Sophomore Danielle DeStaso and the Seton Hall softball team opens its season this weekend in North Carolina.
Softball Opens Season on Friday
Courtesy: Seton Hall Athletic Communications
Release: 02/07/2013
PIRATES OPEN SEASON AT STAMPEDE TOURNAMENT
The Seton Hall University softball team opens a new era under first year head coach Paige Smith when it travels to Buies Creek, N.C., to compete in the Hampton Inn Campbell Stampede Tournament, hosted by Campbell University on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 8-9. The Pirates begin tournament play on Friday when they face St. Bonaventure at 11:20 a.m., and George Washington at 1:40 p.m. On Saturday Seton Hall will play Robert Morris at 11:20 a.m., and tournament host Campbell at 4 p.m.
SCOUTING THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
ST. BONAVENTURE (SBU leads all-time series 1-0)
The Bonnies finished 17-27 last season and 6-14 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. St. Bonaventure was picked to finish 10th in the 2013 A10 Coaches Preseason Poll. The Bonnie are led by 2011 A10 All-Freshman Team selection Ashley Snider, who hit .317 with six home runs, 21 RBI and 20 runs score.
GEORGE WASHINGTON (First meeting)
George Washington posted a 25-30 overall record last season and was 11-9 in the Atlantic 10. GW returns a total of 13 letterwinners from last year's squad, including team MVP and A-10 All-Rookie selection Victoria Valos, who hit .320 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI, and senior Autumn Taylor, who hit .294 with 10 homers and 33 RBI.
ROBERT MORRIS (SHU leads all-time series, 2-0)
Robert Morris won a program record 35 games last season and went 15-5 in the Northeast Conference to finish in the top spot in their league for the second straight season. Sophomore Samantha Santillo won the NEC Golden Glove award last year and sophomore Nicole Sleith was tabbed as the NEC Pitcher of the Year.
CAMPBELL (All-time series tied, 1-1)
Campbell was 30-29 in 2012, posting a 12-9 mark in the Big South Conference which was good for a fourth-place finish. The Camels return a total of 18 letterwinners including seven positional starters and three pitchers to this year's squad. Campbell was picked to finish third in the Big South Coaches Preseason Poll.
HISTORY LESSON
• Seton Hall has faced St. Bonaventure just once, falling 5-2, on March 7, 1998.
• The Pirates lead the all-time series with Robert Morris, 2-0, defeating the Colonials 9-0 on March 16, 1992, and 7-2, on Feb. 26, in 2011.
• Both of Seton Hall's meetings with Campbell came during the 2006 season when the Pirates earned a 2-1 win on Feb. 8, 2006, in the first weekend of the season, and then SHU suffered a 2-0 loss a month later on March 10, 2006.
LAST TIME OUT
Seton Hall went 21-32 last season and was 3-19 in the BIG EAST Conference. Senior Brittany Hammer and sophomore Danielle DeStaso are the top returning offensive threats. Hammer hit .300 in 2012 with 34 runs and 13 RBI. DeStaso hit .232 with six homers and 23 RBI. DeStaso is also a top pitching returnee, throwing a team-high 131.0 innings last year with 105 strikeouts. Jen Metzger started the year 5-2 with a 2.30 ERA before missing the second half of the season due to injury.
FAMILIAR TERRITORY
Seton Hall's first tournament of the season will be a bit of a homecoming for head coach Paige Smith. The Pirates will travel to Buies Creek, N.C., to compete in the Hampton Inn Campbell Stampede Tournament, hosted by Smith's alma mater, Campbell University. Smith played for Campbell from 2002-03 where she started 100 out of 112 games.
RUNNING DOWN THE DREAM
Senior shortstop Brittany Hammer led Seton Hall with 34 runs scored during the 2012 season which ranks as the sixth-highest single-season total in program history. Katie Pierce holds the all-time Seton Hall single season run record with 47 set during the 2006 campaign.
SEEING DOUBLE
Seton Hall had a knack for turning double plays throughout the 2012 season and the Pirates were one of the best in the nation in doing so. Seton Hall ranked 38th in the country with 0.38 double plays per game, and second in the BIG EAST with 20 double plays turned all season.
