ECU Softball comes up short 5-1 in Conference Championship to South Florida

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GREENVILLE, N.C. (ECU ATHLETICS) - The East Carolina softball team’s run in the American Softball Championship came to an end on Saturday afternoon as the Pirates fell, 5-1, to South Florida in the title game at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.

Hailey Deter had the lone hit on the day for the Pirates (34-25, 16-11 American) who took the field in front of a record-setting home crowd of 921 in their first-ever championship game appearance as a member of the American, breaking the previous stadium record of 861 vs. NC State (April 8, 2025).

South Florida jumped out to a 1-0 lead after one inning and the Bulls extended their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the third with the help of some Pirate miscues.

Deter prevented the shutout with a solo home run in the top of the fifth but USF’s defense shut down the Pirates in the top of the sixth and seventh innings to capture its second straight conference title.

Julia Apostolakos(18-12) tossed three strikeouts in the circle, bringing her total strikeouts for the tournament to 19 while Anne Long (21-5) fanned five batters.

Anna Sawyer and Sydney Rainford were named to the All-Tournament Team along with Apostolakos and Deter.

2026 American Conference All-Tournament Awards

Most Outstanding Player

Anne Long, P, South Florida

All-Tournament

Sydney Lewis, DP, Charlotte

Anneca Anderson, P, North Texas

Ryley Nihart, P, Wichita State

Julia Apostolakos, P, East Carolina

Sydney Rainford, P, East Carolina

Anna Sawyer, OF, East Carolina

Hailey Deter, OF, East Carolina