The season came to an end for the ECU baseball team after its second loss to host North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Regional. The Pirates stayed alive with a win over VCU to set up the second meeting with UNC.
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Photo credit: (ECU Sports Information)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The East Carolina Pirates (38-24-1) wrapped up their 2026 campaign Sunday at the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional, splitting a pair of games with a dominant victory over VCU before falling to No. 5 national seed North Carolina later in the evening.
GAME ONE: East Carolina 10, VCU 0
The Pirates wasted no time offensively, jumping on VCU in the opening inning. Grady Lenahan drew a leadoff walk before Braden Burress followed with another free pass just three batters into the game. ECU capitalized with two outs as Michael Kalinich delivered an RBI single to score Lenahan from second and move Burress to third. After Colby Wallace was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Austin Irby attacked the first pitch he saw and drove in two more runs to give the Pirates an early 3-0 lead.
Ethan Rose controlled the game from the mound early, stranding Rams runners in scoring position across the first three innings. Rose recorded strikeouts to end both the second and third innings, shutting down any momentum VCU tried to build.
East Carolina threatened again in the fourth, loading the bases with one out, but the Rams escaped with a double play to keep the score at 3-0.
The Pirates broke things open in the fifth. Davin Whitaker worked a leadoff walk before Kalinich collected his second hit of the day. Irby continued his strong postseason performance with an RBI single through the right side to score Whitaker and extend the lead to 4-0.
ECU kept the pressure on as Walker Barron reached on a VCU miscue to load the bases. Nick Parham then drew his third walk of the game to force in another run and push the advantage to 5-0.
The Pirates added three more runs in the sixth inning. Burress opened the frame with ECU’s first extra-base hit of the day, a double to left field, before Whitaker followed with an RBI single up the middle. Kalinich stayed hot with his third hit of the contest, reaching base in all four of his plate appearances.
After Wallace moved runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, Irby was hit by a pitch to load the bases once again. Barron lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right field to score another run, and Parham capped the inning with an RBI single to right.
The ECU defense continued to shine in the seventh, turning a key double play before the Pirates added two final runs in the bottom half. Lenahan scored on a wild pitch before Kalinich doubled home Burress to secure the 10-0 run-rule victory.
The shutout marked East Carolina’s first NCAA Tournament shutout since the Pirates defeated Columbia 9-0 in the 2008 Conway Regional.
Rose earned his fourth victory of the season after throwing a career-high 5.0 innings and 90 pitches. Kalinich led the offense with a perfect 4-for-4 performance, scoring three runs and driving in two. Irby finished with three RBI, while Burress added two hits and scored three times.
GAME TWO: North Carolina 9, East Carolina 3
North Carolina capitalized early in the nightcap, taking advantage of a Pirate defensive miscue in the opening inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, an infield error allowed the Tar Heels to grab the lead before Tyler Howe followed with a two-run single to make it 3-0 after the first.
UNC continued to apply pressure in the second inning, loading the bases again and adding two more runs to extend the advantage to 5-0.
The Pirates responded in the third when Grady Lenahan launched a two-out solo home run, his ninth of the season and second against the Tar Heels this year, cutting the deficit to 5-1.
North Carolina answered immediately, however, plating three runs in the bottom of the third on a two-run single and a sacrifice fly to stretch the lead to 8-1.
Joseph Webb provided a spark out of the bullpen in the fourth, retiring three straight Tar Heel batters and delivering the first scoreless inning UNC had faced all night.
East Carolina chipped away in the fifth. Walker Barron singled to left field and later advanced to second on a wild pitch before Lenahan drove him home with an RBI single to right. Kalinich followed with another RBI single up the middle to trim the deficit to 8-3.
After a scoreless sixth inning, the Tar Heels added one final insurance run in the seventh on Jake Schaffner’s RBI double, their first extra-base hit of the contest.
North Carolina closed out the 9-3 victory to advance to the NCAA Super Regional round.
East Carolina concludes the 2026 season with 38 victories while capturing both a share of the American Conference regular-season championship and the conference tournament title, becoming just the second team in the Cliff Godwin era to accomplish both feats in the same season. This was also the seventh consecutive Regional Final for the Pirates.
Michael Kalinich, Braden Burress and Jeff Sabater were each named to the Chapel Hill Regional All-Tournament Team following their performances throughout the weekend.