Pirates Host C-USA Championship
May 10, 2011 | Softball
May 10, 2011
| East Carolina Game 57: Memphis | |
| Date | Thursday, May 12 |
| Time | 4:30 p.m. ET |
| Location | Greenville, N.C. (ECU Softball Stadium) |
| Tickets | Purchase C-USA Championship Tickets |
| Championship Information | C-USA Championship Central |
| Game Notes | East Carolina | Memphis |
| Statistics | East Carolina | Memphis |
| Internet Coverage | Gametracker |  Watch LiveLive Chat |
| Mobile Connect | Live Chat for Mobile Devices |
| Pirate Softball Central |
Gameday Central | Roster |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - For the first time in program history, East Carolina will host the Conference USA Championship. The Pirates enter the tournament as the No. 5 seed after posting a 14-10 mark in C-USA action. ECU faces No. 4 seed Memphis (35-11) Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in the first round. The Tigers finished 15-7 in league play.
Last weekend at Longwood, the Pirates defeated the host Lancers and UMBC Saturday. Sunday, in the rematch against Longwood, the Lancers hit two home runs in a 3-0 win. Freshman Kristi Oshiro drove in both game-winning runs Saturday and classmate Jasmine Robbins batted .500 for the weekend. Another freshman, Jill Jelnick, led the Pirates with four runs scored and also drove in two runs.
A Look Back At The 2010 Title
East Carolina is looking to defend its C-USA Tournament crown after winning the program's first a year ago in Houston. The Pirates defeated Southern Miss 8-0, the host Cougars 4-0 and UCF 3-1 to claim the championship. Toni Paisley was named the event's most valuable player after going 3-0 and striking out 20.
Southern Miss - First Round
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
| Southern Miss | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| East Carolina | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | X | 8 | 12 | 1 |
Pitching
| | IP | ER | K/BB | H |
| Toni Paisley (W, 28-9) | 5.0 | 0 | 8/0 | 3 |
Batting
| | H | R | RBI | BB |
| Vanessa Moreno | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Kaui Tom | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Priscilla Velasquez | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Houston - Semifinals
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| East Carolina | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Pitching
| | IP | ER | K/BB | H |
| Toni Paisley (W, 29-9) | 7.0 | 0 | 6/1 | 4 |
Batting
| | H | R | RBI | BB |
| Charina Sumner | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Sissy Jimenez | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Marina Gusman-Brown | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
UCF - Championship
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| UCF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| East Carolina | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 3 | 5 | 2 |
Pitching
| | IP | ER | K/BB | H |
| Toni Paisley (W, 30-9) | 7.0 | 0 | 6/2 | 3 |
Batting
| | H | R | RBI | BB |
| Cristen Aona | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Priscilla Velasquez | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sissy Jimenez | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
The Pirates Against The Tigers
East Carolina owns a 12-5 advantage in the all-time series, which began in 2006 when Memphis started its softball program. After dropping three of the first four meetings, the Pirates have won 11 of the last 13 contests while outscoring the Tigers 54-21.
This year, the teams opened the Conference USA season against each other with the Pirates dropping two of three in Greenville, splitting the Saturday doubleheader with a 4-1 win and 2-1 loss before falling 1-0 Sunday. In the opener, sophomore Kai Clark drove in two runs and scored another while Oshiro drove in the game-winning run with a third-inning double. During the second game, ECU rallied with a run in the seventh but could not tie the contest. Jessica Phillips and Ashleigh King drove in runs for the Tigers and Lauren Carley picked up the win with Janelle Valle recording the save. In the Sunday finale, Valle limited the Pirates to just one hit, a first-inning single by senior Sissy Jimenez. East Carolina was able to put the tying run on first base in the seventh but the Tigers made Phillips' fourth-inning RBI single stand as the only run of the contest.
Pair Of Freshmen Lead The Way
In East Carolina's last 12 games, two rookies have been leading the Pirate offense. Robbins and Jelnick have batted .394 and .382, respectively, and each has tallied 13 hits since the series at UAB began April 16.
Jelnick has scored a team-high eight runs while standing second on the squad with nine walks and five runs batted in during the span. Robbins has posted ECU's best on-base percentage at .524 and has a career long four-game hitting streak.
The Big Three Hitter
Batting in the third spot in the lineup for the first time in her career last weekend, Oshiro came through. She batted .444 during the three games and drove in the game-winning run in the Pirates' two Saturday victories. The Mililani, Hawai'i, native also drew a pair of walks, scored two runs and stole a base.
Debuting At Better Than 35-35-35
Oshiro has been an important cog in the Pirate offense all season, tallying team-best marks with 51 hits, 35 runs scored and 36 walks. She became the first ECU player to have 35 or more in all three categories since Kate Manuse (77 H/40 R/55 BB) in 2005. Oshiro has accomplished the feat in 56 games this year while Manuse played 74 contests in 2005.
