GREENVILLE, N.C. ? After being held to just two hits in the first three innings, East Carolina responded with nine runs in the next three to claim a 9-2 victory over the Tigers on Friday afternoon at the Pirate Classic. The Tigers (5-2) were led by Kim Lempa who finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored.
Lempa helped the Tigers strike first with her single to lead off the bottom of the first inning. She would advance to third on a passed ball and a sacrifice bunt. Sammi DiPompo singled up the middle to score Lempa with the game's first run.
East Carolina got on the board with three runs in the top of the fourth inning. The Pirates tied the score as Marina Gusman-Brown crossed the plate on a passed ball. Kaui Tom had an RBI groundout before Sarah Bibee singled home the final run of the inning.
The Tigers got one of those runs back in the bottom half of the fourth as Mindy Bean ripped her team-leading seventh double of the season. Bean scored with two outs as Emily Gould stroked a RBI single.
East Carolina added to its lead in the top of the fifth with a pair of runs. Tom had an RBI single to left field while Bibee worked a bases loaded walk to force in the second run.
The Pirates added four more runs in the sixth to make it a 9-2 game and it would stay that way. Jessica Johnson had the big blow in the inning as she launched a home run to left field.
Kelly Ebner took the loss for the Tigers as she allowed seven runs on 5.1 innings of work in the circle. Dominique Ortega was charged with two runs in 1.2 innings of relief work. Caitlin Wainwright earned the win after giving up two runs in four innings of work.
Lempa was the only Tiger with multiple hits in the game. DiPompo and Gould picked up the two RBIs for the Tigers on their base hits while Bean had a hit and scored the other run.
The Tigers are scheduled to face Fordham on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. as the first of their two games on day two of the Pirate Classic. However, there is a chance weather could wash out Saturday's action; please stay tuned to towsontigers.com for more details.
