Softball Hosts #24 USF on Tuesday
4/22/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
SOFTBALL HOSTS #24 USF IN MIDWEEK TWIN BILL
Seton Hall returns to action this Tuesday, April 22, when it hosts the USF Bulls for a double header at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field in South Orange, N.J., starting at 2 p.m. The Pirates enter the week ranked 11th in the BIG EAST with a 4-10 conference record while USF is 15-2 in the conference and third in the standings. USF leads the all-time series with Seton Hall, 15-3, and took two out of three when the teams last met, a three-game series in South Orange in 2011.
LAST TIME OUT
Seton Hall won its BIG EAST series at Syracuse University, 2-1, last weekend, sweeping action on Saturday before falling 4-3 in the finale on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore Danielle DeStaso and junior Maria DeLuca both homered in the 4-1 game one victory and the Pirates jumped out to a 15-5 lead in game two, only to see the Orange storm back before Seton Hall prevailed, 16-15. Syracuse opened up a 3-0 lead in the finale and Seton Hall came back to tie it up in the top of the sixth. However, the Orange led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run and edged the Hall by one run.
WHO TO WATCH
SETON HALL: Junior Maria DeLuca had a hot week at the plate, hitting .467 in five games with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored. Sophomore Colltey Sheldon hit a team-high .545 over the past five games, tallying six base hits in 11 at bats and sophomore Danielle DeStaso homered twice, slugging .909 with four RBI.
USF: Pitcher Sara Nevins picked up two wins against DePaul last week, including a one-hit complete-game shutout in the series opener on Saturday; she leads the Bulls with a 20-6 record. Kourtney Salvarola leads the team in batting (.368), home runs (13) and RBI (40). Kenshyra Jackson is hitting .290 this year and had a three-run homer in a win over DePaul last week.
SCOUTING USF
The USF Bulls had their four-game winning and shutout streak snapped in a 2-1 loss to DePaul on Saturday afternoon but they are 14-2 in their last 16 games with nine shutouts over that span. Sara Nevins and Lindsey Richardson share a bulk of the innings at pitcher. Nevins is 20-6 with a 1.01 ERA and 205 strikeouts, while Richardson is 11-4 with a 1.15 ERA. Kourtney Salvarola has hit 13 of the Bulls’ 42 home runs, driving in a team-high 40 runs. Lee Ann Spivey (.313) and Stephanie Medina (.306) also hit over .300 while Ashli Goff has a team-high 10 stolen bases.
FUTURE SCHEDULE
Seton Hall continues its five game home stand this weekend when it hosts the University of Connecticut Huskies for three games this Saturday-Sunday, April 27-28, at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field. Prior to Saturday’s doubleheader the Pirates will celebrate Senior Day and they will play their 2013 home finale on Sunday at 11 a.m.
HEAT CHECK
• Junior Maria DeLuca his batting .387 over the last 10 games with two homers and seven RBI.
• Freshman catcher Alex Rabbetts has four extra-base hits, two home runs and two doubles, over the last 10 games.
• Freshman Yasmin Harrell has a seven-game hitting streak and is 11-for-12 in stolen base attempts in the last 10 contests.
DELUCA LANDS ON HONOR ROLL
Junior second baseman Maria DeLuca earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the first time in her career on Monday, April 22. She hit .467 with a home run and three RBI in the previous week, helping the Pirates secure a 2-1 series win at Syracuse. She was 7-for-15 at the plate and slugged .667 with a .529 on-base percentage.
PIRATES SURPASS BIG EAST WIN TOTAL
With its doubleheader sweep at Syracuse on April 20, Seton Hall picked up its fourth conference win of the season, surpassing its total of three BIG EAST wins from each of the last two seasons. The Pirates have won the most BIG EAST games this year since they were 8-13 in league play during the 2010 campaign.
RECORD OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Seton Hall put up a season-high 16 runs on 19 hits in a 16-15 win at Syracuse on April 20. The 16 runs scored tied a school single-game record and set a new mark for runs in BIG EAST game. The previous SHU BIG EAST run record was 15, something not seen since a 15-5 win over Rutgers in 1997. The 19 total hits broke the old school record of 18, set at Saint Peter’s on April 27, 1999.
SYRACUSE SHUTDOWN
Sophomore right hander Danielle DeStaso was in complete control in Seton Hall’s 4-1 win at Syracuse on April 20. She gave up just three hits with six strikeouts against just two walks in the complete-game win and retired 14 of the last 15 batters she faced, including a string of 11 in a row. The three hits allowed tied for the lowest total of the season and it was the second shutout of a BIG EAST opponent this season.
SINGLE-SEASON RECORD WATCH
Seton Hall has a number of players that have cracked the single season top-10 in several statistical categories so far this year:
• Yasmin Harrell ranks second with 25 steals
• Danielle DeStaso is tied for 10th with eight home runs
• Danielle DeStaso is ninth in innings pitched (156.2), ninth in wins (14) and seventh in strikeouts (147)
AW MADE YOU LOOK
Sophomore Danielle DeStaso has a team-high 147 strikeouts this season and 59 of those have been on called third strikes. She ranks second in the BIG EAST in strike outs looking and her 23 called third strikes in league play also ranks second.
BIG EAST CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
Seton Hall has had a knack for playing in close games lately against BIG EAST foes as six of the Pirates’ last eight conference contests have been decided by just one run, including a pair of games in the Syracuse series last weekend. Seton Hall is 6-6 in one-run games this season and 9-9 in games decided by two runs or less.
CATCH HER IF YOU CAN
Freshman center fielder Yasmin Harrell added four more steals to her total in the series at Syracuse, and now has 25 steals to her credit this season. She ranks second in the BIG EAST in steals and 27th in the nation in steals per game with 0.6 per contest. Harrell is just three steals shy of setting a new Seton Hall single-season record.
