Pirates Shut Down N.C. Central To Conclude Pirate Invitational

Sunday, February 25

Greenville, N.C.

1:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

15-1

N.C. Central

4-10

N.C. Central

East Carolina

Pirates Shut Down N.C. Central To Conclude Pirate Invitational

February 25, 2024 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina softball team swept its doubleheader with N.C. Central behind dominant pitching and big plays from the bat of Morgan Johnson as the Pirates defeated the Eagles 6-0 and 5-0 to wrap up the Pirate Invitational on Sunday afternoon at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.

The Pirates improved to 16-1 on the season and it marks the best 17-game start for the program since the 2000 season where that club started 17-1 before its second loss.

Game One: East Carolina 6, N.C. Central 0

ECU jumped out to an early lead behind an RBI single from Anna Sawyer in the first inning before Makenzie Mason's RBI single extended ECU's lead to 2-0 going into the third frame.

Johnson would hit her first home run of the day to push the Pirates' advantage to 3-0 and ECU would put the game away in the fifth inning with sacrifice flies from Jayci Chamberlain and Taylor Woodring and an RBI single from Kanisha Anderson.

Jordan Hatch (7-1) earned the win for ECU as Hatch, Taylor Apple, Payton Hudson and Devin Long combined for a no-hitter, the first no-hitter in Pirate softball since April 2, 2011 by Toni Paisley.

Game Two: East Carolina 5, N.C. Central 0

The second game was more of a struggle for East Carolina's offense as the Pirates only had two hits through five innings and found themselves locked in a close one with the Eagles entering the sixth inning.

After retiring three N.C. Central batters in the top of the sixth, the Pirates found their groove at the right time, scoring the game's first run as Annie Kate Dalton drew a walk with the bases loaded. Johnson hit her second grand slam of the season to put ECU ahead 5-0 and seal the victory.

Addy Bullis (5-0) picked up the win in the circle, allowing only one hit and tossing four strikeouts.

Up Next
East Carolina will host NC State for a midweek matchup on Wednesday at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.