GAMEDAY: Softball Hosts In-State Opponent Duke For The First Time

Game 30: Duke
Schedule	March 21 \\\ 5:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch (Free)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (ECU Softball Stadium)
Tickets	ECU Online Ticket Center
Social Media	@ECUSoftball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook \\\ @ECUScoreboard (In-Game Updates) \\\ #ECUndaunted

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Following a 13-game road swing, the Pirates make their return home Wednesday hosting Duke for a non-conference contest at the ECU Softball Stadium. The game marks the first-ever meeting with the Blue Devils on the softball diamond as Duke is in its inaugural season as a program.

The Pirates enjoyed great success last weekend at the JMU Invitational, sweeping through the tournament with a 3-0 record. ECU out-scored Ohio, Stony Brook and the host Dukes 29-7 while hitting .329 as a team with seven home runs.

Redshirt sophomore infielder Tate McClellan turned in a monster effort at the plate against Stony Brook, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored, five RBI and two home runs. She was named to the American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll after hitting .455 (5-for-11) with six runs scored, five RBI, a double and three home runs last week. Freshman RHP Whitney Sanford also produced a strong week in the circle, compiling a 2-0 record with a 2.80 earned run average and 10 strikeouts in three appearances.

The Blue Devils went 4-1 last week, splitting a doubleheader at the College of Charleston before sweeping Boston College at home in a trio of one-run contests to win their first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference series.

Scouting Duke
Duke is 16-10 overall entering its Tuesday night contest at No. 17 South Carolina. As a team, the Blue Devils are batting .282 with 42 doubles, five triples and 12 home runs. Raine Wilson paces the unit with a .409 batting average and has hit a team-best three home runs. In the circle, Duke sports a 1.82 team earned run average led by Amelia Wiercioch who has compiled a 4-3 overall record, 1.35 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 67.1 innings of work. The Blue Devils have committed 39 errors for a .955 fielding percentage. Duke is currently 2-5 in true road games with wins at Florida Atlantic and the College of Charleston as well as losses to FAU and the College of Charleston and a sweep at the hands of North Carolina in an Atlantic Coast Conference series.

Against the ACC
ECU faces its first opponent of the season from the Atlantic Coast Conference when it battles Duke Wednesday. The Pirates were 3-4 against the league last season, picking wins over Virginia, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. ECU is scheduled to face off with North Carolina and NC State later this year.

Coming In Hot
ECU is surging as of late, having won seven of its last eight games. During the stretch, the Pirates have out-scored their opponents 59-23, are batting .294 as a team with 12 doubles and 14 home runs and own a 2.51 squad ERA with 46 strikeouts. ECU also claimed a pair of wins over current NCAA RPI No. 39 ranked JMU, including a 4-2 win over the Dukes in front of a capacity crowd Sunday in Harrisonburg.

Up Next
ECU begins its American Athletic Conference slate by hosting Houston this weekend. The Pirates and Cougars will face off Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (Noon) at the ECU Softball Stadium.

GAMEDAY: Softball Hosts In-State Opponent Duke For The First Time

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tate McClellan

Whitney Sanford

Footer