The ECU baseball team continued its offensive power with a 17-3 win over Penn in seven innings on Friday.
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Photo credit: (ECU Sports Information)
Jack Herring’s grand slam in the fourth inning highlighted a nine-run frame leading East Carolina to a 17-3 seven-inning win over Penn Friday night at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. With the win, the Pirates improve to 11-7-1 on the year, while the Quakers drop to 2-9 and it marks the third consecutive win by 10 or more runs.
Leading by one, 4-3, in the bottom of the fourth, ECU scored nine runs taking a commanding 13-3 lead after sending 12 batters to the plate with the first eight reaching. Colby Wallace and Walker Barron laced consecutive doubles to start the frame putting runners at second and third for Braden Burress, who singled them both home with a shot down the left field line. Matthew Lashley doubled home Burress before Grady Lenahan was hit by a pitch and Austin Irby loaded the bases after reaching on a fielding error while trying move the runners up on a sac bunt. Herring took a 2-2 offering from Jack Moss to right-center clearing the bases. ECU would tack on two more runs thanks to Burress’ two RBI single that capped the inning.
Joseph Webb (2-2) earned the win tossing 2.2 innings of scoreless relief with five strikeouts. Ethan Norby worked 3.1 frames allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits with four punch outs and four walks. Alex Bouche made his Pirate debut on the mound working a scoreless seventh where he allowed one hit, walked two and struck out one.
Jake Moss (1-1) suffered his first loss of the season working just three innings where he surrendered 11 runs (10 earned) on 10 hits with a pair of strikeouts and two walks. Luke Pokrovsky gave up four runs (two earned) over two frames with a walk and three strikeouts, while Ben Moulin allowed two runs (both earned) on one hit with two punch outs and a walk.
Burress, Irby and Wallace each collected three hits to lead the Pirates, who tallied 16 on the night. Burress and Herring each drove in four runs, while Irby, Sabater and Wallace plated two each. Irby also scored a team-high four runs with Burress, Lashley and Herring crossing home twice.
The Pirates wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard plating four runs in the bottom of the first taking a 4-0 lead. Irby drove in Lenahan from second on a bloop single down the right field line for the games first run. Two batters later Bouche doubled home Irby and Sabater’s base knock up back up the middle scored both Herring and Bouche.
Penn responded in the top half of the second cutting the lead in half, 4-2. With two outs, Ryan Taylor reached on a walk, advanced to third on Nick O’Brien’s single to center and scored on a fielding error by Irby. O’Brien crossed home on and RBI base hit to center from Jay Secretarski.
Nick Spaventa put the Quakers within one, 4-3, on his second home run of the season sending a Norby 0-1 offering to deep right field in the top of the third frame.
Wallace’s third hit of the contest, a single off Pokrovsky’s foot that caromed into right field, scored Irby and Carlos Jacome for a 15-3 lead. Irby reached on a one-out infield single and moved into scoring position when Jacome was hit by a pitch.
Burress scored in the bottom of the sixth on a wild pitch during Irby’s at-bat before Irby blasted his third home run of the season making it a 17-3 ballgame.
ECU and Penn will resume the non-conference weekend series on Saturday, March 14 with a 4 p.m. (ET) schedule first pitch.