Pirate Softball Set to Challenge No. 15/17 Tulsa
April 11, 2014 | Softball
April 11, 2014
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| East Carolina at Tulsa April 12, 2014 | 2 p.m. (EST) Tulsa, Okla. | |
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| GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina will travel to Oklahoma and face perhaps its toughest test of the season to date when it challenges the nation's No. 15/17-ranked Tulsa Golden Hurricane in a three-game Conference USA series, April 12-13, at the Collins Family Softball Complex. Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for a 2 p.m. (ET) start, while Sunday's series finale is set for 1 p.m.
The Pirates and Golden Hurricane have met 23 times in history, with Tulsa taking 13 of those matchups. Despite dropping the first two games of last year's series, ECU fought back for a 6-4 victory in the finale.
Tulsa (36-4, 10-1 C-USA), a winner in 18 of its last 19 games and possessing a 15-0 record at home in 2014, is led by ace pitcher Aimee Creger, who owns a 17-1 record and a 0.88 ERA in the circle. Shortstop Jill Barrett leads all of Conference USA with a .496 batting average and has scored 38 runs while driving in 23 so far this season.
East Carolina Notes:
AN EFFICIENT, OFFENSIVE MACHINE
Through the first week of April, East Carolina ranks second in Conference USA with a .305 team batting average. The Pirates have stolen the second most bases in the league with 64, but are tops in stolen-base percentage at 90.1 percent. Collectively, ECU makes contact as frequently as anyone in the conference, as it has struck out the second fewest times.
C-USA PITCHER-OF-THE-WEEK
Junior Sarah Christian was named the Conference USA Pitcher-of-the-Week for the second time in 2014 on April 7, after earning a pair of one-hit victories, including a five-inning complete-game shutout, to lead East Carolina to a three-game sweep of Southern Miss. The junior allowed just two hits and two walks in the two outings while striking out 10 and posting a 0.70 ERA. Christian also received the weekly honor on March 10 after two complete-game wins and leading ECU to a series victory over UAB.
APRIL ACTIVATES POWER GENERATOR
ECU flipped on the power switch in their first games in the month of April in a three-game Conference USA series sweep of Southern Miss. East Carolina opened the weekend with two triples and three home runs in an 8-0 run-rule victory over the Golden Eagles in five innings on April 5. Four days later, in the second game of a mid-week doubleheader at NC State, the Pirates crushed three more home runs in a 5-4 setback. The last time the squad hit three homers in a game was nearly two months prior to the pair of occurrences in the four-day span when they hit four long-balls in the 8-4 season-opening win over Grand Canyon.
IMITATION OF NO LIMITATION
In the second game of a doubleheader at NC State on April 9, junior Caroline Umphlett started in the circle and pitched a career-high 10.1 innings against the Wolfpack to become the first ECU hurler to throw at least 10 innings in a single game since Toni Paisley (2008-11) turned the trick against Houston on May 1, 2011. Umphlett surrendered just three walks while striking out a personal-best six hitters in the outing.
HOME RUN CHASE
First baseman Jordan Lewis (nine) and corner infielder Alex Fieldhouse (seven) are East Carolina's top-two home run hitters, and the senior sluggers continue to climb the program's all-time list. Lewis' 23-career long-balls rank fifth in program history, while Fieldhouse's 20 are tied for the seventh most with Mandi Nichols (2002-05).
WALK THIS WAY
Senior infielder Kristi Oshiro has drawn 103 career walks during her career, and with a base-on-balls against Southern Miss on April 5 became just the fourth player in program history to draw at least 100 walks. Oshiro, who began the season sixth all-time in the category, is currently in fourth place and just one free pass behind Jessica Johnson (2006-09) who ranks third.
