Gameday: Pirates Conclude Regular Season At Houston

Games 51-53: at Houston
Schedule	May 3: at Houston \\\ 7:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch May 4: at Houston \\\ 3:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch May 5: at Houston \\\ 1:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch
Venue	Cougar Softball Stadium
Social Media	@ECUSoftball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ Facebook

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina softball team heads to Houston this weekend for its final American Athletic Conference series of the season. The Pirates and Cougars will face off Friday through Sunday at the Cougar Softball Stadium.

ECU enters the weekend in eighth place in the AAC standings with a 21-29 overall record and 3-15 league mark. The Pirates have an opportunity to surpass Memphis for the No. 7 seed in the upcoming conference tournament as the Tigers currently sport a 3-14 AAC record.

Collectively, East Carolina hits .252 paced by Tyler King's .318 batting average. She also leads the club in hits (57), doubles (9) and stolen bases (15). Rachel McCollum is also having a nice season at the plate with a .315 batting average, 45 hits, nine doubles and 41 RBI.

In the circle, Erin Poepping has thrown 202.1 innings and owns a 14-18 overall record and 3.32 earned run average as well as 153 strikeouts. The sophomore entered the top 10 on the ECU career list in strikeouts during the series with Connecticut, currently ranking 10^th on the list with 248. Opposing hitters are batting .288 off of the Pirate pitching staff that also includes Whitney Sanford (7-11, 5.18 ERA) and Liv Garman (0-0, 10.16 ERA).

A Look At Houston
The Cougars, picked third in the American Conference preseason poll, are in third place in advance of the regular season's final weekend. Houston is 35-16 overall and 10-7 in league contests after defeating Sam Houston State 17-1 at home Tuesday night. The Cougars are hitting .295 as a team with four lineup regulars batting .325 or better. Arielle James leads the way with a .380 average, 54 hits and 16 doubles. In terms of pitching, Houston's staff sports a 1.90 ERA. Presley Bell is 11-3 with a 1.34 ERA and 52 strikeouts while Savannah Heebner checks in at 12-8 with a 1.59 ERA and 101 strikeouts. Opposing hitters have managed just a .201 batting average against the Cougar unit.

The Houston Series
Houston enjoys a healthy 37-18 advantage in the all-time series with East Carolina and has won seven of the last eight games between the schools. The Pirates are 7-19 against the Cougars in Houston.

Up Next
ECU will be the No. 7 or No. 8 seed for the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship which is scheduled for May 9-11 in Houston.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Liv Garman

Tyler King

Rachel McCollum

Erin Poepping

Whitney Sanford

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