Gameday: ECU Opens 2019 Home Slate With Pirate Clash

Games 6-10 (Pirate Clash)
Schedule	Feb. 15: vs. Wagner \\\ 5 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Video Feb. 15: vs. Cleveland State \\\ 7:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Video Feb. 16: vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) \\\ 5 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Video Feb. 16: vs. Cleveland State \\\ 7:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Video Feb. 17: vs. Wagner \\\ 11:30 a.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Video
Venue	ECU Softball Stadium (1,000)
Game Notes	ECU \| Cleveland State \| Purdue \| Saint Francis \| Wagner
Tournament Central	Pirate Clash Tournament Website
Social Media	@ECUSoftball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook

GREENVILLE, N.C. – ECU makes its 2019 home debut this weekend, welcoming Cleveland State, Purdue, Saint Francis (Pa.) and Wagner to the Greenville for the three-day Pirate Clash. ECU will not face the Boilermakers during the event.

The Pirates got off to a strong start last weekend at the USC Upstate Spartan Classic, winning four of five games and defeating every team in the tournament once. ECU knocked off Youngstown State, Miami of Ohio, Towson and USC Upstate while taking its only loss to Miami in frigid temperatures Sunday morning.

ECU out-scored its opponents 38-14 and hit .362 as a team with seven doubles, five home runs and 11 stolen bases. The Pirates also drew 20 walks. The pitching staff compiled a 2.33 earned run average led by sophomore Erin Poepping who went 3-0 with a 0.46 ERA and 13 strikeouts against two walks in 15.1 innings of work. She also held opposing hitters to a .123 batting average on the way to American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week recognition. ECU currently has seven hitters batting at least .308 led by sophomore infielder Ashleigh Inae at .583.

The Pirates put up some impressive numbers on the national scale during Opening Weekend. ECU is currently ranked 21st in on base percentage, 24th in stolen bases per game, 27th in batting average, 31st in double plays turned per game and 34th in both scoring and home runs per game. The Pirates also scored the most-ever runs (38) in the first five games of a season in program history.

Scouting Cleveland State
Cleveland State, which kicks off its 2019 campaign this weekend in Greenville, finished the 2018 season with a 15-34 overall record and a 5-17 mark in the Horizon League. The Vikings have been selected ninth in the preseason coaches poll. Cleveland State enters the 2019 season under the direction of first-year head coach Amy Kyler. Kyler, a CSU Hall of Fame member, spent the last 11 seasons as the head coach at Notre Dame (Ohio), leading the program to 287 wins and helping the program transition from NAIA to Division II. The Vikings will be led by senior Riley Ries who earned Second Team All-Horizon League honors last season. She batted .333 on the season and belted six home runs and drove in 31 runs, while also scoring 43 runs and posting a .550 slugging percentage. Macy Kaisk and Alicia Major return to help handle the pitching duties after compiling respective 4.47 and 4.97 earned run averages and combining for 45 strikeouts in 114.1 innings of work. Cleveland State hit .241 as a team in 2018 while the pitching staff posted a 4.99 ERA.

About Purdue
Purdue kicked off its season last weekend at the Cougar Classic at College of Charleston where it defeated Pitt and Central Michigan while falling to Virginia Tech twice and the host Cougars once. The Boilermakers are batting .273 as a team with four doubles, two triples and a home run while the pitching staff put together a 6.12 ERA and seven strikeouts against 25 walks in 32 innings of work. Madison Douglass leads the way for Purdue offensively with a .545 batting average. Mallory Baker and Jenny Behan share the team lead in hits (8). Sydney Baters tossed a team-high 8.1 innings and notched a 5.04 ERA to go along with three strikeouts and eight walks. The Boilermakers returned eight starters and 13 letterwinners to the 2019 roster, including All-Big Ten selection Behan. Purdue also welcomed 11 freshmen to campus as well. Purdue was 16-40 overall last season, including a 7-15 mark in B1G Ten Conference play. The Boilermakers are coached by third-year skipper Boo De Oliveira who was an assistant coach at Purdue from 2007-10 when she helped the squad reach a pair of NCAA regionals.

Examining Saint Francis
Saint Francis came out of Opening Weekend with a 3-2 record, downing Savannah State, host Georgia Southern and Winthrop in the Bash in the Boro tournament in Statesboro, Ga. The Red Flash also fell to the host Eagles as well as UT Martin. The Red Flash went 39-19 overall and 16-0 in Northeastern Conference play in 2018, winning the league tournament and making their second-straight NCAA regional appearance. Saint Francis is under the direction of first-year head coach Jessica O'Donnell who spent the previous five seasons as the associate head coach at Villanova. The Red Flash are hitting .315 collectively, led by Hayley Norton's .643 (9-for-14) batting average and two home runs. Saint Francis rapped out 21 extra-base hits last weekend, including 12 doubles and three triples. The pitching unit turned in a 2.41 ERA as freshman Meadow Uncapher enjoyed a solid debut weekend by twirling a complete game and allowing no earned runs in the season-opening victory over Savannah State.

