Pirates Visit Providence For Three, Series Adjusted

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Seton Hall softball team (17-20, 4-6 BIG EAST) hits the road this weekend for a massive conference series in the Ocean State. The Hall will take on Providence (24-16, 5-6 BIG EAST) beginning on Thursday at Glay Field for three games that will have crucial BIG EAST Tournament implications. The series schedule has been adjusted, and will now begin with a doubleheader on Thursday at 12 p.m. and conclude with a single-game Saturday. Both games on Thursday will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network with John Fanta on the call.

The Pirates and Friars are currently separated by a half game in the league standings, with PC sitting in third and SHU tied for fifth. The top-four in the final standings qualify for the conference tournament next month in Rosemont.

LEADING OFF >>

The Pirates are looking to get their bats back on track after a tough series against first-place St. John's last weekend
Hailey Arteaga (Upland, Calif.) continues to lead the Pirates across the board offensively with a .383/.424/.626 slash line to go along with a league-leading 14 doubles, four homers and 27 RBIs
Right behind her is leadoff hitter Janae Barracato (Hempstead, N.Y.) who enters the weekend slashing .322/.391/.512 and leads the Pirates with 27 runs scored
Katherine Matthys (Spring Branch, Texas) is the third Pirate batting above .300 at .309, while Destini Peck (Riverside, Calif.) has knocked in 20 runs and Baylee Allender (Rosharon, Texas) has clubbed a team-high six home runs
In the circle Reganne Camp (Bloomington, Ill.) has been terrific during conference play, pitching to a 3.40 ERA over 35.0 innings of league action and striking out 34 against only nine walks

FACING THE FRIARS >>

The Hall is 31-29 all-time against Providence in a series dating back to 1992
Last season The Hall took two of three from the Friars in a series in South Orange
Since 2014 Seton Hall is 10-4 against its longtime league rival, with 11 of those 14 meetings decided by two runs or fewer
This season PC has gotten out to a 24-16 record and a 5-6 mark in league play, but has dropped each of its last two conference series to Villanova and DePaul
Emma Lee leads the Firars with a .445 batting average, best in the BIG EAST
Jessica Tomaso leads PC with four home runs, while Vanessa Portilla has a team-high 25 RBIs
In the circle Daniela Alvarez has been a standout, holding a 2.34 ERA over 122.2 innings
The PC pitching staff as a whole has been excellent, with a combined team ERA of 2.74 and a batting average against of .254

WHAT'S NEXT
After the series in Friartown, the Pirates return to action on Wednesday, April 24 with a doubleheader against Lehigh.