Softball Takes On No. 1 Washington
March 05, 2010 | Softball
March 5, 2010
Gameday Central | Complete Game Notes In PDF Form 
HONOLULU, Hawai'i - The East Carolina softball team has enjoyed its spring break trip to Hawai’i so far and now the games begin. The Pirates face defending Women’s College World Series Champion and current No. 1 Washington at 9:00 p.m. EST.
During last weekend’s Pirate Classic, ECU pounded out 32 hits in 98 at-bats for a .327 batting average en route to an undefeated showing. All 12 players who recorded at-bats picked up at least one hit. Five players collected at least one multiple-hit game and five had at least one multiple-RBI game. Senior Christina Merrida led the way with six hits while tying for the team lead in runs batted in with four. Conference USA Pitcher-of-the-Week Toni Paisley was dominant in the circle, not allowing a run in 17.1 innings of work. She recorded three wins and a save while striking out 29 and giving up just seven hits, three hit batters and one walk
About The Huskies ...
The Pirates have never played Washington. For the Huskies, it begins with senior and reigning National Player-of-the-Year Danielle Lawrie. After taking the 2008 season off to pitch for the Canadian Olympic team, Lawrie led Washington to the national title in 2009 as she posted a 0.97 earned run average and struck out 521 batters in 352.2 innings.
This season, UW is off to a 12-1 start. On offense, junior infielder Jenn Salling leads the way with a .559 batting average while sophomore infielder Niki Williams is right behind at .500. Lawrie’s 19 runs batted in and eight home runs are tops on the team while Salling has scored a squad-best 21 runs. Lawrie is 9-0 with a 1.12 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 56 innings this season. Freshman Baily Harris has also chipped in, going 3-1 with a 3.33 earned run average.
Paisley Named Pitcher-of-the-Week ...
After a dominant weekend in which she did not allow a run, Paisley was named the Conference USA Pitcher-of-the-Week. During last weekend’s Pirate Classic, she picked up three victories and a save in leading ECU to a 4-0 record. Paisley threw back-to-back shutouts and struck out 29 batters in 17.1 innings. She allowed only seven hits, three hit batters and a walk during the tournament. The C-USA Pitcherof- the-Week award is the ninth of her career. In 2009, she hauled in a record-tying seven as a sophomore.
With her three wins over the weekend, Paisley increased her career total to 60, good for eighth on the all-time C-USA list. She is the only active pitcher in the top 10.
ECU Moving On Up ...
Senior Charina Sumner smacked two triples against Morehead State Saturday night. The pair of three-base hits gave her 14 in her career and moved her into a tie for fifth-place on both the East Carolina and Conference USA career charts. With two triples in the game, Sumner also became the first Pirate to accomplish that feat since Lacassa Hill hit two against Liberty April 17, 2004.
Additionally, Sumner moved into 10th place on the ECU career runs scored list as she crossed home four times last weekend, giving her 112 runs scored in her three-plus seasons.
Merrida On A Roll ...
Merrida gave the top of East Carolina’s lineup an offensive spark over the weekend. She was the team’s top hitter, going 6-11 for a .545 batting average. After totaling four runs batted in all of last season, Merrida picked up four RBI during the four contests.
She drove in two Friday against Delaware, tying her career high set her freshman year. Saturday against Towson, she provided ECU’s only runs in a 2-0 victory. She scored the game-winning run in the third inning and drove in the insurance tally in the fifth. In the weekend finale against Penn State, Merrida scored the game-winning run in the first inning, helping the Pirates snap a four-game losing streak to the Nittany Lions.
First-Time Long Balls ...
Sophomore first baseman Priscilla Velasquez and freshman catcher Kai Clark hit their first home runs as Pirates over the weekend. Velasquez led off the top of the fifth against Morehead State Saturday night with a deep shot over the center field fence. Clark’s two-run, first-inning long ball Sunday against Penn State amounted to East Carolina’s only runs in the 2-0 triumph. The home runs were the Pirates’ second and third of the season.
