One game separates the UConn softball team (23-19, 10-5 Big East) and Seton Hall University (19-16, 9-6 Big East) in the Big East, with the Pirates tied with Creighton University for third place in the conference standings. This weekend, UConn and Seton Hall will face off in South Orange, N.J.
This weekend’s series is part of an 11-game homestand for the Pirates, which began with Providence earlier this month and continued last weekend with Syracuse.
The player to watch on Seton Hall is sophomore Kyra Kreuscher, coming off a two-hit complete game shutout to earn Big East Pitcher of the Week honors.
Junior Taylor Hill has a batting average of .357 over her career, which is the second highest in Seton Hall history. She’s on pace to break her school record for runs scored in a season, entering the weekend with 35 runs scored through 35 games.
For the Huskies, outfielder Lexi Hastings batted .556 at the plate last week, hitting two home runs, a double and a triple. The junior from Lynchburg, Va. scored five runs herself and sent five home. She has homered in each of the last two games to earn her a spot on the Big East Weekly Honor Roll.
Joining her on the conference’s weekly honor roll is senior Hallie Siems, who gave up just two runs on eight hits with ten strikeouts. The senior from Stuttgart, Ark. earned her tenth win of the season against Creighton on Sunday.
UConn is coming off a series win over the Bluejays last weekend and beat the University of Massachusetts Amherst 5-3 on the road. Siems started in that game and went six innings giving up three runs on three hits with eight strikeouts.
Seton Hall will honor their 2004 Big East Championship team before the series finale, along with hosting their annual Alumni Tailgate.
It will be a homecoming series for sophomore Savannah Ring, who is from Wyckoff, N.J. Five players on the roster are from the New York metropolitan area, so their families don’t have to travel as far to get to this road series.
Connecticut is looking for revenge, as the Pirates ended the Huskies’ season last year in a battle for a spot in the Big East Championship. Despite being the top seed, UConn fell 6-4 at home. Luckily for the Huskies, they won’t have to face Shelby Smith, who hit a grand slam in that game.
UConn has the upper hand in the all-time series, leading 45-19 against Seton Hall. The Huskies have won six of the last eight meetings.
Following this weekend’s series, Connecticut will return home for a final four-game stretch at home, beginning on Tuesday with Boston College and ending with a weekend series against Villanova. Seton Hall’s home stretch will end on Tuesday as they host Drexel University.
All three games will be at Essex County Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field on the Seton Hall campus. The first pitch today is set for 2 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday’s games will begin at noon. All three games will be available to watch on FloSoftball.