The interaction of Love waves with square array of pillars deposited on a cavity defined in a 2D holey phononic crystal is numerically investigated using Finite Element Method. First, the existence of SH surface modes is demonstrated separately for phononic crystals that consist of square arrayed holes, or Ni pillars, respectively in, or on, a SiO 2 film deposited on a ST-cut quartz substrate. The coupling between SH modes and torsional mode in pillars induces a transmission dip that occurs at a frequency located in the range of the band-gap of the holey phononic crystal. Second, a cavity is constructed by removing lines of holes in the holey phononic crystal and results in a transmission peak that matches the dip. The optimal geometrical parameters enable us to create a coupling of the cavity mode and the pillar mode by introducing lines of pillars into the cavity, which significantly improved the efficiency of the cavity. The obtained results will pave the way to implement advanced designs of high-performance electroacoustic sensors based on coupling modes in phononic crystals.