Pirates fall in AAC second round of AAC Tournament

WICHITA, Kan. – Taylor Woodring hit a solo home run in the top of the first inning, but the Pirates’ offense was scarce for the rest of the day as East Carolina fell to North Texas 9-1 in six innings in the second round of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship at Wilkins Stadium on Thursday afternoon.

Calling the Shots: The final game … for now

Annie Kate Dalton added a hit for the Pirates (38-19, 13-14 AAC) who ended their campaign with the most wins in a regular season since 2011.

The Pirates wasted little time at the plate as 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 quickly countered in the bottom of the first frame with a two-run, four-hit inning and forced the Pirates to go to their bullpen early.

The Mean Green added to their lead in the bottom of the second after a Pirate error moved runners to second and third and Cierra Simon hit a two-RBI single to give North Texas a 4-1 lead with two runners stranded going into the third inning.

ECU would slow down the Mean Green’s offense in the bottom of the third as Addy Bullis retired three straight North Texas batters, but the Pirates could not cut into the three-run deficit, stranding two runners in the top of the fourth.

North Texas led off the bottom of the fifth with a triple and added an insurance run on a sac fly to extend its lead to 5-1. The Mean Green hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth for the run-rule win, ending the Pirates season.

Taylor Apple (14-8) was dealt the loss in the circle for the Pirates while Skylar Savage (10-9) earned the win.

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