ECU Sweeps Day One Of Purple-Gold Invitational | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ECU Sports.



    GREENVILLE, N.C.     After posting a comeback win over Rider to begin the Purple-Gold Invitational, East Carolina blanked Bryant to complete the doubleheader sweep Friday afternoon inside Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.

    The Pirates (10-10) are next slated to face Morehead State Saturday at 11 a.m.

    Game One: East Carolina 10, Rider 9 (Eight Innings)

    The Pirates spotted the Broncs an early five-run lead but rallied to win the contest in extra innings.

    Sydney Yoder went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI while Logyn Estes notched two hits and drove in a pair of runs. Jesse Niegocki rapped out three hits for Rider to go along with a three-RBI performance out of Elena Gonzalez.

    Estes (2-1) earned the victory in relief, throwing three scoreless and hitless frames while striking out three batters. Kathryn Schmierer (2-1) was tagged with the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits.

    Gonzalez kicked off the scoring in the top of the first with a three-run home run. A throwing error later in the frame allowed two more to cross home, leaving the visitors with a 5-0 advantage. ECU was able to respond in the home half of the inning. Faith Jarvis and Bailee Wilson walked before Bailey Ledvina singled up the middle with one out to plate Chandley Garner. A two-run single by Yoder made it 5-3 and a passed ball later in the stanza saw Yoder score to cut the Pirates' deficit to one.

    East Carolina surged ahead in the bottom of the third when Estes produced an RBI double to tie things up and Wools followed with a run-scoring single. The Pirates pulled ahead even further in the bottom of the fourth as Wilson posted an RBI double then proceeded to steal home with two outs on the board to push the ECU advantage to 8-5.

    Rider piled up five hits in the top of the fifth to score four runs and propel itself back in front, 9-8. Down to their last opportunity in the bottom of the seventh, the Pirates came through in the clutch to knot the score. Yoder laced a one-out triple to center before Estes sent her across the plate on a sharp infield single.

    With the international tiebreaker in effect, East Carolina was able to keep the Broncs off the board in the top of the eighth. With Malea Rolle on second base to begin the bottom of the inning, Jarvis executed a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third. Garner then put the ball in play to short, but the fielder was unable to make the play to home as Rolle scored the winning tally.

    Game Two: East Carolina 7, Bryant 0

    Taylor Smith (1-0) earned her first collegiate victory in the circle in the nightcap, tossing a three-hit shutout. She struck out three batters while walking four in the Pirates' first blanking of an opponent since consecutive shutout victories over Memphis in the last regular season series of the 2021 campaign.

    Sarah McKeveny (0-4) remained winless in 2022, surrendering three runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

    Ledvina was 3-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI, recording her second home run of the season in the fourth inning. A trio of Bulldog batters accounted for the visitors' offensive output with a hit apiece.

    After a scoreless first frame, ECU jumped ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the second when Yoder scored on a grounder to short. Ledvina's two-run shot to right field in the fourth made it 3-0 before the Pirates plated two more in the fifth courtesy of a fielder's choice play and a Ledvina RBI double.

    Keira Womack drew a walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth to provide the game's final run and Smith stranded a pair of Bryant runners in the top of the seventh to preserve the shutout.