Softball Continues Homestand Hosting 2018 Pirate Invitational

Games 11-15: Pirate Invitational
Schedule	Feb. 23: vs. Ball State \\\ 3 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch (Free) Feb. 23: vs. Saint Francis \\\ 5:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch (Free) Feb. 24: vs. Ball State \\\ 12:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch (Free) Feb. 24: vs. Canisius \\\ 5:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch (Free) Feb. 25: vs. Saint Francis \\\ 11:30 a.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ W atch (Free)
Stadium	ECU Softball Stadium
Tournament Central	Pirate Invitational Tournament Central
Social Media	@ECUSoftball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ @ECUScoreboard (In-Game Updates) \\\ #ECUndaunted

Weekly Release No. 3 (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – ECU continues its 10-game homestand this weekend, welcoming Ball State, Canisius and Saint Francis to Greenville for the Pirate Invitational.

The Purple and Gold opened the home part of its 2018 slate last weekend, winning four of five games against Saint Joseph's, Towson and UMBC in the Pirate Clash. ECU captured victories in the first four games of the tournament before falling in its final contest of the weekend.

During the event, the Pirates notched a .290 team batting average while the pitching staff turned in a collective 1.89 earned run average and held ECU's foes to a .227 batting average. Entering this weekend, the Pirates lead the American Athletic Conference in doubles (15) and rank third in total bases (86).

Offensively, ECU is led by sophomore Olivia Narron and junior Ashley Weingartz who are sporting .313 and .308 batting averages respectively. Redshirt sophomore infielder Tate McClellan and senior infielder Karlie Smith own a team-best four doubles apiece while senior infielder Meredith Burroughs has driven in a squad-high six runs thanks in part to a pair of home runs. In the circle, the freshman duo of Erin Poepping and Whitney Sanford check in with nearly identical ERAs of 2.42 and 2.44 and have combined for 35 strikeouts against 16 walks.

The Book On Ball State
Ball State enters the tournament with a 5-2 overall record after winning two games at the Troy Cox Classic in Las Cruces, N.M. last weekend. The Cardinals defeated Boston University 6-5 and host New Mexico State 3-2 while having scheduled contests against Oklahoma and Boston University canceled due to inclement weather. Collectively, Ball State is hitting .260 with 10 doubles and eight home runs as well as a .835 OPS. Janae Hogg paces the Cardinals individually with a .474 batting average as well as team-high marks in home runs (3) and RBI (9). The Ball State pitching staff has compiled a 2.13 earned run average with 32 strikeouts against 12 walks. Alyssa Rothwell leads the way in the circle with a 1.27 ERA while Aeshia Miles has struck out a team-best 13 batters.

A Look At Canisius
Canisius brings a 1-8 overall record to Greenville after losing all five games last weekend at the Jacksonville Spring Tournament in Florida. The Golden Griffins dropped decisions to North Florida (twice), UT Arlington, Providence and host Jacksonville and were out-scored 20-2. Canisius is batting .190 as a team with nine doubles and a triple and owns a .484 OPS. Gianna Degaltini leads the squad with a .263 batting average while Kara Paradowski is second with a .240 mark. Pitching-wise, the Golden Griffins hold a team ERA of 3.34 and have struck out 30 batters against 25 walks. Canisius has struggled defensively, committing 17 errors for a .937 fielding percentage, but have stolen 11 bases in 14 attempts.

Scouting Saint Francis
Saint Francis, the defending Northeast Conference champion, is 5-5 thus far in 2018. Last weekend, the Red Flash went 2-3 at the Tiger Invitational in Auburn, Ala. SFU defeated Georgia State and Maryland while falling to Georgia State and host Auburn (twice). As a unit, Saint Francis is batting .219 with 10 doubles and 12 home runs to go along with an OPS of .730. Mikayla Bower leads the way offensively with a .406 batting average while Kassidy Troxell is at .310 and leads the team with four home runs. In the circle, the Red Flash pitching staff sports a 2.77 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 26 walks. Abby Trahan has tossed the most innings for SFU, owning a 3.20 ERA with 40 strikeouts and 17 walks in 46 innings pitched.

