ECU softball splits again on day two of Pirate Clash

After defeating George Washington 9-3 to begin day two of the Pirate Clash Saturday afternoon, the East Carolina softball team fell victim to a pair of big innings at the hands of DePaul on the way to a 13-2 setback at the ECU Softball Stadium.

The Pirates close the weekend Sunday at 11:30 a.m. with a rematch against George Washington after Hampton and DePaul duke it out at 9 a.m.

Freshman RHP Logyn Estes (2-0) remained perfect in the circle to begin her collegiate career, registering her second win of the campaign after a solid four-inning effort. She allowed just two earned runs on five hits with three walks and no strikeouts. Megan Osterhaus (0-3) was tagged with the loss as she surrendered eight runs (six earned) on six hits while walking four batters and striking out two.

Redshirt senior utility Rachel McCollum put together a nice game at the plate, going 2-for-three with two runs scored and three RBI while junior infielder Ashleigh Inae scored a run and rapped out a pair of base hits. Jessica Linquist and Jenna Cone notched two hits apiece for the visitors.

After Estes stranded a pair of Colonial runners in the top half of the first, ECU went to work on offense right away. Senior outfielder Olivia Narron worked a four-pitch walk and McCollum pounded a 1-1 pitch to center for a triple, allowing Narron to score easily and put the Pirates on top, 1-0. Junior infielder Chandley Garner followed with a double to left center that plated McCollum and Estes capped the inning with a sacrifice fly that left East Carolina with a 3-0 advantage.

McCollum continued her torrid start to the contest in the bottom of the second. With pinch runner Faith Jarvis on base following a leadoff walk by senior catcher Abigail Umphlett, McCollum got a hold of a 1-0 offering and lifted it over the wall in left center to extend the Pirates’ edge to 5-0.

Cone answered McCollum’s two-run blast with one of her own in the top half of the third to briefly draw her side within three runs, but ECU kept the bats rolling in the bottom portion of the frame. Redshirt senior infielder Tate McCllelan led off with a double before Inae ripped a double down the left field line to put runners at second and third with no outs. Estes then walked to load the bases and Umphlett notched a one-out sacrifice fly to make it 6-2. A fielding error on George Washington’s part accounted for two more runs and the Pirates would take an 8-2 cushion into the fourth inning.

The teams traded runs in the top of the fifth and bottom of the sixth to account for the final score. Elena Shelepak registered a sac fly and Inae recorded a RBI single before the Colonials were retired in order to end the contest.

DePaul scored five runs in the fourth inning and eight in the seventh frame to erase an early 1-0 deficit and send junior RHP Kama Woodall (1-2) to her second loss of the season. Woodall ended up allowing seven runs (five earned) on nine hits in 4.1 innings of work. She did not walk a batter but struck out three. Brooke Johnson (1-0) won her first decision of the year for the Blue Demons, nearly tossing a complete game. She went 6.2 innings and gave up two runs on seven hits with six walks and three strikeouts.

A quartet of DePaul batters collected two hits each as Krista Dalgern paced the unit with two runs scored and two RBI. Narron picked up a pair of base knocks and also drew a walk while freshman catcher Sophie Wools came through with her first collegiate hit and first RBI.

Woodall cruised through the first two innings unscathed, allowing East Carolina to push ahead early. In the bottom of the second, sophomore infielder Bailey Ledvina hit a two-out double to center and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Wools then stepped up and took a 2-1 pitch into center field to score Ledvina for the game’s first run.

The Blue Demons exploded for five runs and six hits in the top of the fourth with the big blow coming off the bat of pinch hitter Kate Polucha – a two-run double.

Things got away from the Pirates in the top of the seventh as DePaul pounded out eight runs on just four hits and an East Carolina error. An Inae RBI double in the bottom of the seventh capped the scoring before a strikeout concluded the nearly three-hour game.

Hampton 10 - George Washington 3

Hampton 4 - DePaul 3

East Carolina 9 - George Washington 3

DePaul 13 - East Carolina 2