Gameday: ECU Hosts Boston College And No. 18 JMU This Weekend

Games 10-12 (Pirate Invitational)
Schedule	Feb. 23: vs. Boston College \\\ 5 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Video Feb. 24: vs. Boston College \\\ 11:30 a.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Video Feb. 24: vs. JMU \\\ 2 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Video
Venue	ECU Softball Stadium (1,000)
Game Notes	ECU \| Boston College \| JMU
Tournament Central	Pirate Invitational Tournament Website
Social Media	@ECUSoftball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The ECU softball team continues its homestand this weekend, welcoming Boston College and No. 18 JMU to Greenville for the weather-altered Pirate Invitational. The event was slated for Feb. 22-24, but the teams will now play just four games total Saturday and Sunday.

Revised Pirate Invitational Schedule
Saturday, Feb. 23
Boston College at ECU (5 p.m.)

Sunday, Feb. 24
Boston College vs. JMU (9 a.m.)
Boston College at ECU (11:30 a.m.)
JMU at ECU (2:00 p.m.)

The Pirates swept the competition at the Pirate Clash last weekend, defeating Wagner (twice), Cleveland State and 2018 NCAA Regional participant Saint Francis to extend their winning streak to five. Sophomore RHP Erin Poepping was named to the American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll after going 3-0 with a save and 16 strikeouts against two walks in 16 innings pitched. Poepping enters the weekend leading the AAC and ranking second nationally in victories (6).

ECU is hitting .357 as a team and is ranked 16th nationally in the statistic. The Pirates are also out-scoring opponents 67-36 and have rapped out 24 extra base hits (12 doubles, two triples and eight home runs). ECU paces the AAC in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBI, home runs, total bases and stolen bases. The Pirates have six batters currently hitting .313 or better, led by Ashleigh Inae's .538 average.

About Boston College
Boston College brings a 2-6 record to Greenville after splitting four games at the ACC/B1G Challenge in Atlanta, Ga. last weekend. The Eagles defeated Michigan State twice and lost a pair of decisions to Illinois. As a unit, Boston College is hitting .278 with Ellie Mataya and Emme Martinez leading the way with respective .444 and .417 batting averages. Opponents are out-scoring the Eagles 66-28 in eight contests. In the circle, Susannah Anderson has seen the most innings, sporting a 4.32 earned run average and 0-1 record with 20 walks and 10 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched. Camryn Dolby is next with 16.2 innings of work as she has compiled a 6.30 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 16 walks. Opponents are hitting .314 off of a Boston College pitching staff that owns a 6.66 ERA. Ashley Obrest is in her eighth season as the head softball coach at her alma mater. She was also the head coach at Colgate from 2010-11 before heading back to Chestnut Hill. The Eagles were selected to finish fifth in the Atlantic Division and ninth of 12 in the ACC preseason coaches poll.

Examining No. 18 JMU
No. 18 JMU began its season last weekend at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational, picking up wins over nationally-ranked Oregon and Tennessee as well as unranked foe Florida Atlantic. The Dukes also fell to California and Kentucky. Collectively, JMU is hitting .272 as a team with seven doubles and seven home runs. Kate Gordon leads the offensive charge with a .471 batting average and four of her eight hits have been home runs. Megan Good and Hannah File are close behind, both hitting .429. In terms of pitching, the Dukes are glad to have Good back in the circle after the 2017 NFCA National Player of the Year missed the entirety of 2018 with an injury. Thus far, Good is 2-1 with a 2.38 earned run average and 18 strikeouts against 10 walks in 17.2 innings pitched. Oddici Alexander and Peyton Buresch complete the pitching staff that holds a 2.26 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 34 innings of work. Loren Laporte is in her second season as the head softball coach at JMU after spending five seasons prior as an assistant.

The Boston College Series
ECU is 5-0 all-time against Boston College, including a 4-0 record in games played in Greenville. The two sides last matched up in 2008 when the Pirates knocked off the Eagles twice by scores of 1-0 and 6-0.

The JMU Series
ECU boasts a 7-5 record in the all-time series with JMU, winning two of three from the Dukes last year. The Pirates are 3-4 when matching up with JMU in Greenville. In 2018, the teams split a pair of contests in Hawai'i before ECU claimed a 4-2 victory in Harrisonburg just 10 days later.

Quality Wins
The Pirates have started the 2019 season with a trio of wins over teams ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index last year (No. 61 USC Upstate/No. 86 Towson/No. 100 Saint Francis). 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.

Bend But Don't Break
Opposing teams have recorded 67 hits against the Pirates in nine games, but only four have gone for extra bases. ECU has surrendered just two doubles and two home runs. Poepping has only allowed one of those four extra base knocks - a double to Karen Prihoda of Wagner.

Last Game Leftovers (From 6-3 Win Over Wagner)
ECU improved to 2-0 all-time against Wagner … The Pirates are now 112-95 at the ECU Softball Stadium since the facility opened in 2011 … ECU has rapped out double-digit hits in six of nine games this year and are out-scoring opponents 67-36 – including 21-2 in the fourth and fifth innings combined … The Pirates are 6-0 after holding a lead after four innings … ECU has stolen 19 bases in just nine games this season, more than half of its total from 2018.

ECU At A Glance
Record - 8-1 (.889) // AAC Record (Standing) - 0-0 (N/A) // Last 5 Games - 5-0 (1.000) // Last 10 Games - 0-0 (.000) // Last 15 Games - 0-0 (.000) // ECU will play the 175th game of the Courtney Oliver era when it hosts Boston College Saturday evening to start the Pirate Invitational. // ECU's all-time record stands at 1,417-844-5 in its 34th season of competition.

Up Next
ECU plays host to the Purple-Gold Invitational next weekend (March 1-3). The Pirates will take on Columbia, Massachusetts and Winthrop during the three-day event.

Gameday: ECU Hosts Boston College And No. 18 JMU This Weekend

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Players Mentioned

Ashleigh Inae

Erin Poepping

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