CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | BOX SCORE

HOUSTON, Texas – Erin Poepping allowed three runs in the bottom of the first inning before responding with seven shutout innings as No. 8 ECU pushed across a run in the eighth inning to advance past No. 2 Tulsa in the quarterfinals of the 2019 American Softball Championship.

Olivia Narron led off the top of the eighth with an infield single before advancing to third on a pair of groundouts to bring Rachel McCollum to the plate. McCollum’s grounder got through the left side of the Tulsa infield to put the Pirates ahead.

Poepping allowed a single in the bottom of the eighth before her sixth strikeout ended the afternoon. After the three-run first inning in which she surrendered three hits and a pair of walks, Poepping scattered six hits over the remainder of the game.



Three Pirates each finished with two hits, with Ashleigh Inae driving in two runs along with her two hits and Courtney Layton adding an RBI to her multi-hit game.

Morgan Neal and Tori Stafford both tallied three hits, with Stafford driving in two runs as part of Tulsa’s three-run opening inning. Rookie of the Year Chenise Delce got the start in the circle for Tulsa, allowing three runs (one earned) with four strikeouts in three innings. Samantha Pochop took the loss after tossing the final five innings and surrendering one unearned run on four hits and a walk.

ECU advances to the American Championship semifinals for the second time and will face the winner of No. 3 Houston/No. 6 UConn on Friday.
 
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2019 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship
Cougar Softball Stadium | Houston, Texas
 
Quarterfinals – Thursday, May 9
American Digital Network
Game 1: No. 1 USF 8, No. 8 Memphis 0 (6 innings)
Game 2: No. 4 Wichita State 2, No. 5 UCF 1
Game 3: No. 7 ECU 4, No. 2 Tulsa 3 (8 innings)
Game 4: No. 3 Houston vs. No. 6 UConn - 37 minutes following the conclusion of Game 3
 
Semifinals – Friday, May 10
American Digital Network
Game 5: No. 1 USF vs. No. 4 Wichita State - 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
Game 6: No. 7 ECU vs. Winner of Game 4 - 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT
 
Championship – Saturday, May 11
ESPN2
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 - 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT