Pirates Host UAB To Conclude Regular Season

Games 53-55: UAB
Date \| Location	May 3-5, 2024 \| Greenville, N.C.
Coverage	May 3 (5 p.m.): Watch \| Live Stats May 4 (2 p.m.): Watch \| Live Stats May 5 (Noon): Watch \| Live Stats
Venue	Max R. Joyner Family Stadium
Statistics	East Carolina \| UAB \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| UAB
Social Media	@ecu_softball (Twitter) \\\ Instagram \\\ #WeBelieve

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina softball team is set to conclude its regular season slate this weekend when the Pirates welcome UAB to Max R. Joyner Family Stadium for a three-game series.

First pitch for Friday's game will be at 5 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ecupirates.com. Saturday and Sunday's games will start at 2 p.m. and noon respectively on ESPN+ with Patrick Johnson (play-by-play) and Brittany Hoyt (analyst) on the call Saturday and Johnson and Courtney Layton (analyst) calling the series finale. Admission is free all weekend for fans.

Emma Jackson headlines the Pirates' offense, batting .406 (2nd in AAC) and tallying 71 hits (1st in AAC/t-8th in NCAA) along with 23 doubles (1st in AAC/1st in NCAA) and 47 RBI (t-1st in AAC). Jackson was named the 14th best outfielder in the country by Softball America for the month of April and is only four doubles away from breaking the single-season doubles program record of 26 set by Kate Manuse in 2004. Morgan Johnson completes the one-two punch at the plate for ECU with a .387 batting average (6th in AAC), 47 RBI (t-1st in AAC) and a team-high 13 home runs (t-3rd in AAC). Johnson was recently tabbed the seventh-best first baseman for the month of May by Softball America. Taylor Apple leads ECU in the circle with a 2.59 ERA and 103 strikeouts (5th in AAC) to go along with nine complete games while Addy Bullis sports a 2.64 ERA with 54 strikeouts.

Honoring the Seniors
Prior to the start of Sunday's contest, the Pirates will recognize their four seniors in Addy Bullis, Jayci Chamberlain, Payton Hudson and Taylor Woodring. Bullis enters the weekend with 294 career strikeouts (181 at ECU) and has pitched 322.1 innings in the Purple and Gold for a 3.32 ERA. Woodring has had a career year as a senior, batting .337 with 17 RBI and five home runs and was named AAC Player of the Week on Apr. 8.

Scouting the Blazers
UAB enters the series on a five-game skid after getting swept at home by Charlotte last weekend and dropping two of three to Wichita State in the weekend prior. Bella Wiggins leads the Blazers at the plate with a .340 batting average while Lindsey Smith is the main power threat in the lineup with seven home runs on the season. Leigha Kirby headlines the Blazers' pitching staff with a 3.16 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 128.1 innings of action.

Series History
ECU leads the all-time series with UAB 22-21 as the teams last met on March 9, 2014 with the Pirates winning 7-1 at home.

Up Next
The Pirates will await their seeding for the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship which is slated to begin May 8 and is being hosted by Wichita State.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Taylor Apple

Addy Bullis

Jayci Chamberlain

Payton Hudson

Emma Jackson

Morgan Johnson

Taylor Woodring

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