GREENVILLE, N.C. – Taudrea Sinnie went 2-for-2 at the plate and Taylor Edwards hit a key three-run homerun to help East Carolina pull away and defeat UMass 8-1 in the opening game of the Purple-Gold Invitational on Friday evening inside Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.
 
The Pirates (17-5) were locked in a 1-1 tie through the first three innings but triples from Jocelyn Alonso and Bailee Wilson pushed the Pirates ahead 2-1 going into the fifth inning. UMass (5-10) picked up its lone run after a runner scored an unearned run due to a Pirate passed ball.
 
After keeping UMass from knotting the game in the top of the fifth, ECU would extend its lead to 5-1 after Edwards’ crushed a three-run homer to left field and the Pirates would tack on three more runs to head into the sixth inning with an 8-1 lead and would cruise to the win.
 
Addy Bullis (10-1) earned the win in the circle with six strikeouts and no earned runs while Julianne Bolton (2-5) gave up six earned runs in four innings for the loss. 
 
Up Next
East Carolina will face UMass again tomorrow at noon on ESPN+ and will take on Norfolk State for the first time at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+.