Pirates set for first-round battle with UAB at AAC softball tournament

WICHITA, Kan. – The East Carolina softball team will look to keep their season alive on Wednesday as the Pirates battle a familiar foe in UAB in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship at Wilkins Stadium.

ECU softball team places four players on All-AAC teams

The two teams played last weekend to complete the regular season. UAB won two of the three games they played.

First pitch Wednesday is scheduled for 11 a.m. and the game will be streamed via ESPN+ with John Liddle (play-by-play) and Cat Osterman (analyst) on the call with Morgan Uber handling sideline duties.

The Pirates are looking to advance in the AAC Softball Championship for the first time since the 2019 season when the Pirates outlasted Tulsa 4-3 in eight innings before the remainder of the tournament was canceled due to weather. ECU had won its previous six games before its current two-game losing skid. The Pirates meeting with UAB will be its four straight game against the Blazers.

Emma Jackson headlines the Pirates’ offense, batting .407 (2nd in AAC) and tallying 74 hits (1st in AAC/t-13thin NCAA) along with 23 doubles (1st in AAC/1st in NCAA) and 50 RBI (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 .371 batting average (7th in AAC), 47 RBI (t-3rd in AAC) and 13 home runs (t-4th 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 2.54 ERA and 106 strikeouts (5th in AAC) to go along with nine complete games while Addy Bullis sports a 2.65 ERA with 58 strikeouts.

Scouting the Blazers
UAB enters the matchup having won its past two games after taking the series from ECU this past weekend with back-to-back 3-2 victories. Bella Wiggins leads the Blazers’ offense with a batting average of .333 and seven triples while Lindsey Smith is the main power threat with a team-high seven home runs. Leigha Kirby is UAB’s top arm in the circle with a 3.18 ERA in 25 appearances to go along with 74 strikeouts.

Series History
The all-time series between the Pirates and Blazers is tied at 23-23 but ECU holds a 3-1 advantage in neutral site contests including besting UAB 8-0 in the 2006 Conference USA Tournament.

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