Pirates Set to Host Bluejays for Three This Weekend

South Orange, N.J. – The Seton Hall softball team will continue BIG EAST conference play when they host Creighton for a three-game set starting on Friday. The Pirates will take on the Bluejays with a doubleheader on Friday starting at 2 p.m. at Mike Sheppard, Sr., Stadium.

LAST TIME OUT
The Pirates are coming off a 1-2 weekend in which they opened conference play against Providence. In the Pirates' win on Thursday, junior Shelby Smith (Friendswood, Texas) tossed a complete-game shutout while also hitting a three-run home run in the fourth as the Pirates won their BIG EAST opener, 8-0 in six innings on Thursday. A three-run third, followed by a four-run fourth inning put the Pirates ahead before Taylor Hill (Little Falls, N.J.) singled home a run to win the game in the sixth.

SCOUTING

Creighton (10-8, 0-1)

The Bluejays dropped their first BIG EAST game of the year on Sunday with a 6-4 loss against Georgetown in eight innings at home.
Six qualified Bluejays are currently hitting over the .300 mark with Cayla Nielsen, Emma Rosonke, Kailey Wilson and Kiara Mills all having multiple home runs and double-digit RBIs. Rosonke leads the team with four longballs and 18 runs driven in.
In the circle, the duo of Mikayla Santa Cruz and Alexis Wiggins have tossed the bulk of the innings for Creighton. Santa Cruz leads all pitchers with five wins and a 3.43 ERA with 49 strikeouts.
The Bluejays lead the all-time series between the two teams 13-7.

NEWS AND NOTES

Shelby Smith's home run on Thursday was her fourth of the season while her four RBIs on the day give her a team-leading 14 for the year. Following the weekend, Smith was named to the BIG EAST's Weekly Honor Roll.
Freshman Laure Caye leads the Pirates five home runs in just 29 at-bats this season to go along with a .379/.486/1.034 slash line. Her mark of five home runs is good enough for second place in the BIG EAST.
Junior Abby Wingo currently leads all qualified Pirates and is second in the conference with a .389 batting average and six doubles. Dating back to the start of the season Wingo has reached base safely in 16 of 17 games for the Pirates.
The Pirates currently lead the BIG EAST with 33 doubles on the season
On Feb. 20, the Pirates accounted for 30 runs, 28 hits and nine home runs in two wins over UMBC and Saint Joseph's. The 19 runs in the win over UMBC in game one set the program record for most runs in a game while the 17-run differential was the largest margin of victory in program history. The 19 hits tied a program record.
The Pirates have scored 10-plus runs in five games this season.
With a three-run homer in the win over Nevada on March 4, Hannah Alexander became the ninth different Pirates to hit a home run this season compared to eight different Pirates who jumped the yard from a season ago.