Strong non-conference slate helped sharpen softball Pirates

Battle-tested veterans prepare for conference tournament

After being snubbed for the second time in three seasons by the NCAA Tournament selection committee last year, East Carolina softball coach Tracey Kee was determined to make her Pirates’ schedule more challenging than ever before.

ECU (39-16, 16-5) struggled to a 2-7 start with several narrow losses—including three one-run defeats at the hands of Florida. Besides those three games with the Gators, the Pirates have also played other nationally prominent programs such as Washington, Hawaii and Fresno State.

Kee’s senior-laden, experienced team overcame that start and has gone 37-9 since. The Pirates are currently riding an eight-win streak during which they haven’t been scored on. ECU shutout three conference opponents—UCF, Southern Miss and Memphis—and two of those series came on the road. In the last 26 games, the Pirates have recorded an amazing 20 shutouts.

Junior pitcher Toni Paisley, who is 27-9 in the circle, leads the nation with 19 shutouts. Paisley’s effectiveness has been heightened by the success of sophomore Faith Sutton. Sutton, who transferred from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has pitched very well lately after struggling early in the season.

At the plate, senior Marina Gusman-Brown has had a monster season. She has not only hit for average (.331), but leads the team with 12 home runs and 36 runs batted in.

When opponents do put the ball in play off Paisley and Sutton, the Pirates have been stellar in the field as they boast a .983 fielding percentage.

While one would think that these Pirates have definitely punched their ticket to The Road to Oklahoma City, recent history certainly shows that they should not be—and likely aren’t—taking anything for granted as they go into this week’s CUSA Tournament.

They’ve been denied entrance to the tourney on two occasions in the last three years when they had 40-plus wins, but received a bid when they were just 36-28 in 2008.

The safest bet is to capture the CUSA Tournament crown as well and remove all doubt of inclusion.