. Included in that bunch are dates with Grand Canyon, who pulled off a shocker last season against No. 2 UCLA, as well as a rematch of the Austin Regional elimination game against Texas State.
The Pirates will face off against opponents from three of the power conferences this season: ACC (Louisville, Syracuse), Big 10 (Michigan) and PAC-12 (Arizona State).
Head Coach Angie Churchill coached against her alma mater in Michigan last weekend for the first time in her career. Churchill was a four-year member of the Wolverines softball team from 2001-04, winning three Big Ten titles and reaching the College World Series three times.
The Pirates earned several All-BIG EAST awards. Kelsey Carr was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, Abby Wingo was named Defensive Player of the Year, and the coaching staff led by Angie Churchill was named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. Carr, Wingo and Shelby Smith were all named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, with Carr being a unanimous selection.
Carr is the first Pirate pitcher to be named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year. The junior led the league in ERA (1.82), reaching that number after 61.2 innings of work. Carr only allowed more than two earned runs in a start just twice during BIG EAST play.
Carr was one of just two players in the country last season to finish with a sub-2.00 ERA, hit 10+ home runs and drive in 50+ runs (Valerie Cagle, Clemson).
Wingo was the first Pirate recipient of the Defensive Player of the Year award. The senior had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 31 chances in center field. Wingo had the third-highest number of chances among BIG EAST outfielders and had the most chances among center fielders in the league.
Abby Wingo set new single-season records in base hits (71) and longest hitting streak (19 games) last season. Her .397 average led the club, and she only failed to collect a base-hit in consecutive games twice all year.
Seton Hall's 18 BIG EAST victories last season were a new program record, and the team's 42 wins rank as the second-most in program history (46, 2004).
Seton Hall's win over Villanova on Day Two of the BIG EAST Tournament was its 40^th win of the season, reaching that plateau for just the second time in program history. Entering the year, Seton Hall had not won 30 games in a season since 2005.
The Pirates finished with an overall record above .500 for the first time since 2006, when they finished 29-27.