East Carolina looked good on offense and defense in beating South Florida, 9-4, in the opening round of the AAC Tournament.
Buccaneer Scoreboard – Paint It! ECU Baseball advances to the winner’s bracket on Thursday versus Charlotte as the AAC Tournament continues. pic.twitter.com/7R45Tv9AIZ
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) May 21, 2025
The win ties Pirates head coach Cliff Godwin with Dr. Gary Overton as the winningest baseball coach in school history. The Pirates (30-25), the No. 6 seed, will face No. 2 seed Charlotte on Thursday after getting Wednesday off.
More details are below from ECU Sports Information.
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Photo credit: (Conor Kvatek, AAC photo)
CLEARWATER, Fla. – No. 6 seed East Carolina pounded out 15 hits Tuesday night on the way to a 9-4 victory over No. 3 South Florida in the opening round of the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship presented by Regions inside BayCare Ballpark.
🏴☠️⚾️🔥 Two things about Braden Burress – he’s from Snow Hill, North Carolina and he can hit a baseball. That home run gives ECU Baseball an 8-0 lead over USF in the 5th inning. pic.twitter.com/5wzSCuJSTj
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) May 21, 2025
The Pirates (30-25) advance into the winners’ bracket and will face No. 2 seed Charlotte Thursday at approximately 4:30 p.m. The Bulls (29-24) now face an elimination game Wednesday afternoon opposite No. 7 seed Wichita State.
Ethan Norby was outstanding in his first start since the UTSA series, striking out the first six USF batters he faced and finishing with seven over 4.1 innings of work. Ethan Young (5-0) picked up the win in relief, allowing just one run and four hits over 3.1 frames while striking out four. Bulls ace Corey Braun (8-3) lasted just three innings as ECU touched him for seven runs (five earned) on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout.
Braden Burress continued his torrid season at the plate, registering his fourth four-hit effort of the year and scoring two runs as well as driving in a pair. Fellow rookie Austin Irby chipped in with three hits and a run scored while John Collins and Ryley Johnson concluded the evening with two hits and two RBI apiece.
Special moment between two ECU legends🤟 https://t.co/XIGJnTRLtc pic.twitter.com/U3mOK7QIAT
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) May 21, 2025
The Pirates opened the scoring quickly as Burress deposited the first pitch of the contest into center for a leadoff single. Then, with one away, Dixon Williams drew a walk, and Collins shot a single through the left side the load the bases. Wasting little time, Johnson tattooed the initial pitch of his at bat off the wall in right center to plate two and afford East Carolina a lead it would not relinquish. Colby Wallace made it three in the opening half inning with a textbook squeeze bunt that plated Collins from third.
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡.🔥🤟
Cliff Godwin has now tied Gary Overton as the winningest coach in ECU Baseball history #PIRATES pic.twitter.com/CXVd6AZvpQ
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) May 21, 2025
With Williams at first after beginning the third frame with a hit by pitch, Collins absolutely unloaded on an 0-2 offering and clobbered it over the fence in the deepest part of the park to extend the Pirate advantage to 5-0. RBI singles by Burress and Alex Peltier would leave ECU in front 7-0 through three complete.
Survive and advance🏴☠️⚾️#PIRATES pic.twitter.com/OnMgRbcLl3
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) May 21, 2025
Burress recorded a solo home run of his own in the top of the fifth before South Florida broke through with three runs in the bottom of the inning to slice its deficit to three. The Bulls loaded the bases with two outs in an attempt for more, but Young struck out Lance Trippel looking to terminate the rally.
A Wallace RBI single in the top of the eighth put the Pirate upper hand back at five but South Florida responded in kind with a run-scoring infield single in the home half before loading up the bases with two outs. Jake Hunter was up to the task though, notching a strikeout to preserve East Carolina’s four-run cushion.
The Bulls tried one last time to dent the scoreboard in the ninth, but Drew Downs, Burress and Wallace combined for a fantastic relay that nabbed Bradke Lohry’s attempt to stretch a double into a triple and Hunter induced a game-ending groundout to short.
2025 American Baseball Championship presented by Regions
BayCare Ballpark | Clearwater, Fla.
Tuesday, May 20
Game 1: No. 5 Tulane 6, No. 4 Florida Atlantic 3
Game 2: No. 1 UTSA 4, No. 8 Rice 2
Game 3: No. 2 Charlotte 7, No. 7 Wichita State 1
Game 4: No. 6 East Carolina 9, No. 3 South Florida 4
Wednesday, May 21
Game 5: No. 8 Rice vs. No. 4 Florida Atlantic | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 6: No. 7 Wichita State vs. No. 3 South Florida | 47 minutes after Game 5 | ESPN+
Thursday, May 22
Game 7: No. 5 Tulane vs. No. 1 UTSA | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 8: No. 6 East Carolina vs. No. 2 Charlotte | 47 minutes after Game 7 | ESPN+
Friday, May 23
Game 9: Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 5 | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 10: Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 6 | 47 minutes after Game 9 | ESPN+
Saturday, May 24
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 | 9 a.m. | ESPN+
Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10 | 47 minutes after Game 11 | ESPN+
Game 13: Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11 | TBD (if necessary) | ESPN+
Game 14: Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12 | TBD (if necessary) | ESPN+
Sunday, May 25
Game 15: Semifinal Winners | Noon | ESPNEWS and ESPN+
All times listed are Eastern.