Gameday: Pirates Open 2019 Campaign At USC Upstate Spartan Classic

Games 1-5: Spartan Classic (Hosted by USC Upstate)
Schedule	Feb. 8: vs. Youngstown State \\\ 1 p.m. \\\ Live Stats Feb. 8: vs. Miami of Ohio \\\ 3 p.m. \\\ Live Stats Feb. 9: vs. Towson \\\ 5 p.m. \\\ Live Stats Feb. 10: vs. Miami of Ohio \\\ 11 a.m. \\\ Live Stats Feb. 10: at USC Upstate \\\ 3 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Video (ESPN+)
Venue	Cyrill Softball Stadium (500)
Game Notes	ECU \| Youngstown State \| Miami (Ohio) \| Towson \| USC Upstate
Tournament Central	Spartan Classic Tournament Website
Social Media	@ECUSoftball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook

GREENVILLE, N.C. – ECU begins a new season this weekend, heading to Spartanburg, S.C. for the Spartan Classic. The Pirates will face off against Miami (Ohio), Towson, Youngstown State and host USC Upstate inside Cyrill Softball Stadium before returning to Greenville for a 16-game homestand featuring three consecutive tournaments at the ECU Softball Stadium.

ECU posted a 23-32 overall record, as well as an 8-13 mark in American Athletic Conference play, in 2018. The Pirates seek their first winning season since notching a 28-20 record in 2014. ECU also looks to return to postseason play for the first time since reaching the NCAA College Park Regional finals in 2011.

The Pirates welcome back their top four hitters from 2018 as well as a duo of sophomore pitchers in Erin Poepping and Whitney Sanford that threw a majority of the innings for the Pirates a season ago as rookies.

Pirates To Watch
+ Erin Poepping was named to the 2018 AAC All-Rookie Team after pacing ECU in earned run average (3.26), wins (13), complete games (9) and strikeouts (95). She ranked seventh in the league in wins and looking strikeouts (35) as well as eighth in innings pitched (165.1) and strikeouts.
+ Tate McClellan was second on the squad in batting average (.278) and home runs (10) while leading the team in slugging percentage (.553), RBI (34), doubles (12) and total bases (84). She also tied for third in the American Conference in doubles and home runs and was fourth in slugging percentage.
+ Rachel McCollum, a transfer student-athlete from Campbell University, earned a pair of Big South Conference First Team honors with the Camels as well as 2018 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Third-Team All-Southeast Region accolades and 2017 Big South All-Freshman Team laurels. She ranked in the top 30 nationally in five offensive categories during the 2018 campaign - seventh in total bases (143), eighth in home runs (19), 15th in doubles (18), 18th in slugging (.808) and 29th in RBI (56). McCollum also paced the Big South Conference in runs scored (51), was second in home runs, total bases and slugging, third in doubles, RBI and on-base percentage (.469), fourth in batting average (.384) and fifth in hits (68).

ECU was 11-19 away from home last season, including a 5-10 record in true road games. The Pirates did play the nation's 34th-toughest schedule in 2018, competing against teams ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA RPI in 35 contests.

Scouting Youngstown State
Youngstown State posted a 25-26 overall record and 14-10 Horizon League mark in 2018, finishing fourth in the conference standings before going 0-2 in the league tournament. The Penguins return top hitter and first team all-conference selection Lexi Zapitelli who batted .413 with 52 hits, 30 runs scored, 13 doubles and 22 RBI. Her batting average was second in the Horizon League. YSU also welcomes back its two main pitchers from a season ago in Paige Geanangel and Elle Buffenbarger who notched respective 3.19 and 3.39 earned run averages as well as combining for 212 strikeouts 283.1 innings of work. The Penguins finished fourth in the league statistical rankings in both batting average (.278) and ERA (3.52). Youngstown State was also one of the top defensive teams in the conference with a .960 fielding percentage. ECU holds a 2-0 record against the Penguins. The Pirates defeated Youngstown State 5-4 in eight innings in Greenville in the squads' most recent encounter (March 8, 2017) when Kacie Oshiro drew a bases-loaded walk to account for the game-winning RBI.

