Pirates take series opener against Wichita State

The East Carolina Pirates (23-15-1, 8-5 American) overcame a short deficit from the Wichita State Shockers (23-16, 7-6 American) and emerged victorious in the series opener of the weekend, 7-1.

The Shockers started the first inning quickly, gaining a walk and a hit by pitch for two runners on. With a wild pitch, the runners moved into scoring position, and a single pulled to the left side scored one to put Wichita State up. Luke Payne was able to get the Pirates out of the half inning with a third-out strikeout.

The Pirates stay unanswered in the bottom of the first with two deep outs from Jack Herring and Braden Burress.

East Carolina’s defense had a little trouble in the second. With the Shockers finding themselves with bases loaded, Gavin Marley comes in with the pressure and gets out of a jam with a forced shallow ball and a strikeout to leave Wichita State stranded.

The momentum shifted to the Pirates offensively, starting with Grady Lenahan having his first at-bat after taking a rest on Tuesday, forcing a walk. Austin Irby was able to place the ball in the field for a miscue on the Shockers for two runners on. With a fielder’s choice to move Lenahan to third, Walker Barron notched a single up the middle to even the score 1-1.

The third and fourth innings stayed quiet for both the Shockers and the Pirates, but the fifth inning broke it open for East Carolina. Barron led off the inning with a very shallow single to the third baseman, beating the throw. With Nick Parham successfully putting down a sacrifice bunt, Barron was now in scoring position. With two out, Jack Herring kills a ball deep to right center, over the scoreboard to give the Pirates the go-ahead runs to take the lead 3-1.

While the Shockers stay scoreless in the sixth, the Pirates give a little more offensively. Michael Kalinich gives a hard hit ball to the first baseman to force an error for a base. Pinch runner Jeff Sabater, moving to second on a wild pitch, gave Colby Wallace the time for a single to left field, scoring the fourth run of the game for the Pirates.

The Pirates busted the game wide open for their final at-bats in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Brayden Bachman started by forcing a walk for the Pirates. With a hit-by-pitch on Lenahan, one base runner quickly became two. Irby successfully downed a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Wallace came back up to bat, lining deep into left field, deep enough for a sacrifice fly to score Bachman. Barron makes it back on base with two outs due to a miscue from the Shockers’ pitcher. Nick Parham answers for the Pirates, smashing a double down the left field line to score both runs on base.

The Pirates finish the game with six hits, seven RBI, and overcome the Shockers 7-1. Ethan Rose gained his third win for the Pirates, with Joseph Webb solidifying the save. The bullpen worked overtime tonight, starting with Gavin Marley relieving Luke Payne in the second. Marley went 3.0 innings, only giving up one hit, no runs, and no walks, while striking out four. The winning pitcher, Rose, went 1.1 innings, with two hits, no runs, and striking out one in his stat line. Webb gained his second save of the season, going 3.1 innings, giving up only one hit and six strikeouts on the day.

Barron handled the Pirates offensively, going 2-for-4 on the day with one RBI. Herring jacked his seventh home run over the scoreboard, adding two RBI. Wallace, Parham, and Burress rounded up the Pirate offense, each notching a hit.

The Pirates are back in Clark LeClair Stadium on Saturday, hoping to solidify the series in two games. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. EST.