A Look At Wagner
Wagner begins its season at the Pirate Clash after ending up 15-28 overall and 5-11 in Northeastern Conference play in 2018. The Seahawks hit .248 as a team last season with 52 doubles, one triple and 18 home runs while the pitchers combined for a 4.46 ERA and 148 strikeouts against 80 walks in 274.2 innings of work. Now senior Karen Prihoda was selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region Team for the second consecutive season. She led Wagner in nearly every offensive category, while tying for second on the all-time single season list with 15 doubles - which also led the conference and finishing as the NEC's regular season batting champion. In addition, Prihoda finished second in the league with a .627 slugging percentage, 38 runs, and 54 hits. The Seahawks will have to contend with the loss of their top pitcher from a season ago in Morgan Brown who paced the club in ERA (3.44), innings pitched (134.1), complete games (15), strikeouts (100) and opposing batting average (.275). Lindsey Ubrun took over the reigns of the program before the 2018 season. She spent seven years as an assistant coach at three institutions (Chattanooga, Iowa State and FGCU) after playing collegiately at Maryland and Missouri.

Last Time Out (Feb. 10, 2019)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The ECU softball team capped off an impressive opening weekend Sunday by splitting a pair of games under supremely cold conditions at Cyrill Stadium on the campus of USC Upstate. With runs at a premium due in large part to the temperature, the Pirates fell to Miami (Ohio) 3-1 before downing the host Spartans 3-1 in the tournament finale. ECU ended the weekend winning four of five games, marking the first time the Pirates have carried a 4-1 record out of opening weekend since 2015. In the morning game, senior Morgan Halo delivered a hit and drove in a run as ECU out-hit the Redhawks 5-4 in the narrow setback. Johniann Wall posted a hit, a run scored and a RBI for Miami. Sophomore Whitney Sanford (0-2) took the tough loss, surrendering three runs (two earned) on four hits with five walks and three strikeouts. Taylor Rathe (1-0) picked up the win, throwing a complete game and giving up one run on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Poepping (3-0) was brilliant in the circle against USC Upstate, tossing a complete game and scattering four hits while allowing just one earned run. She struck out seven batters and walked just one. Erin Hill (1-1) was nearly as good for the Spartans, going the distance and giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Senior Ashley Weingartz posted two hits, a run scored and a RBI to lead the Pirates while Alyssa Oakes went 1-for-2 with a RBI and drew a walk.

Quality Wins
The Pirates started the 2019 season with a pair of wins over teams ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index last year (No. 61 USC Upstate/No. 86 Towson). During 2018, ECU collected 13 wins over teams ranked in the top 100 of the RPI. The Pirates defeated No. 24 JMU (twice), No. 33 Wichita State, No. 40 Houston, No. 46 USF (twice), No. 50 Ohio, No. 57 Longwood, No. 58 FIU, No. 82 NC State, No. 83 Memphis and No. 86 Towson (twice). ECU was also the only team in the American Athletic Conference to hand regular season champion USF a series loss in league play, winning two of three from the Bulls in Greenville.

Experience Gained
The Pirates were quite a young squad in 2018. Of the 550 starts, 330 (60 percent) were by freshman or sophomores. Additionally, 12 of the 19 players on the roster were underclassmen - including a large seven-member freshman class.

Speaking Of RPI
In three seasons under head coach Courtney Oliver, the Pirates' RPI ranking has increased. ECU was 148th in 2016, 120th in 2017 and 99th in 2018. ECU's top-100 finish in 2018 was the first time that has occurred since 2014.

ECU At A Glance
Record - 4-1 (.800) // AAC Record (Standing) - 0-0 (N/A) // Last 5 Games - 4-1 (.800) // Last 10 Games - 0-0 (.000) // Last 15 Games - 0-0 (.000) // ECU will play the 171st game of the Courtney Oliver era when it hosts Wagner Friday evening to start the Pirate Clash. // ECU's all-time record stands at 1,413-844-5 in its 34th season of competition.

Up Next
ECU continues its homestand next weekend (Feb. 22-24) with the Pirate Invitational. Boston College, JMU and Seton Hall will make the trip to Greenville for the non-conference event.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Morgan Halo

Ashleigh Inae

Erin Poepping

Whitney Sanford

Ashley Weingartz

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