East Carolina University
Tulsa
East Carolina Drops Series Opener At Tulsa, 12-3
April 01, 2016 | Softball
Box Score | Tulsa 12, East Carolina 3 
TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa scored in each of the first four innings Friday on the way to a five-inning, 12-3 victory over East Carolina in an American Athletic Conference softball series opener at the Collins Family Softball Complex.
The Golden Hurricane (24-7, 3-1 AAC) put together a 12-hit performance while the Pirates (18-19, 0-4 AAC) piled up nine hits of their own. The teams also combined for four home runs - three off of the Tulsa bats.
Shelby Estocado and Jodi Edmiston recorded three hits and four RBI apiece to lead the Golden Hurricane while sophomore third baseman Karlie Smith and senior outfielder Meredith Mitchell paced the ECU offensive efforts with two hits each. Junior outfielder Ciara Ervin posted her team-leading fourth home run of the season to lead off the top of the fourth inning.
Caitlin Sill (14-1) tossed all five frames to earn the victory in the circle as she surrendered three runs on nine hits with three walks and six strikeouts. As for East Carolina, junior RHP Lydia Ritchie (11-8) gave up five runs on five hits in 1.2 innings of work while striking out one batter in the loss. Freshman RHP Mary Williams threw the final 2.1 innings and allowed seven runs (four earned) on seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts.
How it Happened: Estocado put Tulsa up 3-0 early with a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning before Edmiston tacked on another run via a RBI single to leave the home team with a 4-0 lead after one complete. Morgan Neal extended the Golden Hurricane lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the second with a two-out home run before the ECU offense went to work. Senior shortstop Casey Alcorn doubled to lead off the third inning and moved to third on a single by senior catcher Kelsi Briggs. Smith kept the line moving with a double of her own that plated Alcorn to make it a 5-1 game. Junior catcher Alex Mycek then recorded a sacrifice fly that cut the Tulsa lead to 5-2 heading to the home half. The Golden Hurricane answered with a four spot that stretched the advantage to 9-2. Ervin tagged a 1-0 pitch over the center field wall to slice the Tulsa cushion to 9-3 in the top of fourth but the Golden Hurricane scored three times in the bottom of the frame and held ECU scoreless in the fifth to seal the victory.
Bits and Pieces: East Carolina fell to 11-19 overall against Tulsa and has dropped five-straight meetings … The Pirates dropped to 1-6 on the road this season while the Golden Hurricane improved to 6-0 at home … The ECU pitching staff did not walk a batter for the second time this season … East Carolina fell to 4-16 overall when its opponent scores first and 1-16 when getting out-hit … Smith reached base safely for the 16th-straight game notched her team-leading 10th multiple-hit effort of the campaign.
Up Next: East Carolina and Tulsa will continue their series Saturday at 3 p.m.
