East Carolina Opens C-USA Road Slate at Charlotte
March 14, 2014 | Softball
March 14, 2014
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| East Carolina at Charlotte March 15, 2014 | 12 p.m. (EST) Charlotte, N.C. | |
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GREENVILLE, N.C. - After eight-straight home games, which included winning two of three against UAB in its first Conference USA series of the season last weekend, East Carolina will travel to Charlotte and challenge the 49ers in a three-game set that will begin with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 15 at the D.L. Phillips Softball Complex.
The 49ers (9-10, 1-2 C-USA), in their first season as a member of Conference USA, have never faced off against the Pirates (13-7, 2-1 C-USA) on the softball diamond. Additionally, neither team has a common non-conference opponent to this point in the season.
Charlotte lost its first league series of the season last weekend at FIU, winning the first game, 2-0, before falling, 15-3 and 5-3, in the final two games.
Entering the weekend, redshirt junior Abby Wynne leads the team with a nine-game reached base streak, while senior Chelsea Kaluhiokalani-Glackin has done so in six straight. Wynne also leads the team with six game-winning RBI this season, as Kaluhiokalani-Glackin has scored six winning runs.
Weekend Notes:
PIRATES NEAR TOP OF C-USA PRESEASON POLL
East Carolina was picked to finish fourth in Conference USA for the 2014 season according to a preseason vote conducted by the league's coaches. The Pirates were one of just three teams to receive at least one first place vote, behind UAB (7) and Tulsa (5) who were picked to finish first and second, respectively, in the league.
C-USA PITCHER-OF-THE-WEEK
Junior Sarah Christian was named the Conference USA Pitcher-of-the-Week on March 10 after two complete-game wins and leading East Carolina to a series victory over UAB. The Greenville, N.C., native posted a 0.95 ERA in 14.2 innings, holding the Blazers to just two runs on eight hits and a .160 team batting average, while becoming just the second pitcher in the league to reach double-digit wins on the season.
APPLAUSE FOR ALCORN
During East Carolina's eight-game homestand that began with Tennessee Tech on March 1 and ended March 11 against Eastern Illinois, sophomore shortstop Casey Alcorn posted a team-best .462 batting average and led the team in hits (12) and tied for the most total bases (15). The Hummelston, Pa., native also slugged .577 which ranked second on the squad during that span, including one home run and five RBI.
CHRISTIAN'S CIRCLE
The ace of the pitching staff, junior Sarah Christian spun a complete-game, one-hit shutout and struck out a career-high 10 batters on March 2. The performance marked the first time a Pirate pitcher recorded double-digit punchouts in a game since Toni Paisley turned the trick against Memphis on May 12, 2011. Christian allowed a hit to the first batter of the game, before retiring the final 21 batters in order, en route to collecting the win.
HOME RUN CHASE
Corner infielder Alex Fieldhouse (five home runs) and first baseman Jordan Lewis (four) have combined for nearly half of the team's 19 home runs so far this season. The two seniors are currently tied with Vanessa Moreno (2006-10) for the seventh most in program history with 18-career home runs apiece.
THE SPEED DEMON
Senior Shelby Johnson has been a nightmare on the basepaths for opposing teams and is tied for the Conference USA lead in stolen bases with 15. As of March 10, she ranked 10th in all of NCAA Division I in steals per game. Johnson swiped a career-high three bags in the Pirates' 4-3, extra-inning affair in the second game of a doubleheader against Tennessee Tech on March 1, the most in a game by an ECU player since Jill Jelnick accomplished the feat with a trio on March 28, 2012 against UNC Wilmington. She has recorded two or more steals in five different games.
WYNNE-ING TIME
Despite missing all but the first eight games of the 2013 season, redshirt junior Abby Wynne's presence has been the difference in several games. The Greenville native hit what turned out to be a series-clinching three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning in the rubber match of a three-game set against UAB on March 9. Two weeks prior, Wynne hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning in a 5-4 win over Fairfield on Feb. 23. On Feb. 15, she drew four walks against Seton Hall and scored three runs. The four free passes were the most in a game since Kai Clark (2010-13) on Feb. 20, 2010 against Florida.
KALUHIOKALANI-GLACKIN'S EASY TRANSITION
Senior Chelsea Kaluhiokalani-Glackin, who primarily played shortstop during her first three seasons with the Pirates, has started 18-straight games as the team's leadoff hitter and now plays left field. Not only has she learned a new position, but the Hawai'i native now hits from the left-handed batter's box and is batting .328 (21-for-64) with 14 runs scored. She also ranks second on the team in stolen bases with 10.
WALK THIS WAY
Senior infielder Kristi Oshiro has drawn 95 career walks during her career and now needs just one more free pass to tie Isonette Polonius (1997-99) for the fourth in program history. Oshiro currently leads East Carolina with 13 walks this season. Her lone base-on-balls in the team's 6-3 win over Southern Utah on Feb. 8 moved her past Erin St. Ledger (2005-08) to enter the top five all-time.
OSHIRO A TRIPLE THREAT
Infielder Kristi Oshiro has increased her triples total in each of the last three seasons at ECU. The Mililani, Hawai'i native hit a pair of three-base knocks during her freshman campaign in 2011, before posting three as a sophomore in 2012 and five in 2013. Her five triples last season ranked 18th in all of Division I and Oshiro's 11 three-baggers currently have her locked in a three-way tie with Michelle Ward (1991-94) and Laura Crowder (1989-92) for the ninth most in school history.
PAINT IT BLACK
East Carolina's integration of the color black into its athletic teams' uniforms has had positive effects on the outcome of its games. The football team recorded a 10-3 overall record and a 6-0 mark when wearing its new all-black uniforms during the 2013 season, while the softball program is 7-1 and victorious in seven-straight games donning its all-black `Undaunted' threads.
1,300 AND COUNTING
The East Carolina softball team recorded its 1,300th win in program history after defeating Delaware, 9-1, in the first of its final two games at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic on Feb. 23. According to research conducted by CBS College Sports, the Pirates were the ninth program to win 1,000 softball games as an NCAA-sponsored sport when they defeated Virginia Tech on April 29, 2008.
