Pirates To Attend Liberty Softball Invitational

Games 11-15: Liberty Softball Invitational
Schedule	March 5: vs. Longwood \\\ 2:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch March 5: at Liberty \\\ 5:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch March 6: vs. Longwood \\\ Noon \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch March 6: at Liberty \\\ 5:30 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch March 7: vs. Longwood \\\ 10:00 a.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch
Venue	Liberty Softball Stadium (1,000)
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Longwood \| Liberty
Statistics	East Carolina \| Longwood \| Liberty
Social Media	@ECUSoftball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Following a three-game sweep of Ohio last weekend in its first home appearance, East Carolina gets right back on the road with a trip to Lynchburg, Va., for the Liberty Softball Invitational.

The Pirates, who are 8-2 overall for the second time in three seasons under sixth-year head coach Courtney Oliver, will take on Longwood three times and the host Flames twice over three days (March 5-7) at the Liberty Softball Stadium. All five contests are scheduled to be streamed live via ESPN+.

ECU out-scored Ohio 22-5 and hit .400 with four doubles and three home runs in the first three games inside the newly-named Max R. Joyner Family Stadium. The pitching staff was also solid, compiling a 1.67 earned run average with 16 strikeouts in 21 innings of work.

Second-year freshman outfielder Logyn Estes shined at the plate, batting .545 (6-for-11) with four runs scored, a double and her first home run of the campaign. As a result, she was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll. Junior RHP Kama Woodall produced another strong weekend in the circle, going 1-0 with a complete game, 0.70 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 10 innings pitched.

As a team, East Carolina is batting .350 with 12 doubles, a triple and 11 home runs as well as nine stolen bases. The Pirates are averaging seven runs and 9.6 hits per game. Nationally, the squad ranks 14th in batting average, 19th in on base percentage (.424), 21st in runs scored per game and 30th in fielding percentage (.978).

Senior outfielder Olivia Narron and junior infielder Ashleigh Inae top the batting list for the Pirates, hitting .471 and .414 respectively. Narron leads the AAC in runs scored (15) and is tied for first in hits (16), triples (1) and sacrifice bunts (3). Among NCAA Division I players, Narron slots 12th in runs scored per game (1.50).

Woodall paces the pitching staff with a 4-0 record, three complete games and a 1.85 earned run average in 34 innings of work while junior RHP Erin Poepping is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 23 strikeouts against 10 walks in 20 innings.

A Look At Longwood
Longwood, which has won five of the last seven Big South Conference championships, enters the weekend with a 2-8 record after falling to Charlotte and Western Carolina last Sunday at the First Pitch Classic. One of the Lancers' two victories is a road win over then No. 16 Georgia. Sydney Jacobsen paces the offensive efforts with a .250 batting average and one of the team's two home runs. In the circle, Sydney Backstrom has tossed a squad-high 34.2 innings and sports a 1-4 record, 6.49 ERA and 24 strikeouts against 16 walks. Dr. Megan Brown is in her first year as head coach at Longwood. She owns assistant coaching stints at a number of institutions, including California and Boston College.

Scouting Liberty
Liberty, which defeated Radford 8-1 at home Wednesday, is 10-5 overall with four of its losses occurring against nationally-ranked sides. The Flames are receiving votes in both major Top 25 polls this week. Amber Bishop-Riley is batting a team-high .429 with 14 RBI and five home runs to pace a Liberty offense hitting .288 with 23 doubles and 14 home runs. Karlie Keeney has tossed the most innings of any member of the pitching staff, checking in with a 5-2 record, 2.83 ERA and 19 strikeouts. Dot Richardson is in her eighth season as head coach of the Flames. She is considered one of the most decorated collegiate, national and international players in softball history.

Up Next
East Carolina heads to Athens, Ga., March 12-14 for the UGA Classic where it will face off against nationally-ranked Georgia and North Dakota.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Logyn Estes

Ashleigh Inae

Olivia Narron

Erin Poepping

Kama Woodall

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