East Carolina Travels To Georgia For UGA Classic

Games 16-19: The UGA Classic
Schedule	March 12: at No. 18 Georgia \\\ 6:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats March 13: at No. 18 Georgia \\\ 11:30 a.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch March 13: vs. North Dakota \\\ 6:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats March 14: vs. North Dakota \\\ 10:45 a.m. \\\ Live Stats
Venue	Turner Softball Stadium (2,000)
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Georgia \| North Dakota
Statistics	East Carolina \| Georgia \| North Dakota
Social Media	@ECUSoftball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina will attempt to get back in the win column this weekend when it heads south for the UGA Classic on the campus of the University of Georgia. The Pirates will take on North Dakota and the host Bulldogs over three days.

The Pirates (9-6 overall) went 1-4 at the Liberty Softball Invitational March 5-7, defeating Longwood in the tournament opener before dropping a pair of contests each to the Lancers and host Flames. Three of the losses were by one run while the four were by a combined six runs.

Redshirt senior infielder Rachel McCollum had a monster weekend at the dish at Liberty, hitting .600 (9-for-15) with two runs scored, two RBI, two doubles, a home run, 14 total bases, a .933 slugging percentage and .684 on base percentage. She was named to the American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll as a result.

ECU ranks third in the American Athletic Conference in both batting average (.319) and earned run average (3.07). McCollum is hitting a team-best .475 while junior RHP Kama Woodall tops the pitching staff with a 4-2 record and 2.42 earned run average in 52 innings of work. Classmate Erin Poepping has accumulated 33 strikeouts and owns a 2.75 ERA in 28 frames.

The Pirates have grown accustomed to playing on the road this season. 12 of ECU's 15 games have occurred away from Max R. Joyner Family Stadium. East Carolina has played the most road/neutral site games of any team in the league thus far in 2021.

A Look At Georgia
The Bulldogs, currently ranked as high as 18th nationally this week, are 15-2 overall following a 1-0 victory over Georgia State Wednesday. Georgia is hitting .305 as a unit, led by Lacey Fincher's .500 batting average. The Bulldogs have been a power-hitting club thus far, carrying 30 home runs into the weekend. The pitching staff has also been stout, boasting a 1.22 team earned run average. Mary Wilson Avant has tossed a team-high 50 innings and owns a 1.12 ERA with 75 strikeouts against nine walks.

The Georgia Series
Georgia owns a 5-0 advantage over East Carolina in a series that dates back to 2008. The clubs most recently played in 2017 when the Bulldogs defeated the Pirates 9-1 and 3-1 in Athens at the Red and Black Showcase.

Scouting North Dakota
North Dakota enters its Friday contests with Winthrop and Mercer with a 6-9 overall record after falling 11-2 in six innings at Alabama State Wednesday. The Fighting Hawks are hitting .227 as a team with 28 doubles, one triple and one home run. Madi Moore sports a team-best .333 batting average while Adrianna Dilal and Jannay Jones have combined to throw 67 innings in the circle with respective 2.10 and 2.29 ERAs. The pitching staff has struck out 68 batters against 50 walks in 98.2 innings of work.

The North Dakota Series
ECU and North Dakota have played just once on the softball diamond. The Pirates downed the Fighting Hawks 6-0 back on March 3, 2013 at the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational in Tempe, Ariz.

Against The Ranked
East Carolina has lost nine-straight games against nationally-ranked opponents since downing No. 25 UCF in Orlando in 2016. The Pirates seek their first victory over a non-conference ranked squad since knocking off No. 12 Texas 1-0 at the 2010 NCAA Austin Regional.

Super Seniors Getting It Done
Senior outfielder Olivia Narron and McCollum are enjoying one last season of eligibility due to the cancellation of the 2020 campaign by the COVID-19 pandemic. Narron leads the team in runs scored (16) and stolen bases (5) while McCollum is tops in batting average (.475) and walks drawn (8). McCollum hit her 56th career home run last weekend in Lynchburg.

American Leaders
The Pirates boast a couple of players that pace the American Conference in a statistical category. Narron is tops in runs scored, Woodall leads the circuit in innings pitched (52.0) and games started (9) and Poepping has notched a league-best 10 appearances.

Up Next
East Carolina plays a three-game series at JMU next weekend before officially opening American Athletic Conference play at Wichita State March 26-28.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rachel McCollum

Olivia Narron

Erin Poepping

Kama Woodall

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