The Series
Against Ball State: 1-4 (Last meeting - Ball State 7, ECU 2 on March 7, 1997 )
Against Canisius: 5-4 (Last meeting - ECU 6, Canisius 2 on Feb. 11, 2012)
Against Saint Francis: 2-5 (Last meeting - Saint Francis 4, ECU 1 on March 19, 2017)

What A Start
Freshman pitcher Erin Poepping had a memorable beginning to her collegiate career, tossing a compete game shutout in the Pirates' 4-0 victory over Big East Conference preseason favorite St. John's in the season opener. She scattered six hits, struck out two batters and ended up with no walks. In Poepping's first collegiate weekend, she was 1-1 with a 1.94 ERA and 12 strikeouts against five walks.

What A Start X2
After Poepping's impressive start in Miami, fellow freshman RHP Whitney Sanford duplicated her feat just a week later, throwing her first career complete-game shutout in a 3-0 victory over Saint Joseph's at the Pirate Clash. She scattered four hits and struck out a collegiate personal-best eight batters. Sanford surrendered just four singles to the Hawks and only allowed one Saint Joseph's runner to advance past second base.

American Athletic Conference Player Of The Week
Redshirt sophomore infielder Tate McClellan was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week Feb. 19 after leading ECU to a 4-1 record at its home tournament. She hit .457 (7-for-15) with two runs scored, three doubles, three RBI, two walks and a stolen base while posting a slugging percentage of .667 and a .556 on base mark for a 1.223 OPS. McClellan recorded a hit in every contest during the weekend.

Bash Sisters
Of ECU's program and American Athletic Conference single-season record 64 home runs last year, seniors Alex Mycek and Meredith Burroughs hit 16 apiece, putting them in a tie for first place in the league and 22nd nationally. Only one other player in the AAC hit at least 10 - the now graduated Shelby Miller from Houston. Mycek owns 19 career home runs, ranking 10th on the program top-10 list.

Defensive Improvement
After posting a .958 fielding percentage in 2016, the Pirates improved dramatically in just one season as they finished the 2017 campaign with a .970 mark that ranked 40th nationally.

Protecting the Fort
ECU notched a winning record at home in 2017, emerging victorious in 17 of 30 games played at the ECU Softball Stadium - including the Purple and Gold's first-ever victory in the American Athletic Conference tournament. Since the facility opened in 2011, the Pirates are 100-83 in home contests.

Reinforcements
In addition to the talent returning to this year's roster, head coach Courtney Oliver has signed the 22nd-ranked recruiting class in the nation that will suit up for the Pirates this spring. Sanford was named a MaxPreps Medium School First Team All-American after finishing her prep career with a 54-8 overall record, 1.12 earned run average and 651 strikeouts in 361.2 innings pitched. Poepping compiled a 14-1 record, 1.18 earned run average and 101 strikeouts over 101 innings pitched during the regular season of her senior campaign. Other members of that highly-touted haul include infielder Ashleigh Inae (top-100 recruit), outfielder Tyler King, outfielder Courtney Layton and catcher Anna Epling.

Up Next
ECU embarks on a 10-day trip to Hawai'i next week that encompasses 10 games in eight days via a pair of tournaments. The Pirates open competition next Friday, March 2, when it battles Longwood and host University of Hawai'i at 9 and 11:30 p.m. EST

Softball Continues Homestand Hosting 2018 Pirate Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Meredith Burroughs

Anna Epling

Ashleigh Inae

Tyler King

Courtney Layton

Tate McClellan

Alex Mycek

Olivia Narron

Erin Poepping

Whitney Sanford

Karlie Smith

Ashley Weingartz

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