ECU Begins AAC Tournament Run Against UCF

2021 AAC Softball Championship: (6) East Carolina vs. (3) UCF
Coverage	May 13: Noon \\\ vs. (3) UCF \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch
Venue	Collins Family Softball Complex (1,000)
Game Notes	East Carolina \| UCF
Statistics	East Carolina \| UCF
Social Media	@ECUSoftball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ #OnePirateNation

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina attempts to win its first conference tournament title since 2011 this week when it travels to Tulsa for the 2021 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship. The sixth-seeded Pirates are slated for a quarterfinal matchup against No. 3 seed UCF Thursday at Noon at the Collins Family Softball Complex.

The contest will be streamed live via ESPN+ with Chris Mycoskie and Jill Jelnick on the call.

ECU finished the regular season with a 16-32 overall record, but carries a five-game winning streak into the postseason event with a 1-0 road victory at tournament No. 2 seed South Florida and four-straight wins over Memphis in Greenville.

In its last appearance at the AAC Tournament in 2019, No. 7 seed East Carolina knocked off No. 2 seed and three-time defending champion Tulsa 4-3 in eight innings at the Cougar Softball Stadium in Houston. The remainder of the championship event was rained out and regular season champion USF received the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The league did not hold a 2020 championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the season was cancelled in March of that year.

The Pirates hold a 2-4 record in AAC Tournament play, picking up their first win in 2017 when they upset No. 3 seed UCF by a 4-2 margin in the quarterfinals at the then-named ECU Softball Stadium.

The UCF Series
• UCF leads the series with East Carolina, 27-20.
• The Pirates are 3-1 against the Knights in conference tournament play, including a 2-1 mark when both teams were members of Conference USA.
• UCF swept the season series in 2021, winning all four games at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.
• Head Coach Courtney Oliver holds a 3-14 record against the Knights.

Pitching Coming To Life
During its current five-game winning streak that includes a 1-0 victory over tournament No. 2 seed South Florida, East Carolina has received a number of solid performances out of its pitching staff. The Pirates sport an 0.39 earned run average with 27 strikeouts against three walks in the last 36 innings pitched and have also limited opposing batters to a .157 average. Erin Poepping and Kama Woodall have given up just one earned run combined in the last 35.1 frames.

Tough Sledding
According to the latest release of the NCAA RPI, East Carolina has played the 57th-toughest schedule in the nation. American Athletic Conference mates Memphis and Houston are 50th and 54th. ECU has played a total of 15 games against top-50 RPI clubs Georgia (17), Liberty (19), Wichita State (28), UCF (32) and James Madison (35). 11 of those contests occurred on the road.

Top 10 Material
Poepping, in her fourth season as a Pirate, has entered into the ECU career top 10 in a couple of categories. The Lino Lakes, Minn. product is fifth in saves (4), sixth in strikeouts (372), seventh in appearances (124) and eighth in games started (80) and innings pitched (502).

Defense Showing Up
The Pirates have committed just 37 errors this season, good for a .973 fielding percentage - a mark that leads the AAC and is 33rdnationally. East Carolina has made just two errors in its last five games.

Experience Abounds
ECU sports a veteran roster this season and it has shown in the number of players that are have started every game at their positions. Sophie Wools (catcher), Chandley Garner (third base), Ashleigh Inae (shortstop) and Olivia Narron (center field) have started all 48 games thus far in 2021. Rachel McCollum (first base) and Bailey Ledvina (second base) are close behind with 46 and 45 starts, respectively.

East Carolina In American Athletic Conference Tournament Play
2015: (5) South Florida 5, (4) East Carolina 0 - Orlando, Fla.
2016: (3) Tulsa 2, (6) East Carolina 0 - Tulsa, Okla.
2017: (6) East Carolina 4, (3) UCF 2 - Greenville, N.C.
2017: (2) Houston 6, (6) East Carolina 0 - Greenville, N.C.
2018: (2) Houston 3, (7) East Carolina 1 - Tampa, Fla.
2019: (7) East Carolina 4, (2) Tulsa 3 (Eight Innings) - Houston, Texas
Notes: The 2019 tournament was cancelled during the quarterfinal round due to inclement weather ... The 2020 tournament was not held due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic.

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Players Mentioned

Chandley Garner

Ashleigh Inae

Bailey Ledvina

Rachel McCollum

Olivia Narron

Erin Poepping

Kama Woodall

Sophie Wools

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