Gameday: East Carolina Plays Host To Connecticut For AAC Series

Games 44-46: Connecticut
Series Schedule	Friday, April 13 \\\ 6:00 p.m. Saturday, April 14 \\\ 6:00 p.m. Sunday, April 15 \\\ Noon
Coverage	Live Stats \\\ Live Video
Location	Greenville, N.C. (ECU Softball Stadium)
Official Web Sites	East Carolina \| Connecticut
2017 Statistics	East Carolina \| Connecticut
Social Media	@ECUSoftball \| East Carolina Softball (Instagram) \| @ECUScoreboard (in-game updates) \| #ECUndaunted

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina looks to continue its strong play at home this weekend, welcoming Connecticut to Greenville for a three-game American Athletic Conference series at the ECU Softball Stadium. The teams will match up Thursday-Saturday due to the Easter holiday.

The Pirates are 20-23 overall after picking up a 4-0 victory over in-state opponent N.C. Central Tuesday at home. Senior RHP Lydia Ritchie twirled her fourth complete-game shutout of the campaign and recorded seven strikeouts. Redshirt junior catcher Alex Mycek and junior infielder Karlie Smith clubbed solo home runs to help spur the offensive efforts.

East Carolina is hitting .264 as a team with a .459 slugging percentage and a .368 on base mark. The Pirates currently lead the AAC in slugging percentage, runs scored (220), RBI (201), doubles (52), home runs (52), total bases (498), sacrifice flies (13) and walks drawn (159). The Purple and Gold has certainly used the long ball to its advantage this season, currently standing fourth nationally in total home runs and sixth in home runs per game (1.21).

Junior infielder Meredith Burroughs leads the team with a .331 batting average while senior outfielder Ali Ramirez and redshirt freshman infielder Tate McClellan are hitting .311 and .302 respectively. Burroughs paces the squad in hits (39), RBI (38), total bases (82) and sacrifice flies (4). Additionally, Mycek leads the AAC in slugging percentage (.718), home runs (14) and walks (27).

In terms of pitching, senior RHP Lydia Ritchie is 12-10 with a 2.94 earned run average. She has stuck out 99 batters against 59 walks and opposing teams are batting .258 against her. Ritchie currently ranks eighth on the program career chart for strikeouts with 317.

Connecticut enters the weekend with a 14-19 overall record and 1-4 mark in American Conference play. The Huskies most recently defeated Boston College 3-2 at home Tuesday. As a team, Connecticut is batting .242 – the lowest average of any team in the AAC. The Huskies' pitching staff sports a 3.51 ERA which ranks fifth of seven teams in the conference. Carli Cutler leads the team's regular lineup hitters with a .357 batting average while Katie Koshes holds the best statistical numbers on the pitching staff with a 2.30 ERA, 95 strikeouts and a .192 opposing batting average.

The series between the programs is tied at 3-3 after Connecticut won two of three over ECU in Storrs last season.

RPI Check
In the latest release of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index, the Pirates check in at 123. The Huskies sit at 160 this week.

Up Next
East Carolina embarks on its final road trip of the regular season next week, facing off against Longwood in a doubleheader Wednesday in Farmville, Va., before flying to Houston for a three-game AAC set with the host Cougars.

Gameday: East Carolina Plays Host To Connecticut For AAC Series

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Players Mentioned

Meredith Burroughs

Tate McClellan

Alex Mycek

Ali Ramirez

Lydia Ritchie

Karlie Smith

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