About Miami of Ohio
Miami of Ohio hovered around the .500 mark in 2018, securing a 24-25 overall record and 11-12 ledger in the Mid-American Conference. The Redhawks finished eighth in the league standings and went two and out in the conference tournament. The rookie duo of infielder Ashton Slone and pitcher Courtney Vierstra were tabbed to the MAC All-Freshman Team. Slone batted .317 with 45 hits, eight doubles and six home runs while Vierstra compiled a 2.52 ERA and 161 strikeouts against 60 walks in 175.1 innings of work. As a team, the Redhawks put up a .270 batting average and a 4.18 ERA. Miami also pounded out 62 doubles and 29 home runs while ending up with a .966 fielding percentage. The pitching staff sported a .295 batting average against and tallied 265 strikeouts in 328.1 innings. The Pirates and Redhawks have encountered each other just twice and it has been awhile since those meetings. ECU won the first matchup by a 4-0 count March 3, 1990 before Miami responded with a 1-0 victory a year later (3/16/91).

Examining Towson
Towson enjoyed one of its finest seasons in program history in 2018, going 42-19 overall and 13-8 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) - a record good for third in the conference. After losing both of its games in the league tournament, the Tigers qualified for the National Invitational Softball Championship where they made a run to the Eastern Kentucky Regional championship game. Towson will have to contend with the loss of numerous key performers from last year's roster as the Tigers' 2019 outfit features a whopping 15 newcomers. Madison Wilson and Nicole Stockinger are the top returning hitters, boasting respective .389 and .347 batting averages a season ago. Wilson earned a spot on the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association All Mid-Atlantic Region Third Team while Stockinger cranked out 15 home runs on the way to CAA First Team accolades. Towson produced program single-season records for wins (40), runs (360), hits (482), doubles (96), and total bases (747) in 2018. The Pirates hold a 16-1 mark against the Tigers as ECU won both meetings a season ago in Greenville.

A Look At USC Upstate
USC Upstate, a highly-successful program that has qualified for a NCAA regional five of the last six seasons, put together a 35-19 overall record and 10-6 Atlantic Sun Conference mark before falling to Kennesaw State in the conference tournament championship game. The Spartans will have to replace 2018 ASUN Player of the Year Kara Beasley, as well as all-freshman honoree Logan Morris, but returns first-team all-conference selections in outfielder Brittany Case and pitcher Christina Biggerstaff as Upstate moves into the Big South Conference. Case compiled a .311 batting average with two home runs and 27 RBI and contributed a team-high nine doubles while Biggerstaff posted a 15-9 record and 1.90 ERA. The transfer from Oklahoma State led the ASUN in strikeouts while ranking in the top-30 nationally in strikeouts, strikeouts per seven innings and hits allowed per seven innings. She struck out 211 batters in 169.1 innings and limited opponents to a .182 average at the plate. Last season, USC Upstate hit .277 as a team and the pitching staff compiled a 2.36 ERA with 309 strikeouts against 124 walks in 355.2 innings of work. The Pirates are 2-0 against the Spartans as ECU defeated USC Upstate 12-2 in 1988 and 4-3 in 1989.

In Season Openers
ECU looks to win its season opener for the sixth time in the last seven seasons and for the third time in four tries under Oliver. The Pirates defeated St. John's in their 2017 opener behind a complete-game shutout in Poepping's first-ever collegiate appearance.

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.

Quality Wins
ECU collected 13 wins over teams ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA ratings percentage index last season. 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.

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.

Up Next
ECU makes its 2019 home debut next weekend, welcoming Cleveland State, Purdue, Saint Francis (Pa.) and Wagner to the ECU Softball Stadium for the Pirate Clash. ECU will not face Purdue during the event.

Gameday: Pirates Open 2019 Campaign At USC Upstate Spartan Classic

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Players Mentioned

Tate McClellan

Rachel McCollum

Kacie Oshiro

Erin Poepping

Whitney Sanford

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