Pirates Head to Aggie Invitational I This Weekend

DAVIS, Calif. – The Seton Hall softball team (8-5-1) will kick off the final leg of an 11-game spring break trip on Thursday, beginning play in the Aggie Invitational I hosted by UC Davis. The Pirates will partake in five games over three days from March 8-11 at La Rue Field against Iowa State, UMass, San Jose State and the host Aggies.

The Hall is 2-3-1 at the midway point of the spring break trip to California, going 2-3 at the Louisville Slugger Tournament hosted by Pacific last weekend before playing Sacramento State to a 2-2 tie in 10 innings on Tuesday. The Aggie Invitational will be the fourth of five in-season tournaments the Pirates participate in before BIG EAST play begins.

Tournament Schedule
Thursday, March 9 – San Jose State, 2 p.m.
Thursday, March 9 – UC Davis, 6:15 p.m.
Friday, March 10 – Iowa State, 12 p.m.
Saturday, March 11 – UMass, 4:15 p.m.
Saturday, March 11 – UC Davis, 6:15 p.m.

Pirate Points

The Hall boasts one of the top offense in the country, ranking in the top-25 nationally in runs per game (6.86, 15^th), on-base percentage (.422, 20^th) and slugging percentage (.520, 22^nd) – each of those marks are best in the BIG EAST
Alexis Walkden (Cibolo, Texas) leads SHU offensively with a .444 average and is seventh in the country with nine doubles
Walkden has also hit a team-high four home runs and scored 20 times, driving in 15
Freshman Darby Pandolfo (Massapequa, N.Y.) is second on the team with a .382 average while Lauren Fischer (Robbinsville, N.J.) checks in at .378, while both have hit two home runs and driven in 10
Fellow rookie Hailey Arteaga (Upland, Calif.) paces the Pirates with 17 RBIs and has homered three times while batting .310
In the circle, Fischer leads the way with a 2.90 ERA in 29.0 innings and freshman Reganne Camp (Bloomington, Ill.) has struck out 16 in 18.1 innings over seven appearances

Scouting the Opposition

San Jose State (11-9)
- The Aztecs are coming off a 3-2 run at the San Diego Classic II, pciking up wins over Boston University, Detroit and San Diego
- Casey Watt (.353) and Madison Aurin (.345) are SJSU's top bats
- In the circle, Katelyn Linford holds a 6-2 record with a 3.38 ERA in 13 appearances
UC Davis (7-12)
- The host Aggies also partook in the San Diego Classic last weekend, going 1-4 with a win over Detroit
- Taylor Peters leads a potent UC Davis offense with a .413 average, one of five Aggies hitting over .300 on the year
- Katie Kibby and Andrea Reynolds have each tossed over 50 innings with sub-3.50 ERAs
Iowa State (8-11)
- The Cyclones most recently took part in the St. George Red Desert Classic, going 1-4 with a win over Utah State
- Kelsey McFarland is tops on ISU with a .482 average to lead an offense that hits .271 overall
- The Cyclone pitching staff has pitched to a 3.09 ERA on the year, led by a 2.82 mark with 44 strikeouts in 57.0 innings from Savannah Sanders
UMass (3-12)
- The Minutewomen went 1-4 last weekend in a tournament at Mississippi State, notching a win over Samford
- Kaityln Stavinoha tops UMass offensively with a .378 average and 13 RBIs
- Candace Davis has fired 40.1 innings with a 2.08 ERA and 42 strikeouts