Gameday: Softball Hosts Memphis With Altered Series Schedule

Games 38-40: Memphis
Series Schedule	April 6 (Doubleheader) \\\ 4:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch (Free) April 6 (Doubleheader) \\\ 6:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch (Free) April 8 \\\ Noon \\\ 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. – The ECU softball team makes its return home this weekend for a three-game American Athletic Conference series against Memphis.

Projected inclement weather has forced a shift in the series schedule. The teams will now play a doubleheader Friday beginning at 4 p.m. and wrap up the set Sunday at Noon with an off day on Saturday.

The Pirates dropped to 15-22 overall with an 8-3 non-conference loss at Campbell Tuesday. Freshman outfielder Tyler King and sophomore outfielder Olivia Narron each recorded a pair of hits in the setback. In AAC contests, the Purple and Gold is 1-5 with its lone win occurring in the conference opener against Houston.

ECU is hitting .234 as a team with 32 doubles, two triples and 27 home runs. King paces the squad with a .317 batting average, 39 hits and 20 runs scored. In the circle, the Pirates sport a 3.61 team earned run average. Freshmen Erin Poepping and Whitney Sanford have combined to throw 184.2 innings with respective 3.62 and 4.24 ERAs and 106 strikeouts.

About Memphis
The Tigers improved to 27-10 overall with an 8-3 home win over Belmont Wednesday. Memphis leads the American Conference with a .328 team batting average and is second in the league with a collective 1.89 ERA. Kyler Trosclair is batting .438 with 56 hits and 31 RBI while Baylee Smith is close behind hitting .414 with 25 RBI and 13 stolen bases. In terms of pitching, Molly Smith has done the bulk of the work with a 16-4 record, 1.49 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 150 innings. The Tigers are 3-3 in AAC games, taking two of three at Wichita State to open league play before dropping two of three to USF last weekend at home.

Last Meeting (March 26, 2017)
Lydia Ritchie limited Memphis to just two hits over the first 5.1 innings of the teams' series finale as ECU blanked the Tigers 4-0 at the Tigers Softball Complex. Ciara Ervin provided a spark at the top of the Pirate lineup, recording two hits, two runs scored, a double and a home run. Meredith Burroughs also chipped in with two hits and drove in a pair of runs. Kyler Trosclair and Lindsey Stickrod notched the only two hits of the day for Memphis. Ritchie was extremely efficient, walking just one batter and striking out four using just 69 pitches. Mary Williams finished the job on her birthday, tossing the final 1.2 innings and tallying two strikeouts. Molly Smith was tagged with the loss for the home side, surrendering two runs on three hits with a pair of walks and four strikeouts.

The Series
ECU leads the all-time series with Memphis 22-11 though the Tigers have won five of the nine matchups since the Pirates joined the American Athletic Conference prior to the 2015 campaign.

Up Next: ECU travels north to Connecticut April 13-15 for a three-game AAC series against the Huskies.

Gameday: Softball Hosts Memphis With Altered Series Schedule

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Players Mentioned

Meredith Burroughs

Ciara Ervin

Tyler King

Olivia Narron

Erin Poepping

Lydia Ritchie

Whitney Sanford

Mary Williams

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