All season the Seton Hall baseball team has been searching for the hot-hand to fill out their weekend rotation. Outside of senior Jon Prosinski, who has been the Friday starter in each of the eight weekend series, seven other Pirates have gotten a start on the weekend.
"Our rotation is fluid in that it will change throughout the year," head coach Rob Sheppard said. "There are opportunities for guys to show what they can do. The hot hand always gets the ball."
Despite the rotation constantly changing, the Hall holds the third best team ERA in the Big East and second in conference play at 2.59. They also rank fourth with 57 strikeouts.
Prosinski, the Big East pre-season Pitcher of the Year, leads the staff with a 1.99 ERA and is second in innings pitched in conference play. Fellow senior Greg Terhune also ranks in the top-10 in conference ERA with a 2.29 ERA through three starts.
"I think (Prosinski) really sets the tone," Sheppard said. "He faces everyone's number one and whoever is the number two or three, they get a chance to learn how a lineup can be attacked. (Prosinski) makes it look easy at times and in some ways that can be detriment at times."
The third pitcher to get a start on the weekend has been junior Josh Prevost. Prevost started the year in the bullpen but found his way into the weekend rotation in the fourth series and has pitched every Saturday since.
"During the preseason I was prepped to be a starter," Prevost said. "Even in the fall I was being stretched out, it was actually more difficult being a reliever than making the switch to starter."
Provost found his way onto the Big East weekly honor role for the week of April 1, after throwing 7.1 scoreless innings and allowing only three hits against Connecticut. While Prevost has a 2-2 record and 2.97 ERA it seems he may have been placed back in the bullpen after making a relief appearance on Wednesday.
The competition between the staff is something that Sheppard thinks will help get the hottest pitchers into the game along with giving the Pirates the best matchup, which he give credit to pitching coach Phil Cundari.
"When you're are a pitcher you like to compete and most of the guys we have on our staff were high school starters," Sheppard said. "The art of putting a pitching staff together, which coach Cundari does a really good job of, is identifying guys who will excel in certain roles."
This weekend the Pirates get a rare break from conference play with a series against Houston. The pitching staff will be looked to lead the way once again.
"It's a process," Sheppard said. "Baseball is a long season we play 52 games. You can't get too high with the highs and too low with the lows. The guys understand it's a process and we are fortunate with our senior class and the success they have had."
Stephen Valenti can be reached at stephen.valenti@student.shu.edu.