DRAWING FROM EXPERIENCE
Seton Hall sees all four of its top pitchers from last season return to the pitchers circle for 2013 in senior Brooke Rickards, junior Jen Metzger, sophomore Danielle DeStaso and sophomore Casey Moses. Combined, those four threw 350.2 of Seton Hall 357.2 innings pitched a season ago.
SWINGING THE HAMMER
Senior Brittany Hammer is the top returning offensive threat from last year's squad. She started in all 53 games for the Pirates, one of only three players to do so and the only one that is back in 2013, ranking second on the team with a .300 average and third with four home runs, 18 RBI and eight doubles.
WELCOME BACK METZGER
Junior right hander Jen Metzger was off to a great start to her sophomore campaign in 2012 before she was derailed by injury. Limited to just 10 appearances and six starts last year, Metzger posted a 5-2 overall record and a team-leading 2.30 earned run average with 39 strikeouts in 45.2 innings pitched. She returns healthy to start the 2013 season.
SWING AND A MISS
Sophomore Danielle DeStaso was forced to step up and throw a lot of innings during her freshman season and the result was one of the most impressive single-season strikeout performances in program history. She finished her first collegiate season with 105 strikeouts, which was just eight shy of Misty Beaver's all-time freshman mark of 113 set in 1998 and already ranks 15th in Seton Hall history.
MISSING MEREDITH
Junior infielder Meredith Henze has been a mainstay for the Pirates at third base, starting 40 games and hitting .257 with 12 RBI last season, but she will miss the first part of the 2013 campaign due to injury.
TOUGH NON-CONFERENCE FOES
Head coach Paige Smith has put together a challenging non-conference schedule to help prepare her team for BIG EAST action. The Pirates will face three teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in both the NFCA and ESPN/USA Today Preseason Top-25 polls in Hofstra, Texas Tech and South Alabama.
WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM
The Seton Hall softball program is under new management with the addition of first-year head coach Paige Smith to the program. Smith comes to Seton Hall after posting five winning seasons at Adelphi (2008-12) where she led the Panthers to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths. In five seasons at Adelphi, Smith posted an overall record of 169-104-1. She also had assistant coaching stints with St. John's (2007), North Idaho (2004-06) and Louisburg (2003).
PIRATES ADD FOUR IN 2013
Seton Hall welcomes four fresh faces to the program for the 2013 season in catcher/infielder Alex Rabbetts (Corona, Calif.), outfielder/shortstop Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.), catcher Faith Laudano (Islip, N.Y.) and infielder/outfielder Jackie DiPietro (Horsham, Pa.).
COACHING STAFF ADDITIONS
First-year head coach Paige Smith announced two additions to her coaching staff for the 2013 season in Betsy White and Lindsey Curran. White, who graduated from Lipscomb in 2005 and spent the last two seasons on Smith's staff at Adelphi, will work primarily with the Pirates' pitchers. Curran played for Rutgers from 2009-12, making three-straight BIG EAST Tournament appearances.
JUNIOR OF THE YEAR
Brittany Hammer was named the Seton Hall SAAC Junior Female Athlete of the Year at the annual SAAC Awards Banquet last spring. She was one of the Pirates' offensive leaders a year ago, starting in all 53 games and batting .300 with 34 runs scored, 18 RBI, eight doubles and four home runs.
PIRATES PICKED 12TH IN BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL
The Seton Hall University softball team received 24 points and was picked to finish 12th overall in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll. The Pirates finished 13th in the league last season with a 3-19 record against league foes. USF earned 134 points and seven first-place votes to start the season as the preseason favorites to win the BIG EAST.
2013 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2013 BIG EAST softball championship will be held Thursday-Saturday, May 9-11, at the University of South Florida Softball Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The top eight teams in the conference will qualify for the single elimination tournament with the winner picking up the BIG EAST's automatic berth to the 2013 NCAA Championship. The BIG EAST Championship game will be held Saturday, May 11, at 4 p.m., and will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
FOLLOW THE PIRATES ON TWITTER
For all of the latest news and updates on the Seton Hall University softball team, follow the Pirates on Twitter @SHUSoftball.
