East Carolina Opens C-USA Play At Tulsa
March 15, 2012 | Softball
March 15, 2012
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| East Carolina Games 25-26: Tulsa Saturday, March 17 | 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. ET Tulsa, Okla. (Collins Family Softball Complex) |
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GREENVILLE, N.C. - Following 24 nonconference games to begin the year, East Carolina (10-14) heads into the Conference USA portion of the campaign this weekend with a three-game series at defending league regular season co-champion Tulsa (16-6, 2-1 C-USA). The teams play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 2:00 p.m. ET and finish Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. clash. The Pirates and Golden Hurricane last met in the 2011 C-USA Tournament title game with ECU recording a 4-1 triumph to capture its second-straight championship.
Tuesday at North Carolina, in the first meeting between the rivals since 2009, the Tar Heels got the upper hand with a 4-2 victory over the Pirates. The game's only scoring came via home runs as UNC's Constance Orr and Logan Foulks each hit a two-run long ball and ECU seniors Suzanne Riggs and Priscilla Velasquez delivered solo shots. North Carolina pitcher Lori Spingola struck out nine, including five looking, in the complete-game effort. Freshman Sarah Christian suffered the loss for the Pirates, surrendering only five hits, three in the bottom of the second inning and two in the sixth. The Greenville product retired the Tar Heels in order in the other four frames.
The Pirates Against The Golden Hurricane
East Carolina holds a 9-8 advantage over Tulsa in the all-time series that began in 2006 when the Golden Hurricane joined Conference USA. The Pirates took the first meeting 3-2 before dropping six of the next eight games. ECU has since rebounded with victories in six of the last eight contests, including a 4-1 triumph in last year's C-USA Tournament championship game.
In 2011 during the regular season series in Greenville, the teams split the Saturday doubleheader with East Carolina winning 1-0 and falling 5-3. Sunday, the Pirates claimed a 10-1 victory in five innings. In the opener, Toni Paisley struck out a career-high 16 batters and Kai Clark drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th inning to account for the contest's only run. The second game had Aimee Creger limit the Pirates to two hits to back a Tulsa four-run first inning. It was ECU's offense that exploded in the series-clinching finale, scoring 10 runs on seven hits with Clark and Sissy Jimenez driving in three runs each.
The teams did not face each other in Tulsa during the 2010 campaign as the series was canceled due to snow.
Greenville, N.C.
East Carolina captured its second-straight Conference USA Championship title Saturday morning with a 4-1 victory over Tulsa. Junior Priscilla Velasquez , the tournament's most valuable player, drew a bases-loaded walk and hit a three-run home run to account for all of the Pirates' runs. 
A Title Game Rematch
The two teams last met in the 2011 Conference USA Tournament championship game in Greenville. A bases-loaded walk to Velasquez in the first inning and her three-run home run in the third provided ECU with the 4-1 triumph. Paisley threw a complete game, striking out eight and allowing three hits to earn her 30th victory of the year. This season's series should have a very familiar feel as 16 of the 20 title-game starters return with all nine of ECU's position players and seven of Tulsa's nine.
ECU In C-USA Openers
Since joining Conference USA in 2002, East Carolina has gone 15-15 in league-opening series. In the last five seasons the Pirates are 10-5 during such series. The only time ECU has swept in its first C-USA series was in 2007, when the Pirates topped UCF. East Carolina has not been swept its first C-USA series since back-to-back sweeps by USF and Houston in 2003 and 2004.
The Beginning Of Conference USA Play
The Pirates open league action this weekend at 10-14. It is the first time since joining Conference USA in 2002 that ECU has had a sub-.500 mark heading into the C-USA portion of the season.
A lower winning percentage before starting conference play has not made for a poor C-USA season, however, as the Pirates captured their only league regular season title in 2010, when the team was 13-11 heading into conference play. Gaining victories at a fast rate has not guaranteed Conference USA success, either. ECU posted its second-best preleague mark of 9-2 in 2003, but finished eighth in C-USA and failed to make the league tournament. A closer look:
| Year | Pre-C-USA Record | Pre-C-USA Winning Percentage | C-USA Record (Regular Season Finish) |
| 2012 | 10-14 | .417 | TBD |
| 2011 | 18-6 | .750 | 14-10 (5th) |
| 2010 | 13-11 | .542 | 16-5 (1st) |
| 2009 | 9-5 | .643 | 19-5 (2nd) |
| 2008 | 19-5 | .792 | 10-12 (5th) |
| 2007 | 16-6 | .727 | 14-9 (2nd) |
| 2006 | 15-5 | .750 | 13-11 (5th) |
| 2005 | 22-4 | .846 | 17-7 (3rd) |
| 2004 | 10-2-1 | .808 | 10-14 (6th) |
| 2003 | 9-2 | .818 | 5-19 (8th) |
| 2002 | 14-7 | .667 | 10-13 (6th) |
We're Going Deep, Part I
East Carolina added two more home runs to its season total Tuesday at North Carolina as seniors Riggs and Velasquez each hit a solo long ball. Riggs now stands eighth in Conference USA with four homers and Velasquez's shot was her first since a three-run home run May 14, 2011, against Tulsa in the C-USA Tournament championship game.
The Pirates have tallied eight homers in the last 11 games and have 12 in 24 games, or an average of 0.50 home runs per contest, doubling last year's average. In 2011, the Pirates hit just 16 homers in 63 matchups, or 0.25 a tilt.
We're Going Deep, Part II
In 24 games this season, the Pirates have recorded three multiple-home run contests, hitting two against Canisius, Creighton and North Carolina. In all of 2011, East Carolina accomplished the feat three times, versus Towson, New Mexico State and Maryland.
Balls Leaving The Yard At A Fast Pace
On the other hand, in the last six games the Pirates have surrendered eight home runs with two given up in each of the last three contests. East Carolina had not allowed multiple home runs in three-straight matchups since April 23-29, 2008, against Campbell (3), Memphis twice (2/3) and Virginia Tech (2).
This season, ECU has allowed 16 long balls in 24 games (0.67 HR/game) after giving up 19 homers in 63 tilts (0.30 HR/game) in 2011. Last Saturday, New Mexico State's Brittany Clifton tagged the Pirates for a grand slam. It was the first surrendered by East Carolina since Houston's Amanda Grote hit one April 12, 2008.
Quick Starts To An Inning
When leading off an inning, East Carolina batters have reached base 31.8 percent of the time. Sophomore Alex Fieldhouse leads the team, reaching 50.0 percent of the time when beginning a frame. Of the 49 innings ECU has had a leadoff batter on, the team has scored in 30 of those frames (61.2 percent).
Opponents have been even more successful at the start of an inning, reaching base 42.2 percent of the time. Of the 65 leadoff batters to reach against the Pirates, 43 have scored (66.2 percent).
