SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Seton Hall head coach Rob Sheppard announced today the 2016 baseball schedule, which features at least 56 games, including 18 BIG EAST contests and 10 games against 2015 NCAA Tournament participants.
Additionally, the Pirates will play 28 home games at Owen T. Carroll Field in 2016 beginning with a mid-week contest against local non-conference opponent NJIT on Wednesday, March 9 at 4:00 p.m.
As is typical with college baseball teams in the Northeast, the Pirates will play the majority of their early season, non-conference games on the road. Seton Hall will open the year with 14 of their first 15 games away from Owen T. Carroll Field. Nine of those 14 games however, will be played at neutral sites.
To begin the 2016 campaign, Seton Hall will play its first three weekends in the sunny State of Florida. It’ll open the season with four games over three days in Ft. Myers, Feb. 19-21, against the University of Missouri. The Tigers are coming off a 30-28 season in 2015. The teams have only met once other time in history, a 12-8 Missouri win back in 1981.
The following weekend, the Pirates will begin their Spring Break with four games in Miami, Fla. against Florida International University. The teams will play Feb. 26-28 and March 1. Florida International is the defending Conference USA champion and played in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Seton Hall is just 9-16 all-time against the Panthers and have lost the last five games in the series, including a sweep at FIU most recently in 2011.
The Hall will remain in Florida, traveling up to Port Charlotte, for three games as part of the 2016 Snowbird Classic. Seton Hall will face Big Ten opponents Indiana and Ohio State. It’ll play the Hoosiers on both March 3 and March 5, with a single contest against the Buckeyes on March 4. Indiana is coming off a 36-win season and a berth in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Ohio State went 35-20 last season. Seton Hall is a combined 6-4 all-time against the two teams. It’s the second straight year that the Pirates have participated in this event. They were a perfect 4-0 in Snowbird games last season.
The weekend of March 11-13, the Pirates will travel to Emerson, Ga. for a trio of contests as part of Perfect Game’s College Spring Swing. The Hall will play Savannah State University on March 11, the University of Iowa on March 12 and Bowling Green State University on March 13. Seton Hall doesn’t have significant experience against any of the teams. The Hall is just 0-2 all-time against Bowling Green State, 1-0 against Iowa and has never played Savannah State.
Seton Hall will return home on March 16 for a mid-week contest against Lafayette, the first game in a stretch of the season that will see the Pirates play 14 of their next 17 games at the friendly confines of Owen T. Carroll Field.
The Hall will host former Seton Hall player and coach, Jim Duffy and Manhattan College, March 18-19. The following weekend, it will play a double-header at Army on March 25, before hosting the Black Knights for one game on Saturday, March 26. After mid-week games against Iona and at Princeton, the Hall will host Quinnipiac University for a weekend series, April 1-3. The Pirates have won 20 of 25 all-time meetings with the Jaspers, including the last four games. They’ve won both of their all-time meetings against Quinnipiac.
After hosting Wagner mid-week on April 6, the Pirates will begin BIG EAST Conference play with a trio of contests in Omaha, Neb. against Creighton, April 8-10. The Bluejays have won seven of nine all-time meetings, including four of five contests in 2015. Creighton won two games against the Pirates in last year’s BIG EAST Championship, which ended The Hall’s season.
Seton Hall will face in-state non-conference rival Rutgers for a mid-week home-and-home. The Pirates will host the Scarlet Knights on Tuesday, April 12, and travel to Piscataway the following day to complete the series. Rutgers is coming off a 19-35 season in 2015, but won two of three games over Seton Hall. The Pirates’ lone win in the series was a 16-5 victory at TD Bank Ballpark.
Two days later, they will open an eight-game home stand at Owen T. Carroll Field with a three-game series at against LIU-Brooklyn. Seton Hall will host Monmouth University on Tuesday, April 19, and then resume BIG EAST play with a home series against Villanova, April 22-24. Seton Hall is 23-7 all-time against the Blackbirds and has won six of the last seven meetings. The teams haven’t played however, since 2006. The Pirates have also dominated the long all-time series against BIG EAST rival Villanova, winning 78 of the 121 prior meetings, but the Wildcats won two of three games in last year’s series.
After a mid-week contest against Saint Peter’s University on April 27, the Pirates will take to the road to face Georgetown for three games, April 29-May 1. The Hoyas are coming off their first BIG EAST Tournament appearance since 1986, but dropped three of four games to Seton Hall in 2015. In one of the more memorable games of recent years, the Pirates trailed the Hoyas, 5-2, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning on May 15, before rallying and walking off with a 6-5 victory. Seton Hall is 79-25 all-time against Georgetown.
On May 6, Seton Hall will begin its final home stand of the season with its last seven games at Owen T. Carroll Field. The Pirates will host Xavier May 6 and 7, with the teams playing a double-header on Saturday, May 7. The Hall will face Rider for a mid-week game before hosting local rival St. John’s, May 13-15. The Pirates have won six of seven all-time meetings with the Musketeers, including a three-game sweep in Cincinnati last season. Seton Hall’s lone loss in the all-time series ended its season in the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament, with Xavier going on to win the conference title. St. John’s is the defending BIG EAST champion and won two of three games in Queens against Seton Hall in 2015. The Pirates have met the Red Storm in four of the last five conference tournaments, and defeated them to win the title in 2011.
Following a mid-week contest at NJIT on May 17, Seton Hall will complete the regular season with a trio of games in Indianapolis, Ind. vs. Butler, May 19-21. The Pirates are just 2-4 all-time against the Bulldogs and dropped two of three contests during last year’s series.
The 2016 BIG EAST Championship will be played at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Md., May 25-29. Once again, the top four teams in the final BIG EAST regular season standings will qualify to compete, with the winner of the double-elimination tournament gaining an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
