ECU Blows By Louisburg College in Saturday Afternoon Doubleheader
October 18, 2014 | Softball
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina outscored visiting Louisburg College 26-3 after defeating the Hurricanes 12-1 in game one and 14-2 in the nightcap Saturday afternoon. The Pirates finished the fall season with a 6-0 record.
The Pirates got off to a slow start and Louisburg took a 1-0 lead on a double by Tori Geissinger followed by an RBI single by Brooke Fletcher in the third. The Hurricanes' lead was short lived as East Carolina's bats awoke in the bottom of the inning and the Pirates plated five runs on as many hits to take a 5-1 advantage.
East Carolina sent eight batters to the plate in the frame that was led off by a Casey Alcorn solo home run off the leftfield foul pole. Freshman leftfield Mary Sloan Bradford also connected for a homer in the inning as she belted a two-run shot over the batter's eye in centerfield. Freshman third baseman Karlie Smith added to the offensive attack with an RBI triple to right-centerfield as the Pirates took a four-run lead (5-1).
"Our hitters did a great job," Head coach Beth Keylon-Randolph said. "Especially after Louisburg put a run up on us, we did a good job countering that. We warmed up really well. We hit the ball great to begin the game then we kind of got into a little bit of a funk. When they put the run up it was almost like it flipped the switch on for us. We came out swinging better and picking better pitches, I think we were chasing some bad pitches to start with. But overall, they hit the ball well."
ECU's pitching was stout as starting right-hander Ashley Cruise pitched five innings while allowing just one run on three hits while striking out five to earn the win. She was relieved by sophomore righty Lydia Ritchie who fanned eight batters in five innings of work while allowing just two hits.
With strong performances from the pitching staff, the ECU offense continued its tear. The Pirates tallied three runs in the fifth and eighth innings, before adding an extra run in the ninth to take an 11-run lead (12-1) into the 10th and final inning of the contest. Ritchie retired the side in the top of the 10th as East Carolina went on to win game one, 12-1.
"For the first time since I've been here at East Carolina, I think we finally have a true pitching staff," Keylon-Randolph said. "We don't have to rely just on Sarah Christian who has been our number one pitcher for three years. It's been tremendous to have those pitchers all weekend long. They've given me exactly what I've called for, so it's been great."
The Pirates' pitching staff continued their solid performance in game two as senior right-hander Caroline Umphlett started in the circle. She pitched 4.0 strong innings and allowed two runs (one earned), on two hits with four strikeouts and did not allow a walk. She was relieved by Christian, a senior right-hander, who logged 3.0 innings of work while allowing just one hit and fanning four.
Offensively, East Carolina began where it had left off in game one as the Pirates sent 12 batters to the plate in the first inning and scored eight runs on nine hits in the frame. Junior rightfielder Nicole Cheek's two-run homer to leftfield highlighted an inning that saw four doubles, a triple and a home run.
ECU tacked on another run in the second inning, followed by a single run in the third to take a 10-0 lead.
Louisburg College managed to get on the board in the top of the fourth after taking advantage of a throwing error and a pair of base hits to cut the Pirates' lead to eight (10-2).
Cheek went yard for the second time in the game as she blasted a solo shot to centerfield to kick off a four-run sixth inning that would give ECU a 14-2 victory over the visiting Hurricanes.
East Carolina wrapped up the fall season with a 6-0 record and looks ahead to its Purple-Gold World Series in November before kicking off the 2015 season in February.
