The East Carolina baseball team began defense of its five-time AAC regular-season championship with a 3-2 win over Memphis on Friday at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Below is more information from ECU Sports Information. Videos are from Pirate Radio.
Buccaneer Scoreboard – Paint it! ECU Baseball with a 3-2 win over Memphis to start AAC play. pic.twitter.com/zFSecXWm8t
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 22, 2025
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Photo credit: Ethan Norby (ECU Sports Information photo)
Five-time defending American Athletic Conference regular-season champion East Carolina began the hunt for another league title on a high note Friday night, winning a 3-2 thriller over Memphis inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
🏴☠️⚾️👏 A trip around The Jungle puts a cap on the game one W for ECU Baseball. pic.twitter.com/AIJvagfrlK
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 22, 2025
The Pirates (13-9, 1-0 AAC) utilized a strong start by reigning AAC Pitcher of the Week Ethan Norby and some early offense to seize control before turning it over to Ethan Young who covered the final 3.2 innings without allowing a run and striking out five against no walks to cement his second save of the campaign.
🏴☠️⚾️🤝 Never Take This For Granted. pic.twitter.com/K5imVCNZiU
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 22, 2025
Norby (3-2) allowed just two earned runs in 5.1 frames, scattering four hits and striking out five with two walks. Seth Garner (2-2) was tagged with the loss after surrendering three runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts in four innings.
Colby Wallace and Braxton Tramel rapped out a pair of hits each to pace the ECU lineup while Shane Cox collected two hits, a run scored and an RBI for the Tigers (11-10, 0-1 AAC).
DIESEL. 🔥 @ethanyoung1
Pirates Win! pic.twitter.com/1AmINGpjVr
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) March 22, 2025
Norby worked around an error to post a scoreless top of the first before Braden Burress drilled a 1-0 pitch into the left center gap for a leadoff double in the home half of the frame. A groundout moved him to third and he would score via a Walker Barron RBI groundout to leave the Pirates ahead 1-0 through one complete.
🏴☠️📸 Game Day Pics by Michels & Gauquie https://t.co/h4axvytx1k – Pirate Nation on hand for Friday night baseball between ECU and Memphis in AAC action. See all of this weekend’s fan pics here – https://t.co/SOHy2e9tP6 pic.twitter.com/ft5U2a3Bt1
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 22, 2025
Memphis grabbed a brief 2-1 advantage thanks to a duo of solo home runs in the second and fourth innings, but East Carolina responded with a two spot in the bottom of the fourth to snag the lead for good. Wallace took the first pitch of the half inning to the wall in center field for a leadoff double, advanced to third on a fly out to right and scored on an Alex Bouche single into right center. Tramel followed with a single of his own to get Bouche 90 feet away and Alex Peltier drove a ball far enough into left field for a sacrifice fly which turned out to be the decisive RBI in the contest.
🏴☠️⚾️Ethan Young comes in for Ethan Norby in the top of the sixth inning. Pirates lead 3-2. pic.twitter.com/hgJjxGjVzT
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 21, 2025
The Tigers looked to rally in the top of the ninth as Justin Fogel and Cox hit consecutive seeing-eye singles through the infield to begin the frame. Young mustered up a strikeout for the first out and induced a ground ball out to first that moved the runners into scoring position. The junior then got ahead of Cade Greer 0-2 before unleashing a breaking ball that was swung on and missed to end the night.
🏴☠️⚾️S-A-F-E-T-Y dance time at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Pirates lead 3-2. pic.twitter.com/yjEPjbVDY7
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 21, 2025
- East Carolina won its American Athletic Conference opener for the first time since 2021 which is also the last time the Pirates began league play at home.
- ECU converted all three of its opportunities with a runner on third and less than outs while holding Memphis to 0-for-5 efficiency with runners in scoring position.
- The Pirates picked up their 11th-straight victory over Memphis and improved to 50-19 in the all-time series.
- The East Carolina pitching staff struck out double-digit batters for the 11th time this season.
- Burress extended his hitting streak to six games while Dixon Williams reached base for the 18th-straight contest.
🏴☠️📸 Game Day Pics by Michels & Gauquie https://t.co/h4axvytx1k – Pirate Nation on hand for Friday night baseball between ECU and Memphis in AAC action. See all of this weekend’s fan pics here – https://t.co/SOHy2e9tP6 pic.twitter.com/m9J3zvsIX4
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 21, 2025
Up Next: ECU looks to cement its first AAC series victory of the year when it faces Memphis Saturday at 4 p.m.