ECU Crushes West Virginia, 13-2
February 25, 2005 | Baseball
The Pirates hit five home runs on the day, including two-run shots by Jake Smith and Mark Minicozzi as well as solo blasts by Billy Richardson, Jay Mattox and Mike Grace.
ECU (4-3) recorded 21 hits en-route to the 11-run victory over the Mountaineers. The Pirates were able to plate runners in every inning but the bottom of the sixth.
Mattox let all Pirates with four hits, going 4-for-5 at the plate with two RBI and two runs. Richardson, Grace and Smith all finished the game 3-for-5. Richardson knocked in three runs while scoring one, Grace drove in three and scored two runs and Smith collected two RBI with two runs scored. Minicozzi (2-for-5, two RBI) and Dale Mollenhauer (2-for-5, one run) also collected multiple hits for ECU.
P.J. Connelly earned his second win of the season, tossing 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run on eight hits while striking out one and walking one. Brett Braxton came on in relief of Connelly, pitching 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit. The redshirt freshman right-hander struck out three of the six batters he faced while walking none. Will Anderson finished the game for ECU, throwing one inning, allowing one run on one hit with one strikeout and one walk.
Shawn Miller suffered the loss for West Virginia (2-4) pitching three innings, allowing eight earned runs on 11 hits with two walks and no strikeouts. Ryan Hill relieved Miller, allowing four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. Trent Ridgley also pitched 2/3 of an inning for the Mountaineers.
Lee Fritz led WVU with three hits, going 3-for-4 with one RBI while Michael Burger and Chad McKown each finished 2-for-4 on the day.
The Pirates did not waste any time getting on the board when Richardson led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run over the scoreboard in left. Drew Costanzo then singled to right and two batters later Grace doubled to right-center, scoring Costanzo to give ECU a 2-0 lead after one.
Mattox proceeded to lead off the second inning with a round-tripper identical to the one hit by Richardson in the first over the scoreboard in left. Brian Cavanaugh then reached second on an error by WVU shortstop Tyler Kuhn and scored on a Richardson double to right-center, giving the Pirates a 4-0 advantage.
East Carolina scored in its third consecutive inning when a Mattox double to shallow right scored Smith who had reached earlier on a double. Cavanaugh then singled to right, scoring Mattox for the Pirates sixth run of the game.
Minicozzi and Grace started the bottom of the fourth with consecutive doubles to left-center before Smith hit his second homer of the season, a two-run shot over the leftfield wall to push the Pirate lead to 9-0.
The Pirates went up 10-0 when Grace hit the Pirates' fourth homer of the game in the fifth with a line shot to left. After Costanzo walked to lead off the bottom of the seventh, Minicozzi hit the Pirates' fifth home run of the day to left-center.
In the eighth, Mollenhauer, who reached on a single earlier in the inning, scored from third on a Richardson single up the middle, pushing the lead to 13-1.
The Mountaineers first run came in the sixth when Fritz hit a bloop single to right, scoring Brandon Drespling who had doubled to lead off the inning. The second WVU run came in the top of the ninth when Doug Nelms singled to left to score David Carpenter from third.
ECU will face in-state foe N.C. State Saturday at 11 a.m. to begin the second day of the Homewood Suites Shootout presented by The Charleston Crab House.
The game will be the first of four meetings between the Pirates and the Wolfpack this season.
