ECU’s baseball team completed its sweep of South Florida with the completion of Game 3 of the series on Sunday.
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Photo credit: (ECU Sports Information)
After a 16-hour weather delay halted action late Saturday night, the East Carolina Pirates (28-16-1, 12-6 American) returned to Clark-LeClair Stadium on Sunday afternoon and picked up right where they left off, defeating the South Florida Bulls (28-15, 7-11 American) 12-2 in run-rule fashion to secure a weekend sweep.
Play resumed in the bottom of the third inning with the Pirates already threatening. Prior to the delay, Walker Barron singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Matthew Lashley, while Michael Kalinich worked a walk to put runners on first and second with one out.
When play resumed, Austin Irby reached on a fielder’s choice to place runners on the corners. Braden Burress then drew a walk to load the bases, and Davin Whitaker delivered with an infield single to score Barron and extend the lead. The Pirates closed the inning with a 7-2 advantage after finally completing the frame following the lengthy delay.
On the mound, Joseph Webb turned in a dominant relief performance in his second appearance of the weekend. Entering in the fourth inning, Webb struck out the side and went on to toss a season high five shutout innings, allowing no hits while striking out six to earn the win. Webb currently hold six wins on his record, holding the most wins on the current Pirate pitching staff in his 21 appearances.
East Carolina continued to build its lead in the fourth inning when Jeff Sabater reached on a walk and advanced on a passed ball before Barron delivered an RBI single through the right side.
The Pirates added two more runs in the fifth, capitalizing on patience at the plate. Burress opened the inning with a walk, Whitaker followed with a single, and Jack Herring drove in a run with a base hit. A failed pickoff attempt by South Florida allowed another run to score, pushing the lead to 10-2.
East Carolina kept the pressure on in the sixth as Burress doubled down the line and later scored on Herring’s RBI single, extending the advantage to 11-2.
After being held scoreless in the seventh, the Pirates ended the game in the eighth. Burress was hit by a pitch to start the inning and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Whitaker. Herring then delivered again, lining a walk-off RBI single up the middle to enforce the run rule and clinch the 12-2 victory.
Offensively, East Carolina tallied 15 hits, led by Herring’s four-hit, five-RBI performance. Burress reached base five times and scored four runs, while Whitaker added two hits and an RBI.
The Pirates’ pitching staff was equally effective, limiting South Florida to just three hits on the day. Webb’s five shutout innings out of the bullpen highlighted the effort.
With the win, East Carolina not only completed the series sweep but also recorded its second sweep of the season, helping move up the conference rankings, now sitting no games back against UAB and UTSA.