East Carolina University
USF
USF Downs East Carolina 11-3 To Claim Series
March 25, 2016 | Softball
Box Score | USF 11, East Carolina 3 
GREENVILLE, N.C. - USF scored five runs in the top of the second inning Friday on the way to an 11-3 American Athletic Conference softball victory over East Carolina at the ECU Softball Stadium. The Bulls claimed the teams' opening conference series of the season and have now won 20-straight games.
Sophomore third baseman Karlie Smith led the Pirate offense with two hits while senior catcher Kelsi Briggs notched two RBI on the strength of her second home run of the campaign. A total of five USF (28-9, 2-0 AAC) hitters tallied multiple base knocks as four of the Bulls' 13 hits went for extra bases. The visitors also took advantage of four ECU (18-15, 0-2 AAC) errors.
Susan Wysocki (8-3) scattered two hits and allowed two runs in 3.1 innings of work to earn the win. Freshman RHP Mary Williams (3-6) surrendered 10 runs (six earned) on 12 hits in six innings pitched with a walk and three strikeouts. Classmate and RHP Morgan Halo made her first collegiate appearance in the circle, giving up the game's final run in the top of the seventh inning.
How it Happened: Juli Weber tripled with one out in the top of the first inning as USF looked to take an early lead. However, Williams induced two groundouts to keep the Bulls off of the scoreboard. After the Pirates could not push a run across in the home half of the first, USF exploded for five runs on four hits and a pair of ECU errors. A pair of singles by senior outfielder Nicole Cheek and junior first baseman Ali Ramirez, coupled with a Sloan Bradford walk, loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second. Junior second baseman Megan Quick then walked to bring home East Carolina's first run of the game, but that would be it as the next three Pirate hitters were retired in order. The Bulls put the game essentially out of reach in the top of the fifth, scoring three unearned runs with two outs on the board to extend their lead to seven at 8-1. Briggs launched a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall in the bottom of the frame and pulled the Pirates within 8-3, but USF tacked on three more runs over the final two innings to account for the final margin.
Bits and Pieces: The Bulls have won three-straight games in the series and now lead it 16-9 ... East Carolina dropped to 4-4 at home while USF improved to 2-0 on the road ... ECU fell to 4-13 when its opponents score first ... The teams combined to leave 19 runners on base, 11 by the Pirates ... The Bulls put their leadoff hitter on base in five of the seven innings.
Up Next: East Carolina and USF will complete the series Saturday with first pitch scheduled for Noon. The contest will be aired live on the American Digital Network with Brock Bowling and Patrick Johnson on the call.
