SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – Villanova will look to pick up their first BIG EAST win of the season as they travel to South Orange, New Jersey for a weekend series against Seton Hall. Game one begins Friday, April 12th with first pitch at 4:00 pm. Game two is scheduled for Saturday, April 13th with first pitch at 2:00 pm and Sunday April 14th will be the final game at 12:00 pm.
Friday, April 12 | 4:00 p.m. EST
Villanova:
Jake Francis
Seton Hall: Daniel Frontera
Saturday, April 13 | 2:00 p.m. EST
Villanova:
Luke McCollough
Seton Hall: Ryan Reich
Sunday, April 14 | 12:00 p.m. EST
Villanova:
Devin Rivera
Seton Hall: Cole Hansen
Last Time Out: Villanova hosted Penn University in a weekday match up this past Wednesday (April 10th). The Wildcats picked up the victory wining 5-3 over the Quackers on the backs of strong pitching performances.
Back To BIG EAST Ball: Villanova and Seton Hall are familiar foes as the Pirates hold the all-time record 116-78 over Villanova. The last matchup between the two saw Seton Hall win all three games of the series on May 18-20 at Villanova Ballpark.
Striking Staff: Villanova's pitching staff has been striking out a ton of batters over the past two games. In the series finale against St. John's, seven pitchers threw for the Wildcats. No pitcher gave up more than two hits and the team struck out 11 batters. In their weekday battle against Penn, five pitchers were on the mound for Villanova. Similar to Sunday no pitcher gave up more than two hits and the team struck out 10 batters.
Francis on the Mound: Freshman
Jake Francis will make his fourth start on Friday for the Wildcats. On the year Francis is 2-2 with 26.2 innings of work recording a 3.04 ERA and 14 strikeouts.
Probing the Pirates
- Seton Hall is off to a 17-15 record (1-2 BIG EAST) start to their season. Last time out for the Pirates came on Tuesday (April 9th) in a 8-1 loss to Rutgers.
- The Pirates lead the conference in hits allowed per nine innings, allowing only 8.22. A big contributor to that statistic for Seton Hall is Ryan Reich. The game two starter leads all pitchers in the BIG EAST in hits allowed per nine innings (6.86) and strikeouts (51).
- The starting pitcher for game one is Daniel Frontera. Frontera is 2-4 on the season with a 4.42 ERA.
