East Carolina University
Central Michigan
East Carolina Splits Again At Under Armour Invitational
March 05, 2016 | Softball
East Carolina 6, Sam Houston State 5 
| Central Michigan 6, East Carolina 0
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The East Carolina softball team earned its second split in as many days Saturday at the Under Armour Invitational, downing Sam Houston State 6-5 before falling to Central Michigan 6-0 inside the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex.
ECU moves to 13-8 overall and will close out tournament play Sunday against Illinois at 11:15 a.m.
Senior catcher Kelsi Briggs tallied a pair of hits to go along with a run scored and two RBI in the opener while senior outfielder Meredith Mitchell chipped in with three RBI. Dani Allen produced a two-hit effort on the Bearkat side of things and Hannah Marino drove in three runs with one swing of the bat.
Junior RHP Lydia Ritchie improved to 7-1 overall with the victory in the circle after allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work. Freshman RHP Mary Williams collected her first career save by tossing the final 2.2 innings and surrendering three runs on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts. Brooke Senshen (0-2) took the loss for Sam Houston State by allowing three runs on a hit and seven walks.
Junior outfielder Ciara Ervin led the way for the Pirates against the Chippewas with a pair of hits while Lacy Tolfree came through with three hits for her team. In the circle, Williams fell to 2-3 overall after giving up six runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Rachel Knapp won her fourth decision of the season against three losses as she threw a complete game shutout and struck out eight batters.
How it Happened (Game 1): A sacrifice fly off the bat of Mitchell accounted for the first run of the ballgame in the top of the second as East Carolina took an early 1-0 advantage. Ritchie retired the first 10 batters she faced and Briggs added a two-run double in the top of the third to put ECU ahead 3-0. Ashley Goetz drew her team within a run in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out, two-run double. The Bearkats threatened to tie the game or take the lead in the bottom of the fifth but, with the bases loaded and Williams in the circle, a swinging strikeout terminated the threat and kept the Pirates in the lead. Mitchell gave ECU some breathing room in the top of the sixth with a two-run double and senior shortstop Casey Alcorn drove her home with another two-bagger to leave East Carolina with a 6-2 lead heading to the home half. Pinch hitter Hannah Marino made things interesting with a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth, slicing the ECU lead to 6-5, but Williams set the Bearkats down in order in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the victory.
How it Happened (Game 2): Central Michigan received a two-run home run in the bottom of the first from Chelsea DeLamielleure to take a lead it would not relinquish. A leadoff double off the bat of senior outfielder Nicole Cheek gave the Pirates some life in the top of the second, but she would remain stranded at second. The Chippewas would add a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to take control of the contest. Knapp allowed East Carolina just one more hit the rest of the way.
Bits and Pieces: East Carolina evened the all-time series with Sam Houston State at one win apiece but fell to Central Michigan in the teams' first-ever meeting … ECU is now 9-0 when scoring six or more runs … The Pirates improved to 10-2 when scoring first but dropped to 3-6 when the opposition tallies the first run … East Carolina stayed unbeaten (10-0) when leading after the sixth inning … ECU is 9-1 when out-hitting its opponent and 1-7 when getting out-hit … Mitchell has reached base safely in 17-straight contests … The Pirates are now 9-4 when playing at a neutral site.
