Jake Hunter provided a big boost for the East Carolina baseball team in a 5-3 victory in 11 innings over Rice on Saturday.
Buccaneer Scoreboard – ECU Baseball scores the final five runs in game 2 unanswered to take the game and the series vs Rice in extra innings. Pirates go for the road sweep Sunday. pic.twitter.com/MmUD41BayB
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 30, 2025
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Photo credit: Jake Hunter (ECU Sports Information photo)
HOUSTON – The game of baseball has a way of rewarding those who put in the work selflessly day in and day out and that was certainly the case Saturday as senior RHP Jake Hunter’s late heroics lifted East Carolina past Rice 5-3 in 11 innings at Reckling Park.
Jake Hunter getting an AB is taking pitchers are athletes to another level pic.twitter.com/Iu6cSnlIJO
— Stephen Schoch (@bigdonkey47) March 30, 2025
The Pirates (17-10, 5-0 AAC) clinched their second league series of the season in as many tries after rallying from a 3-0 deficit in the eighth inning for their sixth come-from-behind win of the campaign.
WATCH: An emotional moment for Jake Hunter, as he records his first career plate appearance, gets his first career hit, then finishes off Rice on the mound to Paint This One Purple! pic.twitter.com/AER5OXYAGE
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 30, 2025
Not only did Hunter (2-2) enter the contest in a big spot and deliver 2.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts to earn the victory on the mound, but he also laced his first career single through the right side in his first career at bat before scoring his first career run in the decisive 11th frame. Ethan Young also contributed an important relief effort, holding the Owls (6-22, 1-4 AAC) to just one earned run over four frames and striking out three. Jackson Blank (0-4) surrendered two runs (one earned) in one inning to take the loss.
#SCTop10 🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️pic.twitter.com/gZQuSHBG9M
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 29, 2025
Colby Wallace posted a club-best three hits and drove in a run for ECU while Alex Bouche finished the evening with two hits and a run scored. Aric Anderson collected one of just three Rice base knocks and drove in a lone run.
Fear the stache.@JakeHunter_19 | #PIRATES https://t.co/NYhVvQw8Pa pic.twitter.com/4Ay2dSEtes
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) March 30, 2025
The Owls took advantage of two walks and a hit by pitch to claim an early 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the first. Both pitching staffs settled in over the next several frames as Rice starter J.D. McCracken fired zeros across all the way to the eighth inning.
You’ve seen him pitch tonight, you’ve seen him record a hit tonight, now watch @JakeHunter_19 score a run in the 11th inning pic.twitter.com/LW7ziuPeHd
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) March 30, 2025
A walk, stolen base and error allowed the Owls to extend the lead to 3-0 after a sacrifice fly in the home half of the seventh before the Pirates finally got to McCracken in the top of the eighth. Bouche began the rally with a one-out single and Braden Burress worked a walk to give East Carolina a pair of base runners. Bouche would scoot to third on a fly ball to right field and then scored on a wild pitch that also put Burress at second. Wallace followed with a double to the right center gap to plate Burress and make it a 3-2 contest.
Clutch‼️ @jackherring51 https://t.co/8iB6kN11ei pic.twitter.com/Dks9IbdcSx
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) March 30, 2025
After Hunter held the Rice side at bay in the bottom of the eighth, the Pirates knotted the score in the ninth. Kenan Bowman singled to lead off the half inning and Austin Irby was hit by a pitch with one out to move Bowman into scoring position. Pinch hitter Jack Herring then ripped a 2-1 offering into left center for a single to plate Bowman from second and tie the game. The Owls threatened to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth, getting a runner to second with one out, but Hunter dug down and registered a ground out before striking out Treyton Rank to send the sides to extras.
.@Cwall31_ smokes an RBI double and we’re got a 1-run ball game pic.twitter.com/RFuus4CSnd
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) March 29, 2025
Neither team produced much of anything in the 10th, but ECU dealt the final blow in the 11th. With Walker Barron on first and two away, Hunter fell behind 0-1 but shot a single past the first baseman to keep the inning alive. Bouche then singled to short, but the shortstop threw the ball into foul territory past first base which allowed Barron to score the go-ahead run. A strikeout looked to terminate the frame, but a wild pitch resulted in Hunter rumbling home from third to put the Pirates in front by two. Hunter left little for Rice in the bottom of the 11th, striking out the side to complete the epic comeback.
A wild pitch scores @bouche_alex and we’re on the board pic.twitter.com/44MIugaEjr
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) March 29, 2025
- Hunter is the first East Carolina pitcher to register a hit since Garrett Saylor did so in a 15-5 win over Cincinnati at the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship May 26, 2022.
- The Pirates are 5-0 in league play for the first time since 2021.
- ECU improved to 4-3 in true road games this season and 1-1 in extra innings.
- The Pirates won their seventh straight over the Owls, reducing Rice’s lead in the all-time series to 24-16.
- Dixon Williams and Burress have now reached base in 23 and 15 consecutive games, respectively.
Up Next: The Pirates and Owls wrap up the series Sunday at 2 p.m. EDT.