East Carolina University
UNC-Wilmington
East Carolina Suffers Doubleheader Sweep at UNC Wilmington
March 25, 2015 | Softball
Game 1 Box Score 
| Game 2Box Score
WILMINGTON, N.C. - The East Carolina softball team struggled to get its offense going Wednesday evening at Boseman Field as the Pirates fell to UNC Wilmington by scores of 2-0 and 5-1. The two mid-week, non-conference setbacks mark ECU's sixth and seventh straight losses as the Pirates drop to 8-25 on the year, while the Seahawks improve to 13-11.
Senior right-handed pitcher Sarah Christian (5-8) was on point for East Carolina in her 21st appearance of the season. The product out of Greenville, N.C., went head-to-head with UNCW's Peyton Jordan (4-1) and turned in a 6.0 inning performance in which she allowed two runs, both unearned, on seven hits, while striking out three.
Jordan pitched 7.0 shutout innings while scattering four hits, walking two and fanning four en route to collecting the complete-game victory.
Christian shut down the Seahawks as she did not allow a run until the sixth inning. In that frame, UNC Wilmington shortstop, Kelsey Bryan, reached on an ECU error and came around to score after four consecutive two-out singles. Casey Rowland, who drove in Bryan, plated the Seahawks' second run of the game to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
The Pirates started the top of the seventh with back-to-back base hits from Kacie Oshiro and Abby Wynne, but East Carolina was unable to capitalize as it left the bases loaded to end the game and fall, 2-0, to UNC Wilmington.
Game two was similar to the first as both teams battled each other through early scoreless innings. Sophomore right-hander Lydia Ritchie (0-2) earned the starting nod for the Pirates. In her first start of the season, Ritchie went 3.1 innings while allowing three runs, one of which was earned, on three hits, while walking one.
Ritchie ran into a jam in the fourth inning when the Seahawks sent eight batters to the plate and scored five runs on three hits. UNC Wilmington took advantage of two fielding errors in the frame as it tallied one earned run and four unearned runs to take a 5-0 lead and knock Ritchie out of the game. Freshman righty Ashely Cruise came on in relief and pitched 2.2 innings of work while allowing two runs, none of which were earned, on three hits, while striking out one.
UNC Wilmington's Sarah Davis (5-4) pitched a complete game and did not allow East Carolina to score until the top of the seventh when the Pirates led off the frame with a single to right field off the bat of Ali Ramirez. Karlie Smith, who broke up the no-hitter in the fifth with a one-out triple, reached on an error that moved pinch runner Ciara Ervin into scoring position. Ervin plated ECU's only run of the game on an RBI-ground out by Meredith Mitchell. The Pirates threatened, but Davis managed to get out of the jam and collect the win, 5-1.
The one run scored by East Carolina in the seventh inning snapped a 39.1 inning scoreless streak by the Pirates dating back to March 18.
East Carolina looks to get back on the winning track when it travels to Memphis for a three-game American Athletic Conference series beginning Saturday, March 28. The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday at 2 p.m. and concludes Sunday, March 29 at 1 p.m.
