Taylor Woodring got the East Carolina softball team started on Thursday against North Texas, but the Pirates couldn’t muster much more than a start.
After the ECU offense strung together hits and runs in the first round, it couldn’t replicate that outing in a 9-1 loss in six innings to North Texas in the second round of the American Athletic Conference tournament.
The Mean Green advanced to Friday’s semifinal round against No. 2 seed Charlotte. Wichita State and No. 1 seed South Florida play in the other semifinal game. The winners will meet in the tournament championship game at noon on Saturday. The title game will air on ESPN 2.
The Pirates (38-19) finished with two hits against North Texas pitcher Skylar Savage, who allowed one run with two walks and three strikeouts over 6.0 innings. The lone ECU run came on Woodring’s solo home run in the top of the first inning.
Annie Kate Dalton added a two-out single in the top of the sixth for the Pirates only other hit. ECU ended its season with the most wins since 2011.
The Pirates held a brief lead when Woodring drove a ball over the center field wall to give ECU an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. North Texas (32-23) wasted no time in swiping the lead as it countered in the bottom of the first with two runs and four hits, chasing ECU starter Jordan Hatch after the left-hander got just one out.
The Mean Green added to their lead in the bottom of the second with two more runs. An ECU error moved runners to second and third, setting up a two-run single from Cierra Simon to give North Texas a 4-1 lead.
ECU couldn’t trim the lead.
North Texas, meanwhile, continued to add. The Green scored a run in the bottom of the fifth with the help of a triple and a sacrifice fly, then ended the game with four runs in the sixth, three runs coming on a three-run homer that sealed the run-rule win.
Taylor Apple (14-8) was dealt the loss in the circle for the Pirates, while Savage (10-9) earned the win.
Most Popular
Comments / 0