The East Carolina baseball team put a bow on the 22nd annual Keith LeClair Classic with an impressive 6-1 win over Virginia Tech on Sunday at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
ECU (5-6) held Virginia Tech to five hits. Virginia Tech (8-3) came into Sunday’s game batting .351.
Below is a full report from ECU Sports Information. Videos and photos are from Pirate Radio.
Buccaneer Scoreboard – ECU Baseball defeats Virginia Tech in the Keith LeClair Classic finale! pic.twitter.com/L8uxs8oAnt
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 2, 2025
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(Photo: ECU Sports Information)
East Carolina put together one of its best performances of the season in all aspects of the game Sunday afternoon, picking up a 6-1 victory over Virginia Tech to close out the LeClair Classic inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
🏴☠️⚾️ PAINT THIS ONE PURPLE! ECU Baseball defeats Virginia Tech in the finale of the Keith LeClair Classic! pic.twitter.com/MAKtvJowyA
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 3, 2025
With the victory, ECU finished the round-robin event at 2-1 while the Hokies and Kent State also won two of three.
The Pirates (5-6) shut down a high-powered Hokie (8-3) offense that entered the contest batting .351, limiting the visitors to five hits of which four were singles. Conversely, East Carolina collected eight hits including a double by Braden Burress and a two-run home run off the bat of Alex Bouche that opened the scoring in the fifth.
🏴☠️⚾️ Austin Irby and Michael Kalinich score on the Burress double, ECU Baseball leads Virginia Tech 5-1 in the 8th inning. pic.twitter.com/Le1ozAJegU
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 2, 2025
Ethan Young turned in another fantastic outing in middle relief, earning his first victory in a Pirate uniform by allowing just one earned run with six strikeouts in 3.1 innings. Brad Pruett locked down his first save with an identically long effort during which he scattered a single hit and struck out six. Grant Manning (1-1) was saddled with the loss after surrendering three runs on four hits with no walks and nine strikeouts in 4.0 frames.
🏴☠️📸 Game Day Pics by Michels & Gauquie https://t.co/h4axvyu4QS – Pirate Nation enjoying the sun as ECU Baseball vs Virginia Tech closes out the Keith LeClair Classic. See all of today’s fan pics here – https://t.co/uKWZGLXU5V pic.twitter.com/3gUWXI2CVF
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 2, 2025
Bouche and Dixon Williams chipped in with two hits apiece to pace the ECU offense while Burress scored a run and drove in two. Sam Tackett went 2-for-3 and accounted for Virginia Tech’s lone RBI.
Pirate starter Lance Williams retired the Hokies in order in the top of the first before stranding a runner at second via a looking strikeout in the top of the second. Young worked East Carolina out of another tight spot in the top of the fifth, leaving a pair of Virginia Tech runners in scoring position with a strikeout and an inning-ending groundout.
🏴☠️⚾️ Dixon Williams scores on the Kalinich sac fly to extend the ECU Baseball lead over Virginia Tech, pic.twitter.com/WwDFxlGcmo
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 2, 2025
ECU eventually broke the scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the fifth. Walker Barron sparked the rally with a one-out single to left center before Bouche got hold of a 1-0 pitch and sent it sailing into the Jungle in left to give the Pirates a 2-0 advantage. Tackett drew his club within a run in the top of the sixth via an RBI single, but Michael Kalinich restored the two-run margin with a sacrifice fly in the home half of the inning.
🏴☠️⚾️ Brad Pruett in for Ethan Youn in the sixth inning. pic.twitter.com/wCV1esq8i9
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 2, 2025
With Young and Pruett holding things down on the mound, East Carolina put the game away in the eighth with a three spot. Austin Irby led off with a single to left before Kalinich followed with a base knock right through the left side of the infield. A passed ball moved the runners into scoring position and the speedy Burress delivered a two-run double that tailed into the right center gap to make it 5-1. Kenan Bowman then wrapped up the scoring by walking, stealing second and crossing home on a throwing error. Pruett worked around a two-out single in the top of the ninth to wrap up the win.
🏴☠️⚾️💦 The Water Boy with the big splash into the Jungle as Alex Bouche gives ECU Baseball a 2-0 lead with a two run bomb. pic.twitter.com/XAcOJRqmUJ
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 2, 2025
- ECU improved to 5-3 inside Clark-LeClair Stadium this season and 63-14 since the start of the 2023 campaign.
- East Carolina reduced Virginia Tech’s lead in the all-time series to 9-7.
- The Pirate pitching staff held the Hokies to a 1-for-9 showing with runners in scoring position.
- Williams and Barron now both own seven-game hitting streaks while Barron has reached base safely in all 11 games this year.
🏴☠️⚾️👏 S-A-F-E-T-Y Dance! pic.twitter.com/NVCSxj5pAU
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) March 2, 2025
Up Next: East Carolina plays its second game of the season inside a minor league park Tuesday evening when it heads to Fayetteville for a non-conference contest versus Gardner-Webb. First pitch inside Segra Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m.