Pirates Batter Seahawks In Sweep

April 17, 2007

WILMINGTON, N.C. - The East Carolina softball team pounded out 24 runs, 29 hits and eight homeruns, breaking out of a recent offensive slump, in a sweep of the UNCW Seahawks at Boseman Field in Wilmington. The Pirates improve to 32-15 overall while the Seahawks drop to 18-27. Game scores were 9-1 in the first contest and 15-2 in the five-inning second game.

ECU's 14 hits in game one was a new season-high for the squad but it was quickly topped by 15 hits in game two. Seven different Pirates recorded home runs on the day, highlighted by Paige Bagget's two in game two and Tiffany Shaw`s first of the season. ECU now has 46 round-trippers on the season, good for second in Conference USA.

UNCW would take its only lead of the day in the fourth inning when Carley Hughes hit her team-leading 16th home run. ECU quickly responded in the next inning. With two outs, Joyce Roodenburg singled. Cristen Aona then reached on an error by the Seahawk third baseman. With two on, Kaui Tom ripped a shot to straightaway center field to give the Pirates the 3-1 advantage. Charina Sumner then laced on of her four hits in the game to left. Sumner would not have to stay on the bases long as Jessica Johnson blistered a pitch over the left field wall to up the ECU lead to 5-1

The Pirates would tack on another run in the sixth inning when Roodenburg's sacrifice fly scored pinch-runner Stacey Andrews. Andrews was running for Erin St. Ledger who had led off the inning with a single.

ECU would close out the scoring in the seventh. Tom and Sumner led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Johnson proceeded to reach on a fielder's choice to score Tom. On the next play, Sumner reached home as Angel Barrella grounded into a double-play. St. Ledger then singled to short and Beth Nolan brought her home with an RBI-double to provide the final margin of 9-1.

Freshman Toni Paisley continued her absolutely stellar play in the circle as she scattered three UNCW hits and struck out a career-high 15 batters. In her last two starts she has whiffed 26 hitters. Paisley also threw her 12th complete game of the season. Tom and Sumner accounted for half of the Pirates' hits, as Tom earned three and Sumner went a perfect four-for-four at the plate. ECU continued its solid play in field, recording no errors in either game. The Pirates should remain in the top-10 in the nation in fielding percentage after today's doubleheader.

The Pirates continued their offensive prowess in game two, scoring eight runs in the first inning to put the game away early. Tom led off the game with a single, Sumner reached on an error by the left fielder and Johnson walked to load the bases for Vanessa Moreno. Moreno would not disappoint, as she took a pitch over the wall in center for her first grand-slam of the season. Baggett followed suit, hitting her first home run of the game to give ECU the 5-0 lead. After the Pirates loaded the bases for the second time in the inning, Sumner hit her team and Conference USA- leading seventh triple of the year, clearing the bases and making the lead 8-0.

ECU would not let up in the next inning, as St. Ledger doubled and Moreno reached on another Seahawk error, one of five in the game for UNCW. Baggett then singled to center to earn one of her four RBI of the game. Moreno would reach home on a sacrifice fly by Nolan. Aona then added her name to the list of Pirates who homered on the day, with a two-run shot that pushed the ECU lead to 12-0 after two innings.

The Pirates would close out the scoring in the third and fifth, as they added three more home runs to their total. Hughes would add her 17th dinger in the bottom of the fifth to make the final score 15-2.

Senior Keli Harrell threw well for ECU, earning her 16th win of the season. She allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out eight in the complete game effort.

The Pirates will travel halfway across the nation this weekend, as they visit UTEP for a crucial conference series. ECU swept the Miners in Greenville last season in the first-ever meeting between the teams. The Pirates and the Miners will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 3 p.m. and close out the series with a single game on Sunday. Saturday's first game will be nationally televised by CSTV. This marks the first national television appearance for ECU this season.

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