Pirates Head To DePaul For BIG EAST Series

CHICAGO – The Seton Hall softball team (14-12-1, 1-2 BIG EAST) hits the road for the first time in BIG EAST play this weekend to visit the Windy City and take on DePaul (14-13, 1-1 BIG EAST). The Pirates and Blue Demons will play a three-game set at Cacciatore Stadium beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 1 at 1 p.m. (ET) and concluding with a single game on Sunday, April 2 also at 1 p.m. (ET). The Saturday contests will be available on DePaul's BlueTube while Sunday will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network via the FOX Sports GO app.

The Pirates are coming off a BIG EAST play-opening set against Villanova that saw The Hall pick up a dramatic 10-inning win in game one before dropping the final two contests. Most recently, the Pirates dropped a midweek contest at Fordham on Wednesday. DePaul also opened conference play over the weekend, splitting a doubleheader at Butler before the series finale was rained out.

PIRATE POINTS

The Hall continues to boast the BIG EAST's top offense, leading the league with 5.9 runs per game and an .897 OPS
The Pirates rank first in the nation with 2.0 doubles per game, led by 11 from Alexis Walkden (Cibolo, Texas) who checks in at fifth nationally with 0.41 per game
Walkden tops the Pirates across the board offensively, slashing .390/.515/.841 with eight home runs and 21 RBIs
Destini Peck (Riverside, Calif.) is second on the squad with a .382 average and joins Walkden among six Pirate regulars batting over .300 on the year
Lauren Fischer (Robbinsville, N.J.) has clubbed five home runs and drawn 23 walks, while rookie Hailey Arteaga (Upland, Calif.) is tied for Walkden with the team-high of 21 RBIs
Arteaga's classmate Darby Pandolfo (Massapequa, N.Y.) has also put up big offensive numbers in her freshman campaign, slashing .313/.425/.612 with nine doubles and three home runs
In the circle Fischer has made a team-high eight starts and registered a 2.71 ERA in 49.0 innings
Reganne Camp (Bloomington, Ill.) has made 12 appearances and struck out a team-high 28 batters in 40.2 innings during her freshman year
On the basepaths the Pirates are 36-43 (83.7 percent) led by 10 steals from Brianna Wallace (Fort Worth, Texas) and nine from Valerie Suto (Mercerville, N.J.)

BLUE DEMON BULLETS

DePaul holds a 14-13 record on the year and will be playing its first home contests of the season this weekend
The Blue Demons rank second (behind The Hall) in the BIG EAST home runs per game, cranking a total of 24 in 27 contests on the season
Micah Fitzgerald leads DePaul with a .329 average, while Nicole Pihl is tops on the squad with seven home runs and 21 RBIs
In the circle, Missy Zoch has fired 97.1 innings to the tune of a 3.09 ERA and an 87:26 strikeout-to-walk ratio

WHAT'S NEXT
Following the weekend in Chicago, the Pirates return home for a pair of midweek games with local rivals, hosting Rutgers on April 5 and Stony Brook on April 6.