DeLuca Back on BIG EAST Honor Roll

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Seton Hall University junior second baseman Maria DeLuca (Cedar Grove, N.J.) has been named to the BIG EAST Conference Softball Weekly Honor Roll for the second-straight week, it was announced Monday afternoon by the league office.

DeLuca was instrumental in helping the Pirates post a 2-2 record against BIG EAST foes last week, including a 2-1 series victory over the University of Connecticut last weekend in South Orange. It is the fifth time this season a Seton Hall student-athlete has received BIG EAST softball weekly accolades, but DeLuca is the first to accomplish the feat twice.

For the week DeLuca hit .417 with three extra-base hits, a pair of home runs and her team-leading seventh double of the season, while driving in five runs and scoring five times. She boasted an impressive 1.000 slugging percentage and reached base in 50 percent of her plate appearances.

DeLuca started off the week with a monster home run over the scoreboard in left field in a 6-3 home less against No. 24 USF on Tuesday afternoon.

While she didn’t get a hit in Seton Hall’s 11-10 come from behind win in its series opener with Connecticut on Saturday afternoon, she did draw two walks and score a run in the critical win.

DeLuca saved her best performance of the week for last, in what was a must-win situation for Seton Hall’s postseason hopes. She went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, four RBI and a steal as the Pirates topped Connecticut, 10-5, in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.

DeLuca made a number of key defensive plays, both on Sunday and in the series, but a diving over the back catch on an Alyssa Gardea pop fly into right field in the sixth inning highlighted a week where she finished with 10 putouts, six assists and a 1.000 fielding percentage.

Over the past two weeks DeLuca has helped the Pirates post a 4-3 record against BIG EAST competition and has started at second base in all nine games, hitting .444 with three home runs, eight RBI, a .815 slugging percentage and a .516 on-base percentage.

Additionally she has been one of the Pirates’ offensive leaders throughout the season. DeLuca currently leads Seton Hall with seven doubles and a .411 on-base percentage. She ranks second on the team with a .346 average, six home runs, 45 runs scored and a .528 slugging percentage.

Seton Hall is currently 10th in the BIG EAST standings with a 6-12 record in conference play, but trails Rutgers and Connecticut (7-12) by just a half game with three regular season games remaining. The top eight league teams qualify for the BIG EAST Championship.

Seton Hall will wrap up BIG EAST action with a three-game series at fifth-place Georgetown (9-10) this Saturday-Sunday, May 4-5, in Washington, D.C.