Softball Hosts Holiday Inn Express Pirate Invitational This Weekend
February 16, 2006 | Softball
Feb. 16, 2006
Fresh off a 5-0 weekend in which it claimed the FAU Worth Invitational Championship East Carolina makes its home debut this weekend as it hosts the Holiday Inn express Pirate Classic. The Pirates welcome eight teams to Greenville for the weekend, including: Army, Bucknell, Campbell, Elon, Michigan State, Ohio, Seton Hall and Towson.
Games will be played at the ECU Softball Field and D.H. Conley High School. The Pirates will open play against the Black Knights of Army at 9 a.m. on Friday before facing 2005 NCAA Tournament participant Seton Hall at 11 a.m. The Pirates will play all of their games at the ECU Softball Field.
The Pirates will square off against Big 10 rival Michigan State Saturday at 3 o'clock after taking on Towson at 1 p.m.
East Carolina will be seeking its second consecutive victory over a Big 10 opponent Saturday after beating Purdue at the FAU Worth Invitational this past weekend in Boca Raton.
First Of Three Tournaments On The Schedule
The Holiday Inn Express Pirate Classic is the first of three tournaments that ECU will host this season. The Pirates will also hosts the Hampton Inn Pirate Clash on March 3-5 and the Pirate Invitational, March 24-26.
Off To Another Good Start
With its five-game sweep of the field at the FAU Worth Invitational this past weekend, East Carolina has opened the season with a 5-0 record for a second consecutive season. A year ago, the Pirates opened the year with an 8-0 record before falling to Fordham during the Round Robin portion of the Holiday Inn Express Pirate Classic.
Each of the last two seasons, ECU has posted an unblemished mark through eight games. The Pirates started the 2004 season with a record of 7-0-1 before suffering their first loss.
The most consecutive wins to start a season by East Carolina is 11 during the 1992 season.
At Last Year's Classic
East Carolina was beaten by College of Charleston in the championship game of the 2005 Holiday Inn Express Pirate Classic, 7-6. The Pirates posted a record of 5-1 in pool play before beating Radford in the semifinals, 3-2 in eight, to advance to the championship game. ECU posted two wins over Ohio and single victories over Army and Towson during the round robin play last season.
