The Seton Hall softball team will head to Central Connecticut State Thursday to take on the 27-20-1 Blue Devils in a doubleheader.
The Pirates, 16-33 overall and 3-19 in Big East play, look to end their season on a positive note after going 1-6 in their past seven games.
Central Connecticut is anchored by a deep lineup, with a team batting average of .296 compared to Seton Hall's .235 clip.
Freshman outfielder Arielle Bruno leads the Blue Devils with a .349 average, 79 total bases and 38 runs scored.
Sophomore outfielder Kelsey Barlow leads Central Connecticut's offense in the two power categories, homeruns with seven and RBIs with 35.
The Blue Devils' pitching staff is led by senior Elizabeth Montemurro's 2.64 ERA, earning her a team leading 12-7 record with three shutouts. Batters are averaging .270 against her this season.
Sophomore pitcher Jordan Tingley leads Central Connecticut with 83 strikeouts in 123.1 innings pitched, with a 10-8 record.
Senior outfielder Michelle Reed broke the Seton Hall career record for steals in the night cap of the Pirates double-header against Stony Brook University on Tuesday.
Reed leads the team with 17 stolen bases in 21 attempts. She said that she became the great base stealer that she is by "just practicing it a lot." She also has the most Pirate hits, 36, and triples, four.
"[Stealing] is a key part of our game plan. If we can get a runner on is a great way to generate offense," Reed said.
Senior second baseman Brittany Schillizzi leads the Hall with four homeruns and 17 RBIs.
Seton Hall head coach Ray Vander May said that his lineup will be the same as it was in the second game of the doubleheader against Stony Brook on Tuesday, also noting that all seniors will play against Central Connecticut.
Vander May also said that the one thing he hopes that his team will take away from the season is never quitting.
"That's the tough thing about having a bad season, wanting to quit," Vander May said. "Our girls haven't shown that all season long."
The first pitch is set to start at 3:30 p.m. in New Britain, Conn.
Emily Governale can be reached at emily.governale@student.shu.edu.
Matt Bryant can be reached at matthew.bryant@student.shu.edu
