Pirates Pick Up Two Wins On First Day Of Purple-Gold Invitational

Friday, March 1

Greenville, N.C.

1:30 p.m.

East Carolina University

17-2

Youngstown State

4-8

Youngstown State

East Carolina

Pirates Pick Up Two Wins On First Day Of Purple-Gold Invitational

March 01, 2024 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina softball team picked up two wins on the first day of the Purple-Gold Invitational at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium on Friday, defeating Youngstown State 9-3 and sailing past Appalachian State 10-2 in five innings.

Game One: East Carolina 9, Youngstown State 3
Annie Kate Dalton went 3-for-3 at the plate and tallied five RBI as East Carolina pulled away in the sixth inning to defeat Youngstown State 9-3 in the team's first game of the Purple-Gold Invitational on Friday afternoon.

The Pirates would take an early 3-0 lead after a sacrifice fly from Dalton in the second inning and a two RBI double from Emma Jackson in the third frame. ECU would keep up the scoring in the inning as Dalton would knock a double to center field and bring in two more Pirate runs, and the five-run explosion would be capped off by Mary-Kathryn Scott's single RBI to give the Pirates a 6-0 lead.

The Penguins would threaten in the next two innings after scoring on a passed ball to make the score 6-1 and add two more runs in the top of the fifth before Apple would reenter and work out of a jam with two runners on to keep the Pirates' lead at three runs.

ECU would put the game away in the bottom of the sixth with a Morgan Johnson double and Dalton would hit her second two RBI double of the game to seal the 9-3 win for the Pirates.

Taylor Apple (5-0) tossed seven strikeouts and only allowed two hits in six innings of work.

Game Two: East Carolina 10, Appalachian State 2 (Five Innings)
Anna Sawyer and Morgan Johnson each tallied two hits as East Carolina cruised to a run-rule victory over Appalachian State in the Pirates' second game of the Purple-Gold Invitational on Friday evening.

Johnson got the scoring started for ECU with a double to score Sawyer following by scoring herself on a Mountaineers error as the Pirates took a 2-0 lead entering the third inning.

The Pirates would pull away in the third and fourth innings as ECU posted four runs in each frame to take a 10-0 lead. Appalachian State would score two runs in the top of the fifth to attempt to extend the game, but Jordan Hatch would force App State's batter into a ground ball for the final out and strand two Mountaineers on base.

Hatch (8-1) earned the win in five innings of work.

Up Next
East Carolina will continue the Purple-Gold Invitational against Youngstown State and Saint Joseph's tomorrow.