East Carolina wrapped up its American Conference series with UAB with an 11-4 loss on Sunday.
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Photo credit: (ECU Sports Information)
The East Carolina Pirates (15-9-1, 2-1 American) were unable to complete the series sweep on Sunday afternoon, falling 11-4 to the UAB Blazers (14-10, 1-2 American) at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
UAB set the tone early for the third straight game, manufacturing a run in the top of the first inning behind a pair of walks and a timely single to take an early 1-0 lead.
The Blazers extended their advantage in the second inning with a decisive rally. A leadoff home run by Wesley Helms sparked the start, and UAB capitalized on additional traffic with hit-by-pitches and extra-base contact to plate four runs on two hits. The surge forced East Carolina into multiple pitching changes and pushed the deficit to 5-0.
The Pirates responded in the bottom half of the inning. Davin Whitaker worked a leadoff walk and advanced into scoring position following a Carlos Jacome single. Grady Lenahan brought Whitaker home with a sacrifice groundout to put ECU on the board.
East Carolina’s defense provided a spark in the third inning, turning a momentum-shifting double play to halt UAB’s offensive rhythm and record the first inning in which the Blazers neither scored nor left a runner on base.
Whitaker ignited another push in the fourth, leading off with a triple to right-center field. Lenahan followed by reaching on a miscue by the UAB shortstop, allowing Whitaker to score and trim the deficit to three.
UAB answered back in the fifth, as Alex Dupuy reached via hit-by-pitch and later came around to score on a double to left field, extending the lead to 6-2.
The Pirates continued to show flashes defensively, highlighted by a clean pitcher’s fielding play from Joseph Webb and a strong finish at the plate by Walker Barron to limit further damage in the middle innings.
However, the Blazers broke the game open in the seventh. Using a combination of walks and three singles, UAB plated multiple runs in the frame to stretch its lead from three to six and regain full control of the contest.
Whitaker remained a bright spot offensively, doubling down the right field line in the seventh to set up another scoring opportunity. Lenahan followed with an RBI double of his own, bringing Whitaker home for ECU’s third run of the day.
East Carolina added one more run in the eighth but was unable to mount a late comeback, as UAB closed out the game to secure the 11-4 victory.
Whitaker led the Pirates at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a triple, and a double while accounting for three of ECU’s four runs. Lenahan also turned in a productive day, driving in multiple runs and continuing his power surge with his second home run of the weekend—becoming the first Pirate this season to homer in consecutive games.
As a team, UAB outhit East Carolina 11-4 and scored in five of nine innings, including multiple runs in two frames. The Pirates, meanwhile, plated single runs across four separate innings but were unable to string together sustained offensive pressure.
East Carolina will look to bounce back on Tuesday, March 24, traveling to Durham for a midweek matchup with Duke before heading to San Antonio to face UTSA in the second weekend of American Athletic Conference play.