ECU’s baseball team got a strong performance from Ethan Norby to take Game 2 of the series with Florida Atlantic on Friday.
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Photo credit: (ECU Sports Information)
By ECU Sports Information
BOCA RATON, Fla. – The East Carolina Pirates (32-21-1, 16-10 American) secured the series victory over the Florida Atlantic Owls (28-26, 12-14 American) on Saturday evening, using a pivotal fifth inning to pull away for a 6-1 win.
ECU remains in second place in the American Athletic Conference standings and still holds an outside chance at a share of the regular season title.
Both teams were held scoreless through the first two innings. The Pirates threatened in the top of the second after Colby Wallace opened the inning with a single and Davin Whitakerfollowed with a walk. Brayden Bachmanadvanced both runners into scoring position with less than two outs, but ECU was unable to capitalize and stranded a pair.
Florida Atlantic broke through first in the bottom of the third. TJ Gramstad reached with a single to left, then advanced on a stolen base and a wild pitch before Kyle Boylston delivered an RBI single to third base to give the Owls a 1-0 advantage.
The Pirates answered immediately in the fourth. With two outs, Whitaker lined a single to right before Bachman ripped a double down the left field line on an 0-1 count, bringing Whitaker home from first to even the score at 1-1.
ECU took control in the fifth with a two-out rally. Pinch hitter Austin Irby started the inning with a leadoff single, and Nick Parham moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. After two quick outs, Jack Herring worked a walk and Jacob Starling Burress followed with another free pass to load the bases. Wallace continued his strong weekend at the plate, shooting a two-run single through the shift to give the Pirates a 3-1 lead.
The offense kept rolling from there. Whitaker followed with an RBI single up the middle to score Burress, and pinch hitter Michael Kalinichcapped the inning with an RBI single to right field, plating another run and extending the lead to 5-1.
Ethan Norby turned in another dominant performance on the mound, highlighted by a critical sixth inning. After FAU opened the frame with a double, Norby responded by striking out the next three batters in order to strand the runner in scoring position.
The Owls threatened again in the seventh after placing two runners on with one out, but Ethan Rose entered in relief and needed just two pitches to escape the jam, inducing an inning-ending double play.
ECU added an insurance run in the ninth. Burress reached after being hit by a pitch, and with two outs, Kalinich delivered again with a double to right-center field that scored Burress all the way from first to make it 6-1.
Joseph Webb closed out the final two innings for the Pirates, striking out the final two batters of the eighth before inducing three consecutive groundouts in the ninth to seal the win.
The series victory marks ECU’s first road series win of the season and the program’s first road series win since taking a series at UAB in Birmingham in mid-April of 2025.
Norby continued his impressive stretch, tossing 6.1 innings while allowing just four hits and one run with 10 strikeouts. The outing marked the fifth time this season Norby has reached double-digit strikeouts and his second consecutive start with 10 punchouts after accomplishing the feat against Rice last weekend.
The Pirate offense stayed productive throughout game two, finishing with 11 hits. Wallace led the way with a 3-for-5 performance and two RBI, while Kalinich went 2-for-3 with two RBI off the bench. Whitaker added two hits, an RBI, a walk and a run scored. Burress, Bachman, Irby and Parham accounted for the remainder of ECU’s offensive production.
ECU once again showcased its ability to deliver in clutch situations, with all six runs scoring with two outs. The Pirates improved to 26-8 this season when scoring at least one run with two outs in an inning.
East Carolina will look to complete the series sweep on Saturday afternoon in Boca Raton. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.