Pirates Head to St. John's for Crucial Three-Game Set

Queens, N.Y. – The Pirates hit the road for the final time in the regular season this weekend as they head across the river to Queens to face St. John's. The three-game series gets underway on Friday at 2 p.m., with game two slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. The series finale will take place on Sunday at 12 p.m. All three games can be seen live on FloSoftball.

LAST TIME OUT
The Pirates enter the weekend off a 3-1 midweek stretch, sweeping Drexel on Tuesday before splitting at Army on Wednesday. The week was highlighted by Kelsey Carr (Ridgewood, N.Y.) throwing the 22^nd no-hitter in Seton Hall history in game one against Drexel on Tuesday. Carr came within one strike of a perfect game as she struck out five batters and threw just 86 pitches to complete the no-no.

SCOUTING ST. JOHN'S (25-23, 12-9 BIG EAST)
The Red Storm are in the midst of their best season since 2019, and pitching has led they way for them. The staff boasts a 2.97 ERA, good for second-best in the BIG EAST, and is led by Ana Serafinko (2.58 ERA) and Loreley Francia (2.81 ERA). The offense is paced by Jess Bianco and London Jarrard, both of which are batting over .300 this season, while Jarrard's average in BIG EAST games sits at a staggering .406.

NEWS & NOTES

Carr's no-hitter was the 22^nd in program history and was nearly one year to the day of the last no-no thrown by a Pirate (Shelby Smith on April 22, 2023 at Providence).
Carr also picked up her 100^th career base hit this week, doing so by hitting an RBI single in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader at Army.
Taylor Hill is closing in on breaking the single-season record for runs scored for the second consecutive season. Hill has crossed the plate 43 times so far in 2024, nearing her mark of 48 runs set last season. Hill's 1.02 runs per game is tops in the BIG EAST and 34^th in the country.
Olivia Gilbert was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Monday after batting .571 (4-for-7) with a home run and four RBI against UConn. Gilbert went a perfect 2-for-2 in each of the first two games of the series, including a three-RBI showing in the 5-0 win on Friday.
Carr was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after allowing just two earned runs over 14 innings of work over the weekend against the Huskies.
Kyra Kreuscher was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week for the first time in her career on April 15. The sophomore worked nine scoreless innings last weekend against Syracuse and allowed just two hits.
Taylor Hill picked up her 150^th career hit earlier this season and also became just the fifth in program history to surpass the 40 double mark. Hill's .356 career batting average sits as the second-highest in program history.
The Pirates have won at least 10 BIG EAST games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004-2005.
Katey Brennan has been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week twice so far this season. Her .312 batting average sits third on the team and her 25 RBI ranks second. Over her last 16 games, Brennan is hitting a team-best .360 with four doubles and six RBI.
The Pirates have won 46 of their last 47 games when scoring six or more runs.
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.
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.
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.
The Pirates earned several All-BIG EAST awards at the conclusion of the 2023 season. 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.