Pirates Head To Hattiesburg
March 31, 2011 | Softball
March 31, 2011
| East Carolina Games 36-37: Southern Miss | |
| Date | Saturday, April 2 |
| Times | 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | Hattiesburg, Miss. (Southern Miss Softball Complex) |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  |
| Statistics | East Carolina | Southern Miss |
| Internet Coverage | Game 1 Gametracker | Game 2 Gametracker There will be no live chat due to no Internet access at Southern Miss. |
| Pirate Softball Central |
Gameday Central | Roster |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina (25-10, 5-4 C-USA) returns to Conference USA play this weekend with a three-game series at Southern Miss (10-21, 0-6 C-USA). The teams open with a 2:00 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and complete the set with a 12:00 p.m. Sunday game.
Last weekend, ECU won two of three games against Tulsa, which entered the series tied for first in the C-USA standings. Senior Toni Paisley struck out a career-high 16 in the opener as the Pirates claimed a 1-0 victory in 10 innings. Sophomore Kai Clark drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th for the win. After falling 5-3 in the second contest, East Carolina took the Sunday finale 10-1 in five innings. Clark drove in a career-best three runs and senior Sissy Jimenez scored three times and had three RBI to back Paisley's nine-strikeout performance.
The Pirates Against The Golden Eagles
Southern Miss holds a 16-15 advantage in the all-time series, which began with a single game in 1985. The teams did not meet again until 2002, when East Carolina joined Conference USA. Streaks by both teams have defined the series as the Pirates lost 13 of the first 15 contests, rebounded to take the next eight, dropped three of the following four and claimed the four most recent.
Last season in Greenville, the Pirates recorded 4-0, 1-0 and 5-0 victories. In game one, Vanessa Moreno led off the second inning with a home run before ECU tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth. The second contest had Suzanne Riggs drive in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh with a pinch-hit single as Faith Sutton allowed just three hits. In the Sunday series finale, the Pirates scored in each of the first three innings as Paisley threw her second shutout in as many days.
The teams also met during the first round of the 2010 Conference USA Tournament, with the Pirates winning 8-0 in five innings. Moreno went 3-3 and scored twice and Kaui Tom drove in three runs as Paisley scattered three hits and struck out eight.
A Hattiesburg Hex
Part of the reason streaks have been such a part of the East Carolina-Southern Miss series is because both teams have struggled on the road. The Pirates dropped five of the first six contests in Hattiesburg, won the next three but lost two-of-three games at Southern Miss in 2009. Despite ECU's 5-7 record in Mississippi, the Pirates have been outscored just 48-42 in the 12 contests.
5-4 In C-USA? Nearly Par For The Course
East Carolina is 5-4 through the first three C-USA series. The record is only one game behind the Pirates' mark at the same point last year, when the team won its first league regular season and tournament titles. The last five campaigns, the team has been above .500 through the first nine league games, three times at 6-3 and twice at 5-4. A closer look at the Pirates through nine league games and their final records and regular-season finishes in C-USA since joining the league in 2002:
| Year | 9-Game Record | C-USA Record (Regular Season Finish) |
| 2011 | 5-4 | TBD |
| 2010 | 6-3 | 16-5 (1st) |
| 2009 | 6-3 | 19-5 (2nd) |
| 2008 | 5-4 | 10-12 (5th) |
| 2007 | 6-3 | 14-9 (2nd) |
| 2006 | 2-7 | 13-11 (5th) |
| 2006 | 2-7 | 13-11 (5th) |
| 2005 | 7-2 | 17-7 (3rd) |
| 2004 | 4-5 | 10-14 (6th) |
| 2003 | 1-8 | 5-19 (8th) |
| 2002 | 4-5 | 10-13 (6th) |
A Sophomore Steps Up
Clark drove in five runs for ECU last weekend, including a career-high three during Sunday's 10-1 win. In the opener Saturday, Clark recorded the game-winning RBI with a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th inning to give ECU a 1-0 victory.
In seven league games this season, Clark already has seven RBI after driving in three during 21 contests as a freshman in 2010. She has helped her cause striking out just once this year after fanning 19 times a year ago.
Clark has also been hot in March, leading the Pirates with 11 runs batted in while batting .304.
Jimenez's Big Day
During last Sunday's 10-1 victory over Tulsa, Jimenez accounted for 60 percent of East Carolina's runs by tying her career highs with three batted in and three scored. She tallied the game-winning RBI in the first inning with a two-run single to left center and plated another run in the second with a single to center.
For Jimenez, it was her eighth career multiple-RBI game and 12th multihit performance. The three runs scored were also the most by an ECU player this season.
An Impressive Streak Comes To A Close
Tulsa prevented freshman Kristi Oshiro from reaching base during last Sunday's contest as she grounded out to the shortstop, popped out to the second baseman and flew out to the center fielder. It was the first time in 23 games that Oshiro failed to get on by a base hit, walk or fielding error. The last time Oshiro had failed to reach was Feb. 19 against Kent State when she went 0-4 with a strikeout, lineout and pair of groundouts.
Sending 16 Back To The Dugout
In last Saturday's first game against Tulsa, Paisley struck out a career-high 16 batters. She did not strike out the side in any of the 10 innings, but had two whiffs seven times. Her previous best was 15 strikeouts, set against UNC Wilmington April 17, 2007, and tied against Indiana Feb. 22, 2009, and UTEP April 18, 2010.
Career Development
Paisley recorded 25 strikeouts last weekend to push her season total to 212, good for seventh on the East Carolina single-season record list. To move into seventh, Paisley passed the total of 211 from her freshman season. This year, the Lakewood, Calif., native is averaging 1.39 strikeouts per inning.
Filling In Perfectly
Junior Priscilla Velasquez entered to pinch hit with the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning of last Sunday's series finale against Tulsa. She converted a seven-pitch at-bat into a walk to force in the frame's fourth run and put the Pirates ahead 4-0.
This season, Velasquez has tallied a team second-best six runs batted in with two outs.
10 Runs In C-USA Twice
Last Sunday, East Carolina scored 10 runs in a victory against Tulsa. During the March 19 opener at Marshall, the Pirates also put 10 runs on the board. ECU had not reached 10 or more runs twice against Conference USA squads in the same season since the 2008 campaign, when it tallied 11 against Southern Miss and 12 at Memphis.
Since joining the league in 2002, the Pirates have never reached double-digit runs in C-USA contests three times in a year.
Accepting The Free Pass
East Carolina drew a season-high nine walks against Tulsa in the second game of last Saturday's doubleheader. For the year, the Pirates have drawn 127 walks, an average of 3.6 free passes per contest. In C-USA games only, ECU's average is even better, rising to 4.2 base on balls per tilt.
Rising To The Opportunity
Riggs and Jimenez have been two important cogs in ECU's offense so far this season, especially in Conference USA games. Jimenez has a team-best .320 batting average in C-USA contests and Riggs has team-highs in runs scored (7) and walks drawn (7) in league games. Each has shown a large improvement in C-USA action when compared with a year ago. A closer look at the rising production through ECU's first three C-USA series in 2010 and 2011:
Riggs
| Year | G | H | R | RBI | BB | SLG % |
| 2011 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 7 | .250 |
| 2010 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Jimenez
| Year | G | H | R | RBI | BB | SLG % |
| 2011 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | .320 |
| 2010 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | .238 |
