ECU Announces 2022 Softball Schedule

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina will play 29 games in Greenville as part of its 2022 softball schedule released Tuesday by first-year head coach Shane Winkler.

The Pirates will compete in three home tournaments as part of the slate while also hosting the 2022 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.

"We're really looking forward to our challenging 2022 schedule," Winkler said. "This team has put in a ton of work and has improved all fall to prepare for a slate that will test us all spring. We know how challenging the AAC schedule will be, so we need to prepare ourselves for that grind. By scheduling 11 Power 5 games, four of those at home, Pirate Nation will have plenty of opportunities to see us compete against some of the best in the country."

ECU begins the campaign against Purdue, Georgetown and host Coastal Carolina at the Kickin' Chicken Classic in Conway, S.C. Feb. 11-13 before opening its home schedule the next weekend by welcoming Colgate, Rutgers and Wagner to Greenville for the Pirate Clash. East Carolina remains at home Feb. 25-27 for the Pirate Invitational with a field comprised of Villanova, Fairleigh Dickinson and Gardner-Webb.

A trip across the state to Elon for the Cardinal Classic March 5-6 versus Michigan State, Detroit-Mercy and the Phoenix is followed by a home contest with North Carolina March 9. The Pirates' third home tournament is scheduled for March 11-13 and will feature Bryant, Rider and Morehead State. Elon then makes the return trip to Greenville March 16 for a single contest before ECU treks to Charleston, S.C. March 19-20 for a three-game non-conference series.

East Carolina returns home March 23 for a midweek meeting with UNCW in its final tuneup for its AAC gauntlet which begins March 25 in Memphis. The Pirates host South Florida (April 1-3), Houston (April 8-10) and Wichita State (April 29-May 1) while also traveling to UCF (April 14-16) and Tulsa (May 6-8). Sprinkled among the league slate are midweek matchups with Duke (March 30) N.C. Central (April 5 and 26) and NC State (April 20) as well as a trip to Tennessee for the Lady Vol Challenge (April 23-24) where ECU will face off with UNC Greensboro and the Lady Vols.

Following the conclusion of the regular season, East Carolina will host the AAC Softball Championship for the first time since 2017, welcoming the other league programs to Greenville May 14-16 for the event. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Softball Championship.

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