Pirates Finish Set With Blazers Saturday
April 07, 2012 | Softball
April 7, 2012
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| East Carolina Game 39: UAB Saturday, April 7 | 1:00 p.m. ET Greenville, N.C. (ECU Softball Stadium) |
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GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina (15-23, 3-8 C-USA) finishes its fourth Conference USA series of the season Saturday against UAB (23-13, 9-2 C-USA) with a 1:00 p.m. ET contest.
Friday, the Pirates played a pair of close games against the Blazers, but came up short twice as UAB won 1-0 and 5-3. In the opener, the teams combined for just seven hits, but a solo home run by the Blazers' Erica Sisson in the third inning provided the contest's only run. During the nightcap, ECU held 1-0 and 3-1 leads, but UAB scored the game's final four runs to earn the victory. Pirate sophomore Jill Jelnick drove in two of the team's three runs on the day. Classmate Alex Fieldhouse went two-for-two with a pair of walks in the second contest while sophomore Kristi Oshiro tallied a season-best three hits in the game.
We're Speedy And We Know It
Oshiro stole her team-leading 11th base of the season, the eighth most in Conference USA, Wednesday during the first inning at N.C. State. The swipe increased East Carolina's total to 68 this year. In all of 2011, the Pirates stole just 55 bases. The 68 steals are the most by the program since nabbing 79 in 2010.
ECU has also been more successful on its steal attempts this season. Last year, the 55 swipes occurred in 77 tries (71.4 percent success). So far in 2012, the 68 steals have come on 80 attempts (85.0 percent success).
Among The Nation's Best
The 68 stolen bases for the Pirates rank the team second in Conference USA. With the latest set of NCAA statistics, through April 1 games, East Carolina checks in among the top 12 nationally. An average of 1.91 stolen bases per contest has East Carolina ranked 11th in the country.
ECU also stands among the nation's top 40 in double plays per game after recording its 15th of the year Wednesday at N.C. State. The total is good for second in C-USA and was ranked 38th at the Division I level (0.40 per game) through April 1 contests.
Too Late For A Rally?
While at UCF last weekend, East Carolina recorded 23 hits in the three games. Unfortunately for the Pirates, eight (34.8 percent) came with two outs and nobody on base. Sunday, five of ECU's 12 hits (41.7 percent) were recorded in that situation.
Wednesday at N.C. State, the Pirates recorded only one of their five hits (20.0 percent) with two outs and nobody on base. Friday versus the Blazers, ECU continued to attack early as just one of its 12 hits (8.3 percent) in the doubleheader came with two down and no runners on.
Suffering From A Power Outage
Following a weekend series against UTEP that featured eight extra-base hits, East Carolina faced UNC Wilmington and UCF last week and registered 38 hits. Only one went for extra bases, however, as Jelnick doubled in the second game against the Seahawks.
Wednesday at N.C. State, sophomore Jordan Lewis hit a home run in the first inning to snap the string. It was the Pirates' lone shot for extra bases in the contest. The long ball also halted an eight-game skid of homerless matchups. ECU had averaged 0.56 long balls per contest through this season's first 27 games.
Friday, East Carolina registered one extra-base hit in its 12 base knocks with a triple by Oshiro in game two.
It Looks Like A Line Drive In The Scorebook
Nearly one of every five hits ECU has recorded this season has been an infield ground ball or bunt beaten out for a single. The Pirates have registered 263 hits so far in 2012, with 51 as infield hits (19.4 percent).
Opponents have also had success beating out infield rollers for hits as 56 of the foes' 330 hits (17.0 percent) have not left the infield.
Please Don't Leave Me
The Pirates suffered a one-run setback in the series finale at UCF on Sunday, falling 4-3. In fact, following Friday's doubleheader, five of East Carolina's eight league losses have been by two or fewer runs.
During Friday's 5-3 loss to UAB, ECU left 12 runners on base. The team has stranded 94 in its 11 Conference USA games for an average of 8.5 left per matchup. During nonleague tilts, however, the Pirates have left 155 on base, for an average of only 5.7 stranded per game.
