FROM BIG EAST PRESS RELEASE
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Four teams went 3-0 in the first weekend of BIG EAST play as Louisville, USF, Notre Dame and Connecticut all swept their opening weekend opponents. Louisville and USF both lead the league with 18 wins.
Notre Dame (15-8, 3-0) at USF (18-8, 3-0)
· Both teams enter this weekend series after winning all three games last weekend.
· USF holds an 11-10 edge in the all-time series between the two teams.
· The Bulls hold a 6-3 record against the Irish in Tampa.
· Notre Dame pitcher Will Hudgins has the lowest ERA in the league at 1.08, while opponents only have a .132 batting average against USF pitcher Andrew Barbosa, also a league best.
Villanova (14-12, 1-2) at Louisville (18-7, 3-0)
· Louisville leads the all-time series between the two teams, 15-2.
· The Cardinals have won seven straight in the series, including a three-game sweep in the most recent meeting on April 1-3, 2010.
· Louisville owns a 15-3 home record this season.
· Louisville outfielder Stewart Ijames leads the league this season with eight home runs.
· Villanvoa 2B Tyler Sciacca leads the league in hits with 46.
Seton Hall (12-12, 1-2) at Connecticut (12-11, 3-0)
· UConn has won six straight games and is above .500 for the first time since winning its season opener.
· Seton Hall has won its last two games.
· Seton Hall starter Jon Prosinski has pitched back-to-back complete game shutouts and enters his start this weekend against Connecticut with a 2.90 ERA. He has pitched 18 straight scoreless innings and in that span, struck out 10 while not walking a single batter.
· Connecticut Head Coach Jim Penders picked up his 300th career win with an 11-6 win over Hartford.
· Freshman have contributed mightily thus far for the Pirates, Kyle Grimm (.354), Sal Annunziata (.296) and Tyler Boyd (.304) are the top three in batting average on the team for those with at least 20 at bats.
· Connecticut junior LJ Mazzilli, having played the last two games at shortstop, has hit in a career-high 14 straight games, hit in 22 of 23 games this season and leads the team with 11 multi-hit games
West Virginia (11-16, 0-3) at St. John’s (13-11, 2-1)
· St. John’s and West Virginia have met 45 times in a series that date back to 1996, with the Red Storm holding a 28-17 series lead, including a 13-7 mark in home games.
· The Red Storm took two-of-three at home when the teams last met in 2010 and is 5-1 in the last six home meetings, including a series sweep in 2008.
· St. John’s SS Matt Wessinger leads the league with 20 stolen bases.
· West Virginia outfielder Matt Frazer leads the league with 13 doubles.
Pittsburgh (11-11, 0-3) at Cincinnati (9-14, 0-3)
· Since 2000, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have played 17 times. During that span, Pittsburgh owns the series lead 9-8.
· Both teams enter the game looking for their first conference win.
· The Bearcats and Panthers last played in a three-game series on April 30 and May 1, 2011 in Pittsburgh. After dropping the opener, Cincinnati won the final two games of the series.
· Both teams enter the series coming off wins. Cincinnati beat Dayton 17-8 while Pittsburgh topped Kent State 6-5 on Wednesday.
· Pittsburgh senior Rick Devereaux leads the league in RBI’s with 31.
· The Bearcats have the third best batting average in the league at .295.
Rutgers (12-10, 2-1) at Georgetown (11-14, 0-3)
· The Scarlet Knights enter the weekend having won five of the last six games.
· Georgetown has lost its last seven games.
· RU defeated Wagner, 13-8, in a midweek contest, with Bill Hoermann (four hits) and Patrick Kivlehan (four RBIs) each homering. Kivlehan is on a nine-game hitting streak, having at least two hits in the last seven contests.
· They Hoays rank third in the league in runs scored (171), hits (256) and RBIs (149).
· Rutgers swept Georgetown the last time the teams met, March 26-28, 2010.
· This weekend marks the seventh-straight road weekend series for Rutgers.
