WICHITA, Kan. – Addy Bullis pitched a three-hit shutout and rightfielder Anna Sawyer went 2-for-3 with a key two-run single to lead East Carolina past UAB 4-0 in the opening game of the 2024 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship Wednesday morning at Wilkins Stadium.
The Pirates (38-18) advance to Thursday’s second round, where they will face the winner of the first-round game between No. 10-seeded Memphis and No. 3-seeded North Texas.
East Carolina, the No. 7 seed in this year’s championship, picked up its first win in the tournament since 2019 as the Pirates broke open what had been a scoreless game with four runs in the final two innings.
Centerfielder Kanisha Anderson also went 2-for-3 for East Carolina, including an inside-the-park home run in top of the seventh that gave the Pirates a 4-0 lead.
Bullis, meanwhile, went the distance in the circle as she scattered three hits and struck out three without walking a batter. After allowing a base hit on her first pitch of the game, Bullis retired the next 10 Blazers in order and didn’t allow a UAB baserunner past second base as she improved to 14-5.
In addition to her strong showing at the plate, Sawyer delivered a key defensive play as she tracked down Hannah Dorsett’s sharp line drive to the rightfield alley in the bottom of the fourth.
UAB starter Leigha Kirby matched Bullis through the first five innings as she retired 11 consecutive hitters from the second through fifth innings. But Anderson led off the top of the sixth with a line drive to center and came around to score on Annie Kate Dalton’s base hit up the middle, giving East Carolina a 1-0 lead.
Sawyer delivered the key blow in the sixth when she drilled a bases-loaded single to center to bring two runs in and make it a 3-0 game.
The Pirates had a 7-3 advantage in hits and had five hits over the final two innings. UAB’s best chance to score came in the bottom of the fifth, when Olivia Valbak laced a one-out double to right-center. But Bullis struck out the next batter and got a popup to third to bring the Pirates back to the dugout.
Kirby went the distance for the Blazers, allowing four runs and seven hits with three strikeouts, falling to 8-14. UAB saw its season end with a 23-29 record.
The latest information on the 2024 American Softball Championship can be found on the conference’s Championship Central site.
2024 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
May 8-11 | Wilkins Stadium | Wichita, Kansas
First Round – Wednesday, May 8 | ESPN+
Game 1 No. 7 East Carolina 4, No. 6 UAB 0
Game 2 No. 10 Memphis (6-43) vs. No. 3 North Texas (30-23) 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
Game 3 No. 8 South Florida (34-21) vs. No. 5 Tulsa (29-22) 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT
Game 4 No. 9 UTSA (15-41) vs. No. 4 Wichita State (25-21) 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT
Second Round – Thursday, May 9 | ESPN+
Game 5 East Carolina (38-18) vs. Game 2 winner 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT
Game 6 Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT
Semifinals – Friday, May 10 | ESPN+
Game 7 Game 5 winner vs. No. 2 Charlotte (36-16) 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT
Game 8 Game 6 winner vs. No. 1 Florida Atlantic (41-13) 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT
Championship Game – Saturday, May 11 | ESPN2
Game 9 Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner Noon ET/11 a.m. CT
