Sunday, March 24
Greenville, N.C.
Noon
East Carolina University
22-9, 1-7
1
vs
11
Charlotte
17-11, 6-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Charlotte
2
0
0
0
0
4
5
11
8
1
East Carolina
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
3
1
Pirates Take Series Over No. 21 Charlotte On Dalton's Walk-Off Homer
March 24, 2024 | Softball
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Annie Kate Dalton hit a two RBI, walk-off home run to lift East Carolina past Charlotte 4-2 in the ninth inning of the series finale between the two teams on Sunday afternoon at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.
The Pirates (23-9, 2-7 AAC) rebounded from an 11-1 defeat in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader with strong pitching from Taylor Apple and big-time offensive plays from Dalton and Morgan Johnson to take the series over the Niners, who were ranked No. 21 in D1Softball's latest Top 25 poll and were receiving votes in other national polls.
Since 2006, the Pirates had lost their last eight three-game series against a ranked opponent entering this weekend.
Game One: Charlotte 11, East Carolina 1
Charlotte jumped on the Pirates early after an RBI single followed by stealing home to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
ECU held Charlotte's offense in check for the next four innings but the Pirates were unable to cut into their two-run deficit, leaving two runners on the bottom of the fourth inning.
The top of the sixth is where things began to unravel for the Purple and Gold as the Niners drew walks to load the bases and increase their lead to 3-0. The Pirates would commit an error to allow the scoring to continue and ECU would face a 6-0 deficit by time the third out was recorded.
Charlotte would add to its lead with five runs on six hits in the top of the seventh to go ahead 11-0 but ECU would avoid the shut out on a solo home run from Johnson in the bottom of the seventh.
Addy Bullis (6-3) walked eight batters and allowed six runs in the loss.
Game Two: East Carolina 4, Charlotte 2 (Nine Innings)
Both teams' pitchers would control things early as there were only two combined hits between both teams going into the fifth inning.
The Pirates would get the game's first run after Joie Fittante hit an RBI single to score Kaleigh Ayscue in the bottom of the fifth. The Niners would quickly regain momentum in the top of the sixth when Arianna Rodi blasted a two-run shot over the wall to put Charlotte ahead 2-1.
Facing a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the seventh, Johnson would keep the Pirates alive with a solo homer to knot the score at 2-2 and send the contest into extra innings.
Charlotte would threaten in the top of the eighth, but ECU would make a double play to escape without allowing a run. Johnson would draw a walk in the bottom of the ninth, setting up Dalton's game-winning home run to give the Pirates the series win.
Taylor Apple (8-2) picked up her second win of the weekend, tossing four strikeouts in nine innings of work in the circle.
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Up Next
East Carolina concludes its homestand on Tuesday against Elon at 4 p.m.
The Pirates (23-9, 2-7 AAC) rebounded from an 11-1 defeat in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader with strong pitching from Taylor Apple and big-time offensive plays from Dalton and Morgan Johnson to take the series over the Niners, who were ranked No. 21 in D1Softball's latest Top 25 poll and were receiving votes in other national polls.
Since 2006, the Pirates had lost their last eight three-game series against a ranked opponent entering this weekend.
Game One: Charlotte 11, East Carolina 1
Charlotte jumped on the Pirates early after an RBI single followed by stealing home to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
ECU held Charlotte's offense in check for the next four innings but the Pirates were unable to cut into their two-run deficit, leaving two runners on the bottom of the fourth inning.
The top of the sixth is where things began to unravel for the Purple and Gold as the Niners drew walks to load the bases and increase their lead to 3-0. The Pirates would commit an error to allow the scoring to continue and ECU would face a 6-0 deficit by time the third out was recorded.
Charlotte would add to its lead with five runs on six hits in the top of the seventh to go ahead 11-0 but ECU would avoid the shut out on a solo home run from Johnson in the bottom of the seventh.
Addy Bullis (6-3) walked eight batters and allowed six runs in the loss.
Game Two: East Carolina 4, Charlotte 2 (Nine Innings)
Both teams' pitchers would control things early as there were only two combined hits between both teams going into the fifth inning.
The Pirates would get the game's first run after Joie Fittante hit an RBI single to score Kaleigh Ayscue in the bottom of the fifth. The Niners would quickly regain momentum in the top of the sixth when Arianna Rodi blasted a two-run shot over the wall to put Charlotte ahead 2-1.
Facing a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the seventh, Johnson would keep the Pirates alive with a solo homer to knot the score at 2-2 and send the contest into extra innings.
Charlotte would threaten in the top of the eighth, but ECU would make a double play to escape without allowing a run. Johnson would draw a walk in the bottom of the ninth, setting up Dalton's game-winning home run to give the Pirates the series win.
Taylor Apple (8-2) picked up her second win of the weekend, tossing four strikeouts in nine innings of work in the circle.
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Up Next
East Carolina concludes its homestand on Tuesday against Elon at 4 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Apple, Taylor (8-2)
L: BOWLING, Brooke (2-1)
Batting:
HR: RODI, Arianna 1
RBI: RODI, Arianna 2
Base Running:
RUNS: RODI, Arianna 1 ; DIRKS, London 1
CS: CHANCEY, Ella 1
HBP: DIRKS, London 1
Batting:
HR: Johnson, Morgan 1 ; Dalton, Annie Kate 1
RBI: Johnson, Morgan 1 ; Dalton, Annie Kate 2 ; Fittante, Joie 1
SH: Rolle, Malea 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Johnson, Morgan 2 ; Dalton, Annie Kate 1 ; Ayscue, Kaleigh 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
pr/rf
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
LHP
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballUTL
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