East Carolina University
UCF
East Carolina Falls to No. 20 UCF, 3-0
March 22, 2015 | Softball
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina softball team's offensive woes continued as the Pirates were no-hit by No. 20 UCF, 3-0, Sunday afternoon. ECU falls to 8-23 (0-3 American) on the season, while UCF improves to 29-5 (3-0 American) in the year.
The Pirates knew they had their work cut out for them this weekend as they were facing the nationally-ranked Knights who have the top team ERA in the nation (0.94). However, East Carolina did its best to stay competitive as the Pirates received another strong effort from senior right-hander Sarah Christian.
Christian (5-7) did a solid job in the circle as she matched her counterpart, junior right-handed pitcher Shelby Turnier (14-5) with a complete-game effort. Christian finished the game allowing three runs, one of which was earned, while scattering seven hits over 7.0 innings of work.
Turnier's no-hitter marked the second for UCF this season as she was just one walk away from a perfect game. She struck out a season-high 14 in the contest.
UCF scored in the second inning after Kalyn Cenal reached on a fielding error and later came around to score on a subsequent miscue by the ECU defense. The Pirates would commit a total of five errors in the game.
The score remained 1-0 as both Christian and Turnier kept the game close, until the fifth inning when Maddy Schroeder led off the frame with a single up the middle. Linnea Goodman reached on a fielder's choice before moving into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Goodman plated the second run of the game after an RBI-single off the bat of Farrah Sullivan who later came around to score on an error and single back up the middle to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
The Pirates' bats were contained by Turnier's efforts as she fanned 14 over 7.0 innings. East Carolina managed to get a base runner in the sixth inning when freshman third baseman Karlie Smith worked the count for a lead-off walk. She was left on base after Turnier struck out the next three batters to secure her no-hitter.
East Carolina will hit the road for a mid-week, non-conference contest at UNC Wilmington Wednesday, March 25. The doubleheader begins at 4 p.m.at Boseman Field in Wilmington, N.C.
