Pirates Host FDU, St. John's in Pivotal Week of Play

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – After its penultimate BIG EAST road series of the season, the Seton Hall softball team (22-16, 8-7 BIG EAST) opens the week on Wednesday, April 9 with a doubleheader against FDU (17-16). First pitch for game one is slated for 2 p.m.

Then, on Friday, April 11, the Pirates will play host to St. John's (30-10-1 overall, 11-1 BIG EAST) in a crucial BIG EAST weekend series for The Hall. First pitch for the opening game on Friday is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Last Time Out
The Pirates traveled to Providence, Rhode Island, to take on the Providence Friars in a BIG-East weekend clash. In the series-opening doubleheader, despite claiming the lead late in game one, the Pirates fell in the bottom of the seventh 6-5.

She said sayo-Naya to that ball 💥🥎#HALLin🔵⚪ | #HooksUp pic.twitter.com/6y56f15AI2
— Seton Hall Softball (@SHUSoftball) April 4, 2025

The Friars won game two 5-2, but the Pirates claimed an 8-2 victory in the final game of the series off a three-RBI effort from Naya Martinez.

Weekly Schedule
Wednesday, April 9 (Game One)
2 p.m. – Seton Hall vs FDU (Live Stats - Stream)
Wednesday, April 9 (Game Two)
4 p.m. – Seton Hall vs FDU (Live Stats - Stream)
Friday, April 11
2 p.m. – Seton Hall vs St. John's (Live Stats - Stream)
Sunday, April 6
1 p.m. – Seton Hall vs St. John's (Live Stats - Stream)
Sunday, April 6
12 p.m. – Seton Hall vs St. John's (Live Stats - Stream)

Previewing FDU

Seton Hall is 12-1 all-time against FDU, with the first matchup occurring in 1977.
- The Pirates have won the last six matchups.
The Knights are currently 17-16 on the season with a 9-3 conference record.
FDU is slashing .266/.346/.330 with five home runs, 107 RBI, 31 stolen bases and a -4 run differential (119-to-123).
At the plate, the Knights' hitting attack is led by Madison Rishel. She is currently hitting a team-leading .393/.443/.438 with 21 runs scored, four extra-base hits and six RBI. Erika Barela leads the team in home runs with two and is tied for the team lead in RBI with 18.
In the circle, FDU has a powerful pair of strikeout artists. In 17 appearances and 87.2 innings pitched, Julia Swann has a 1.92 ERA with 90 strikeouts. Alongside Swann, Brooklyn Shroyer has a 2.94 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 17 appearances and 85.2 innings pitched.

Previewing St. John's

Seton Hall is 33-61 all-time against St. John's, with the first matchup occurring in 1981.
- The Pirates are 6-1 in their last seven regular season meetings against Johnnies.
The Red Storm are currently 30-10-1 on the season with a conference-leading 11-1 record in BIG EAST play.
St. John's is slashing .440/.548/.728 with 30 home runs, 203 RBI, 66 stolen bases and a +122 run differential (222-to-100).
At the plate, the St. John's has a pair of hitters putting up career seasons. London Jarrard is currently hitting .404/.481/.742 with 21 runs scored, nine doubles, nine home runs, 43 RBI and 10 steals. Alongside Jarrard, Jess Bianco is producing across the board. She is slashing .416/.481/.460 with 45 runs scored, five extra-base hits, 18 RBI and 24 steals.
In the circle, St. John's possesses arguably the top two pitchers in the BIG EAST this season. In 117.1 innings pitched and 25 appearances, Lorely Francia has a 1.49 ERA with 141 strikeouts. Alongside her, Ana Serafinko has a 2.06 ERA with 200 strikeouts in 129 innings pitched and 27 appearances.

NEWS & NOTES

With two more wins across the remaining games, Head Coach Angie Churchill will reach 300 career wins.
Churchill is also one BIG EAST win off 50 career BIG EAST wins.
- The current program record for quickest Seton Hall coach to reach 50 BIG EAST wins is held by Ray Vander May, who took 106 games to earn his 50^th win. Churchill is currently 86 games into her Seton Hall tenure with 50 total wins.
In the entirety of D1 softball, Seton Hall ranks 3^rd in the nation in hit-by-pitches (49), 36^th in on-base percentage (.413) and 45^th in runs per game (6.26).
With a month left in the season, the Pirates have one of the top offenses in the BIG EAST. Seton Hall leads the conference in on-base percentage (4.13), runs scored (238), RBI (219), doubles (59), and walks (158), while also striking out the fewest amount of times in the entire conference (107). The next closes is DePaul with 141 strikeouts.
- The Hall also ranks 2^nd in the conference in slugging percentage (.473), hits (301), total bases (480) and hit-by-pitches (49). They are also 3^rd in home runs (38).

On fire at the hot corner 🔥

Congratulations to Naya on being named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week!#HALLin🔵⚪ | #HooksUp pic.twitter.com/HB1frdEMRq
— Seton Hall Softball (@SHUSoftball) April 7, 2025

Naya Martinez earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors after she totaled .333/.368/.556 with four runs scored, one double, one home run, seven RBI and a single stolen base.
Kelsey Carr is tied for the conference lead in walks (35) and is tied for 8^th in the nation in that category.
After surpassing 200 career hits against Villanova, Hill needs only 19 hits across the remainder of the season to break the current career hits program record held by two-time All-BIG EAST selection Katie Pierce (2003-06) with 225 hits. Taylor Hill has 16 hits in her last nine games.
Currently, Carr sits on 113 career walks. With two more walks, Carr will gain sole possession of the program record for most career walks. The record is currently held by Alexis Walkden (2015-18) with 114 career walks.
Earlier this season, Carr moved into third all-time in program history in career home runs (37), passing Danielle DeStaso (35).
So far this season, Seton Hall two-way star Carr is having the best season of her storied career. Carr entered the week hitting .343/.511/.775, with the latter two ranking in top two of the BIG EAST. Heading into this week, she is also either is the conference leader or among the leaders in walks (1st, 35), home runs (T-1st, 12), total bases (3rd, 79), Wins, (3rd, 11), runs (5th, 32), and RBI (4th, 35).
Alongside Carr, a few other Pirates sit in the top ten of various BIG EAST stats. Katey Brennan is tied for second in runs scored (38) and walks (30), while also ranking fifth in on-base percentage (.480). Olivia Gilbert ranks third in RBI (38), eighth in total bases (66) and tied for eighth in home runs (7). Lastly, Taylor Hill ranks second in doubles (12).
Through 38 games, the majority of the Pirates' clashes are decided at the end of the fourth inning. The Hall is 19-1 when leading after 4, but 0-12 when trailing after four innings.
With a 23-0 victory against Wagner, the Pirates set new single-game program records for runs scored (23), margin of victory (23) and walks in a game (14).
In the Pirates' 3-2 victory over Villanova on March 29, Taylor Hill made history. Crossing home plate after her game-sealing, three-run home run, Hill broke the program record for career runs scored. That record was held by 2017 BIG EAST Player of the Year and three-time All-BIG EAST selection Alexis Walkden (2015-18), who registered 147 runs in her four seasons at The Hall.
Across the entire season, all but one player (Karissa Dupuis) on the Pirates roster has had at least one plate appearance. With Rachael Schumann's RBI against Army, every Pirate who has batted in a game has registered an RBI this season.