Game 1: vs. Penn State - Fri. Feb. 18 - 10:00 a.m. - Al Lang/Progressive Energy Park
Game 2: vs. Michigan State - Sat. Feb. 19 - 10:00 a.m. - Al Lang/Progressive Energy Park
Game 3: vs. Iowa - Sun. Feb. 20 - 1:00 p.m. - Walter Fuller (Naimoli) Complex
Seton Hall All-Time In Tournament: The Pirates travel to Florida with an all-time record of 3-3 at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge. In 2009, the defeated Minnesota and Michigan State before falling to Penn State on the final day.
Seton Hall at Al Lang Field: The Pirates won their only game at Al Lang Field having defeated Northwestern, 3-0, in the final game of the 2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge.
Seton Hall at Naimoli Complex: Seton Hall will enter the Naimoli Complex with a 0-1 record after dropping their contest to Michigan State, 5-3, last season during the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge.
Last Year at the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge: Seton Hall began the trip with a, 5-3, loss to Michigan State followed by a, 3-2, extra-inning loss to Penn State before salvaging their final game shutting out Northwestern, 3-0.
Dating back to 1973, the Pirates are 10-27-1. Since 2004 when Rob Sheppard took over, the Hall are 2-5 including their opening day victory against Minnesota in the 2009 BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge.
Since 1973, the Pirates are 4-3 against Penn State outscoring them 37-26. They have lost both meetings to the Nittany Lions in the annual challenge.
The Pirates are 4-5-1 all-time against Michigan State having been outscored 67-74 in the 10 meetings. They are 1-1 during the yearly challenge.
Sunday's game will mark the first ever match-up between Seton Hall and Iowa.
Jim Duffy, a 1996 graduate of Seton Hall, returns for his second stint as an assistant coach on Rob Sheppard's staff. Previously holding the same title from 2003-08, he jumps back into action working primarily with the hitters and outfielders. Pappas, a 2008 Seton Hall graduate, begins his first season as a Volunteer Assistant Coach working with his coaches when he played here from 2005-08.
Seton Hall welcomes back 22 players from a year ago including their top four starting pitchers in Joe DiRocco, Frank Morris, Jon Prosinski, and Benny Mejia, and the newest career-record holder for assists shortstop A.J. Rusbarsky.
Thirteen members of the Pirates roster will make their first appearance in a Hall uniform. The Pirates coaching staff will welcome 13 newcomers including junior transfer Dale Anderson. With two years of college baseball under his belt, Anderson makes his way to New Jersey from the College of Southern Idaho where he finished last season second on the team in batting average and third in slugging percentage.
This season, the BIG EAST Coaches selected the Pirates to finish 11th out of 12 teams, after they finished 11th in the conference in 2010.
In the first two years of the challenge, the Pirates have outscored their opponents 28-20 including 2009 when the Hall scored 20 runs in the three games.
In the first two seasons at the challenge, the Pirates' pitching staff posted an ERA of 2.54 while the offense has taken charge scoring an average of 4.67 runs.
Last season, Joe DiRocco, Frank Morris, Jon Prosinski, and Benny Mejia combined to start 43 of the Pirates 50 games tossing 260 innings and allowing only 134 earned runs. Together, they combined for three NJCBA honors and helped the Hall finish fifth in the league with a 4.80 ERA.
ON DECK:
Seton Hall will hit the road and travel to Chapel Hill, N.C. to take on University of North Carolina for a three-game weekend series.
"HALL" OF A COACHING STAFF:
On January 7, 2011 Mike Sheppard, Sr. was inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame following a stellar career at the helm of the Seton Hall Pirates baseball team. He held the position from 1973-2003 posting 28 winning seasons and 27 postseason berths including 15 BIG EAST Championships and two College World Series appearances. Eleven months earlier, current pitching coach Phil Cundari was elected into Seton Hall University's Hall of Fame as a pitcher. Cundari pitched for Sheppard's 1983-85 squads and began his coaching career during Sheppard's reign. Today, Cundari enters his 12th season tutoring the pitching staff, while Sheppard remains a big part of the program as the head coach emeritus.
FOR a TEAMMATE:
For the second straight season, the Pirates baseball team will honor David Bachner, a 2009 in-coming freshman who passed away on August 11, 2009, by hanging a t-shirt with his name and high school number in the dugout prior to each game.
A NEW LOOK:
Following the completion of the 2010 season, Owen T. Carroll Field received a face-lift including new field turf, a turf surface batter's box, protective netting behind home plate, a Pirate head logo between home plate and the backstop, and a shorter outfield with the fences down the lines and in the gaps brought closer to home plate.
STRIKE OUT CANCER:
March 18-20 will mark the third annual Strike Out Cancer Tournament hosted by Seton Hall. Each season, the Pirates have teamed up with American Cancer Society to host the four-team tournament and have raised over $2,500 each year through donations and merchandise sales.
FRIENDS OF JACLYN:
This season, the Pirates will once again welcome Connor Mackay to their squad through the "Friends of Jaclyn" Organization. FOJ is a non-profit organization that connects children struggling with brain tumors with an NCAA team. Throughout the year, the team provides support and encouragement to the child and their family.
For the third straight year, Seton Hall will join the BIG EAST Conference and the Big 10 Conference on February 18-20 in St. Petersburg, Fla. for the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge. Similar to 2009 and 2010, the challenge will feature 30 games in three days. All games will be played in either St. Petersburg at the Raymond A. Naimoli Complex, the former spring training practice facility of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Al Lang Stadium, the former spring training game site of the Rays, or in Clearwater at Jack Russell Stadium, the former spring home of the Philadelphia Phillies.
BIG EAST RETURNS TO CLEARWATER FOR 2011 TOURNAMENT
The BIG EAST Conference will continue to play their baseball tournament at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla. through this season. Home of the tournament for four of the past five seasons (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010), Bright House Field is also the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies as well as their Florida State League affiliate Clearwater Threshers since the facility opened in 2004. Seating capacity of the $25 million facility is 8,500. Outfield dimensions measure 329 feet down the left field line, 408 feet to center, and 330 down the right field line. In addition to the tournament, Bright House Field will also host the tournament's annual opening ceremonies and the BIG EAST Home Run Derby.
Seton Hall received 25 points by the BIG EAST head coaches to finish 11th in the conference preseason polls for the 2011 season. The Connecticut Huskies received nine first place votes to be tabbed the favorites to win the conference championship this season after finishing just one game out of first place last year. Junior outfielder from Connecticut George Springer earned the preseason conference Player of the Year award, while his right-handed teammate Matt Barnes was named the preseason Pitcher of the Year.
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