ECU’s baseball team advanced to the American Conference tournament semifinals with a win over Rice. They will next face UTSA on Saturday at 10 a.m.
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Photo credit: Ethan Norby (ECU Sports Information)
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The No. 2 East Carolina Pirates opened postseason play with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over the No. 3 Rice Owls on Friday morning, advancing in the winner’s bracket of the American Conference Tournament.
ECU improves to 34-21-1 on the season and will return to action Saturday morning in the semifinal round against the winner of No. 1 UTSA and No. 5 Memphis.
Rice capitalized on a pair of early Pirate miscues in the opening inning to take a 1-0 lead despite not recording a hit. ECU threatened in the second after Walker Barron drew a walk, Austin Irby singled and Nick Parham worked another free pass to load the bases with two outs, but the Pirates were unable to bring a run across.
The Pirates responded in the third inning behind the bat of Jack Herring. Leading off the frame, Herring lofted a solo home run into left field to even the score at 1-1. Braden Burress followed with an infield single before advancing into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Davin Whitaker. With two outs, Burress came home on a pair of timely wild pitches, giving ECU its first lead of the afternoon at 2-1.
ECU added valuable insurance in the fourth inning with another two-out rally. Parham sparked the inning with a double down the right field line before Grady Lenahan answered with an RBI double to left. Herring continued his strong day at the plate with another double, bringing home Lenahan to extend the Pirate advantage to 4-1.
Rice began to chip away in the sixth inning after a leadoff single and a wild pitch put pressure on the ECU defense. The Pirates recorded two quick outs, but the Owls delivered their first extra-base hit of the game with an RBI double down the left field line to cut the deficit to 4-2.
The Pirate pitching staff managed to preserve the lead over the final innings. Ethan Norby made his first relief appearance of the season in the seventh and delivered 2.1 key innings out of the bullpen. Rice mounted one final threat in the ninth, placing runners on second and third before scoring on a wild pitch to make it a one-run game. With the tying run just 90 feet away, Norby shut the door with a strikeout looking to secure the victory and send ECU further into the winner’s bracket.
Ryan Towers earned the win after tossing 5.2 innings, allowing just four hits and one earned run while striking out five. Joseph Webb added a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts, while Norby collected his first save of the season after striking out four and allowing just one hit over 2.1 innings.
Herring led the Pirates offensively, finishing 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles and two RBI. ECU totaled eight hits on the day compared to Rice’s three and overcame early defensive mistakes with strong pitching and timely hitting down the stretch.
With the win, the Pirates remain unbeaten in postseason play and will face the UTSA Roadrunners in Saturday’s semifinal matchup at 10 a.m. EST.