Gameday: ECU Opens Home Series Against Tulsa With Friday Doubleheader

Games 41-43: Tulsa
Schedule	April 12: vs. Tulsa \\\ 3:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Video April 12: vs. Tulsa \\\ 6:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Video April 14: vs. Tulsa \\\ Noon \\\ Live Stats \\\ Video
Venue	ECU Softball Stadium (1,000)
Tickets	ECU Athletics Ticket Center
Social Media	@ECUSoftball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina softball team welcomes American Athletic Conference foe Tulsa to the ECU Softball Stadium this weekend for a three-game series. The teams will open the set with a doubleheader Friday beginning at 3:30 p.m. due to the threat of inclement weather in the forecast for Saturday before ending things with the series finale Sunday at Noon.

The Pirates dropped a 5-1 decision to in-state opponent NC State Wednesday in Raleigh after the Wolfpack scored five runs on just two hits in the first inning of play. Tate McClellan hit her team-leading eighth home run of the season in the setback while Erin Poepping was excellent in relief, limiting NC State to one run on two hits with seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings pitched.

Rachel McCollum paces the offensive efforts for ECU with a .359 batting average. She also leads the squad in doubles (8), RBI (37) and total bases (68). Tyler King, one of two Pirates to play and start in all 40 games this campaign, is tops on the team in hits (48) and stolen bases (14). Collectively, East Carolina is hitting .271 with 43 doubles, four triples, 23 home runs and 40 stolen bases in 50 attempts.

In the circle, Poepping is 12-13 with a 2.78 earned run average and 128 strikeouts in 166.1 innings pitched. She is holding opposing hitters to a .257 average against.

A Look at Tulsa
The Golden Hurricane enters the series as one of three teams atop the AAC standings with a 7-2 league record. Tulsa is 26-13 overall after falling to Missouri State 3-2 on the road Wednesday. Julia Hollingsworth leads the conference in batting average at .439 with team highs in hits (50) and stolen bases (8). Morgan Neal has produced the most runs for the club with 28 RBI and also has 13 doubles to her credit. After All-American Emily Watson graduated as one of the top pitchers in school history, freshman Chenise Delce has filled in nicely with an 11-4 record, 1.72 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 93.1 innings. The Golden Hurricane has won the AAC Tournament three-straight seasons and has advanced to an NCAA regional in 10 of the last 13 years.

The Tulsa Series
Tulsa owns a 28-11 record against ECU. The Pirates have not defeated the Golden Hurricane since joining the American Athletic Conference in 2015 and have lost 14 straight in the series. The last ECU win occurred by a 10-2 count back on April 12, 2014.

Up Next
The Pirates will make their first-ever triple in program history to Wichita State next weekend when they battle the Shockers in a three-game set April 18-20.

Gameday: ECU Opens Home Series Against Tulsa With Friday Doubleheader

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Players Mentioned

Tyler King

Tate McClellan

Rachel McCollum

Erin Poepping

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