Virginia native, Brooke Swann

On paper, it looked like this might be the season when wins might actually come easy to the East Carolina
softball team. They had four strong seniors and a sophomore class that included three members of the 2007 C-USA
All-Freshman Team and last year's C-USA Freshman of the Year Toni Paisley.

But apparently nothing is meant to be smooth for the Lady Pirates. In February, after pitching in just five games, Paisley
suffered a season-ending injury. She was slated to be her team's No. 1 pitcher, so the Pirates did some major shuffling and tested
out their survival skills, digging down deep to put together a33-26 record by early May.

"For us it's just been a struggle all year," said head coach Tracey Kee. "We've just battled injuries, and any time you take out
your number one pitcher in our sport it just sets you up for a long season. I'm proud of this group, battling the way they have. We
could have easily had a losing record. They've just hung in there, showing true persistence and tenacity."

Their ability to work though hardships was symbolized clearly by two milestone wins on each end of April: a 3-1 victory
over No. 16 North Carolina on April 2 and a 4-l victory over No. 18 Virginia Tech on April 29. The trip to Blacksburg, above all,
gave Kee a flash of the potential she has glimpsed all season.

"I would say that was probably one of first times all year when we were really just flying on all cylinders," Kee said. "We
had good offense going, we had solid defense and Brooke Swann stepped up and probably threw the best game of her life. We've
been looking for that all year, so it was nice when it finally arrived. "I think before that we were just missing that one ingredient,whether it's been, we get good pitching but we don't swing the bat or vice versa."

Swann, a junior from Callao, Va., has ably stepped into the void left by Paisley with a 2l-l8 record and a 3.36ERA. Offensive
standouts have included senior Stacey Andrews, with a .346 average and l0 home runs, and sophomore Charina Sumner one of
three Hawaiians on the roster-with 59 hits and 23 RBIS.

Another key weekend for the team came on April 26 in Memphis, where the Lady Pirates came from behind twice to win
both games,9-4 and 12-11. That sweep was a pivotal confidence builder going into the final stages of the season, Kee said.
"We had a lot of confidence coming from Memphis," she said. "Those were two slug fests. In both games we came from
behind, so it was just the boost that we needed in order to carry over into Tech."

After ending the season with a three game home series against UAB, the Pirates had the chance to be seeded as high as
fourth or as low as eighth in the C-USA Tournament May 8-10 in Houston. But regardless of their success in the post season, Kee knew that they had the ingredients to build something solid in 2009.
"I still think all the pieces of the puzzle are there," she said. "lt's just a matter getting people healed over the summer and
getting back and just gearing it back up."

For Paige Baggett, a senior who came to ECU out of Conley High School, the season was a testament to her group's
teamwork and a chance for her and her fellow seniors to show time leadership.
"The loss of Toni, that broke our heart, but we just came together, and I think we realized how much more we had as a team,"
Baggett said. "I think it just made us stronger."

Junior Angel Barrella is another Lady Pirate who has seen evidence that even when a star goes down, a team is only as strong
as the composite of its players.
"We believe that everybody here can do it, so we have a nice slogan of '19 strong,' " Barrella said. "We take everything
that's happened to us, and we definitely don't forget it."

One thing Barella and the Pirates won't forget is an improbable run that earned them a bid to the NCAA Tournament. It
marked only the second bid in East Carolina history and it came during a season in which the Pirates battled through adversity and
injuries - but never gave up.

Read more from Bethany Bradsher on Bonesville.net.