Pirates Open AAC Slate At Wichita State

Games 23-26: East Carolina at (RV) Wichita State
Schedule	March 26: at Wichita State \\\ 6:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch March 27: at Wichita State \\\ 3:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch March 27: at Wichita State \\\ 5:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch March 28: at Wichita State \\\ 1:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch
Venue	Wilkins Stadium (1,000)
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Wichita State
Statistics	East Carolina \| Wichita State
Social Media	@ECUSoftball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina begins American Athletic Conference play this weekend, travelling to Wichita State for a four-game series at Wilkins Stadium.

The Pirates (9-13) and Shockers begin the series Friday at 6 p.m. before meeting for a doubleheader Saturday at 3 p.m. The set wraps up Sunday with single game at 1 p.m.

ECU had its entire league schedule wiped out in 2020 due to the emerging COVID-19 global pandemic. ECU posted a 4-17 AAC record in 2019 with wins over Memphis, Tulsa, Wichita State and Houston. The No. 7 seed Pirates knocked off No. 2 seed Tulsa in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament before inclement weather wiped out the remainder of the games.

Redshirt senior infielder Rachel McCollum paces the Pirates in batting average (.424) and total bases (32) while entering the series with 56 career home runs. Junior RHP Kama Woodall has been the stalwart of the pitching staff, tossing a team-high 77.0 innings while compiling a 4-7 record and 3.55 ERA with 49 strikeouts against 35 walks.

In the midst of an 18-game road swing, East Carolina has played just three games at home in 2021 - a three-game sweep of Ohio.

About Wichita State
Wichita State carries a 17-4 overall record into this weekend's series after taking four of five games at the Mizuno Classic in Stillwater, Okla. The Shockers knocked off then No. 8 Oklahoma State during the event as well as picking up wins over Missouri-Kansas City and Texas-San Antonio. Wichita State proceeded to lose the tournament finale in a rematch with Oklahoma State. Neleigh Herring leads the Shocker lineup regulars with a .453 batting average, pacing a unit that owns a collective .317 mark. Wichita State leads the league in slugging percentage, home runs and walks drawn. As for the pitching staff, Bailey Lange is 8-1 with a 1.37 earned run average and 60 strikeouts in 66.1 innings of work.

The Wichita State Series
Wichita State leads the series with the Pirates 5-2, taking two of three at Wilkins Stadium the last time the two teams met in 2019.

Tough Sledding
According to the latest release of the NCAA RPI, East Carolina has played the toughest schedule of any club in the American Conference. The Pirates slot 39th while Wichita State is 43rd and Houston is 55th. ECU has faced off against top-50 RPI ranked clubs in Liberty (11), James Madison (15) and Georgia (19) – all on the road.

Up Next
East Carolina makes the short trip over the Buies Creek March 31 for a non-conference game against Campbell.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rachel McCollum

Kama Woodall

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