No. 6 East Carolina Advances to American Softball Semifinals with 4-3 win over No. 3 Charlotte

TAMPA, Fla. – East Carolina overcame a two-run deficit to defeat No. 3 Charlotte 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the American Softball Championship at the USF Softball Stadium on Thursday.

The Pirates advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2017 to play No. 2 South Florida tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Charlotte took the lead in the bottom of the third, using a two-run double to the left field wall from American Player of the Year Jenna Lord, to break the scoreless tie and put the 49ers up 2-0.

Anna Sawyer put the Pirates on the board in the top of the fourth inning with a solo home run to centerfield.

The Pirates took the lead in the top of the fifth, loading the bases before Logan Sutton was hit by a pitch to tie the game. Sawyer hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score the go-ahead run and give the Pirates the lead.

Emma Jackson increased the Pirate lead to two runs with an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning.

Charlotte would cut the deficit to one run with an RBI single from Lord in the bottom of the seventh, but a pop up to shortstop ended the brief rally.

Taylor Apple (13-8) earned the win for the Pirates, tossing the complete game with four strikeouts.

2025 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship

May 7-10, 2025

USF Softball Stadium | Tampa, Florida

Wednesday, May 7 | First and Second Round

Game 1: No. 8 Tulsa 1, No. 9 UTSA 0

Box Score | Highlights | Recap

Game 2: No. 10 Memphis 6, No. 7 UAB 5

Box Score | Highlights | Recap

Game 3: No. 5 Wichita State 5, No. 8 Tulsa 2

Box Score | Highlights | Recap

Game 4: No. 6 East Carolina 7, No. 10 Memphis 1

Box Score | Highlights | Recap