GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina softball team bounced back after suffering its first loss of the season by routing Ohio and Army with a combined 23 runs during second-day action of the Holiday Inn Express Pirate Classic at the ECU Softball Field Saturday afternoon.

Fordham snapped the Pirates' eight-game season-opening winning streak with a 2-1 victory during morning play. The Rams led off the game with a solo home run by Katie Davis to give Fordham a 1-0 advantage before ECU tied the game in the fifth inning on freshman Beth Nolans' solo shot to left-center field.

Fordham pushed across the game-winner in bottom of the sixth, using a one-out double by Laura Klaiber to score Jamie Dautel. Keli Harrell (3-1) took her first loss of the season for the Pirates despite fanning seven while only surrendering four hits.

East Carolina quickly regrouped with a 9-0 win over Ohio later in the afternoon, scoring seven runs on four hits in the bottom half of the first to take a commanding lead. The Pirates were led by senior Kate Manuse, who went 2-of-3 with two RBI. Junior Stephanie Hayes (3-0) earned the win, hurling five shutout innings until the game was called after the top of the fourth when the eight-run tournament mercy rule was enforced.

The Pirates closed out Saturday's action with a 14-6 triumph against Army, rallying back from an early 4-0 deficit after allowing a Lindsey Gerheim grand slam homer in the first inning. ECU battled back in the third frame with three runs, two of which came off Shirley Burleson's two-run double, to trim the margin to one.

The Pirates took the lead for good in the top of the fourth when they scored five runs on four hits to take an 8-4 advantage. Army picked up one in the fourth and one in the fifth to narrow the gap to just two, but East Carolina tapped on six more runs to seal the game at 14-6.

Burleson went 3-of-4 with six RBI to lead ECU offensively and joined four other Pirates' batters with multi-hit performances to guide the Pirates to their tenth win of the year. Brently Bridgeforth (3-0) remained unbeatean as she scattered only five hits in five innnings of work.

East Carolina (10-1) will complete tournament pool play Sunday morning when it faces Ohio at 11 o'clock at D.H. Conley High School before opening championship round play later in the afternoon.

Holiday Inn Express Pirate Classic

Saturday Februrary 19th Results:

College of Charleston 10, Villanova 0
Ohio 10, Fordham 6
College of Charleston 11, Army 2
Fordham 2, ECU 1
Towson 6, Army 3
Radford 1, Villanova 0 (9 Innings)
ECU 9, Ohio 0
Towson 8, Radford 1
ECU 14, Army 6

Sunday February 20th

ECU Field

9:00 #4 Villanova vs. #5 Fordham
11:00 #1 Collge of Charleston vs. Army
1:00 4-5 Game Winner vs. 1-8 Game Winner
3:00 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (Winners of 1 p.m. games)

D.H. Conley High School Field

9:00 #3 Towson vs. #6 Radford
11:00 #2 ECU vs. #7 Ohio
1:00 3-6 Game Winner vs. 2-7 Game Winner