Pirates Set To Host Pirate Invitational Friday

Games 13-17: Pirate Invitational
Date	Feb. 23-25, 2024
Coverage	Feb. 23 vs. Towson: 3 p.m. (Watch/Live Stats) Feb. 23 vs. N.C. Central: 5:30 p.m. (Watch/Live Stats) Feb. 24 vs. Rider: 12:30 p.m. (Watch/Live Stats) Feb. 24 vs. Towson: 3 p.m. (Watch/Live Stats) Feb. 25 vs. N.C. Central: 12:30 p.m. (Watch/Live Stats)
Venue	Max R. Joyner Family Stadium
Statistics	East Carolina \| N.C. Central \| Towson \| Rider
Game Notes	East Carolina \| The American
Social Media	@ecu_softball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ #WeBelieve

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina softball team is set to return to the field this weekend as the Pirates host their second tournament of the 2024 season in the Pirate Invitational Feb. 23-25 at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.

N.C. Central, Rider and Towson will compete against the Pirates in the three-day tournament as ECU will face Towson at 3 p.m. and N.C. Central at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Admission to all tournament games is free for fans.

The Pirates are off to one of the program's best starts in nearly two decades with an 11-1 record heading into the Pirate Invitational. The last Pirate softball team to post an 11-1 record in 12 games was the 2005 team that finished with a 55-19 record. In addition to the 2005 team, there are only three other teams in program history that have tallied an 11-1 start (1992, 1994, 2000). ECU is coming off a 5-1 week as the Pirates continued to rack up runs, scoring five or more runs in four of those contests. The Pirates are currently ranked first in Division I in total wins and lead the American in batting average (.383) and ERA (1.11).

Emma Jackson leads ECU at the plate, batting .571 and tallying 24 hits (1st in AAC and NCAA) and has recorded 12 doubles (1st in AAC and NCAA) and Morgan Johnson leads the American and NCAA in RBI with 21. ECU is currently first in the AAC in runs scored (90), hits (126), on-base percentage (.438) and doubles (27). The Pirates currently have six players who are hitting .400 or higher at the plate.

The N.C. Central Series
East Carolina leads the all-time series 7-0 with N.C. Central as both programs met last year in Greenville with the Pirates winning 10-2 in five innings.

The Towson Series
East Carolina leads the all-time series with Towson 18-1 as the Pirates have won the last nine meetings and Friday will be the first meeting between the schools since Feb. 23, 2020, a 6-5 Pirate win in eight innings.

The Rider Series
East Carolina leads the all-time series 6-1 with Rider but the Broncs took the last meeting between the two programs 8-0 in five innings at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium in the Purple-Gold Invitational.

Up Next
East Carolina continues its 19-game homestand with a midweek matchup against NC State on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.

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Players Mentioned

Emma Jackson

Morgan Johnson

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