Pirates Beat Michigan 2-1 at Clark-LeClair Stadium Opener
March 04, 2005 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, N.C.--In front of a school-record 4,410 in attendance, East Carolina defeated Michigan 2-1 Friday in the first game ever played at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Mark Minicozzi singled home Billy Richardson in the bottom of the eighth to break a 1-1 tie to give the Pirates the one-run victory in the Keith LeClair Classic opener.
Both starters pitched well in the Classic opener. P.J Connelly tossed seven innings, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out five and walking two. Michigan starter Michael Penn went 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on just two hits while striking out six and walking one.
Richardson, Minicozzi and Jay Mattox collected ECU's three hits on the day. Michigan's Kyle Bohm was the only player to collect multiple hits in the game, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate. Matt Butler and Alex Martin also collected hits for the Wolverines.
East Carolina (6-3) scored the first run at Clark-LeClair Stadium in the bottom of the third. Jay Mattox singled and moved to third on consecutive fielder's choices before Billy Richardson brought him home on a sacrifice fly to right.
Michigan (3-2) got a run back in the fifth when Butler singled to right-center, scoring Martin who led off the inning with a double.
Game two of the Classic matches Ohio State and No. 7 Georgia while the final game on Friday features No.4 North Carolina and Arizona State.
Clark-LeClair Stadium Game Notes
First pitch: Friday, March 4, 2005, 11:07 a.m., P.J. Connelly ball to Butler
First out: Butler (UM) ground out to second in the top of the first
First hit: Kyle Bohm (UM), single to center off P.J. Connelly in the top of the second
First run: Jay Mattox (ECU), Billy Richardson sacrifice fly to right off Michael Penn in the bottom of the third
Attendance: 4,410
Game time: 2:26
Umpires: Rhett Raynor, Mac Stokes, Steve Sanders
Winning Pitcher: T.J. Hose (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Michael Penn (1-1)
Game Two: Georgia 4, Ohio State 3
Georgia/ Ohio State Box
Georgia held off a late Ohio State charge to win 4-3 in the second game of the Keith LeClair Classic Friday afternoon at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Georgia (7-1) used two round-trippers and a solid performance from Will Startup in relief to take the victory.
Bobby Felmy led Georgia going 3-for-4 while five other Bulldogs collected hits en route to the one run win. Wes Schirtzinger and Ronnie Bourquin each collected two hits to lead the Buckeyes.
Startup, who relieved starter Sean Ruthven in the second inning, tossed 5 2/3 shut-out innings to earn his first win of the season. Ruthven lasted only 1 1/3 after allowing one run on four walks and one hit. Startup allowed just three hits while striking out two Buckeye batters. Mike Madsen went five innings for OSU, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking four.
Ohio State (1-2) picked up a run in the top of the second when Schirtzinger singled to score Zoeller who reached on a walk and moved over to third on a wild pitch and a based ball.
Georgia responded with a big inning in the third when Derek Smith hit the first Clark-LeClair Stadium home run with a three-run shot over the wall in right, putting the Bulldogs up 3-1.
UGA added a run in the fifth when Josh Morris hit the second Bulldog homer over the rightfield wall, increasing the lead to 4-1.
The Buckeyes cut the lead to one in the eighth with a two-out double by Jedidiah Stephen, scoring Matt Angle and Ronnie Buorquin who both singled earlier in the inning.
Game Three: Arizona State 4, North Carolina 3
Arizona State/ North Carolina Box
North Carolina and Arizona State took a 3-3 tie into the bottom of the 11th inning before a bases loaded wild pitch brought home the winning run for the Sun Devils in the final game on opening day of the Keith LeClair Classic.
The first extra inning game in Clark-LeClair Stadium history lasted nearly four hours and saw a combined 14 walks and just 11 total hits between the two clubs.
Jason Urquidez (3-2) earned his third win of the season tossing 5 1/3 innings in relief without allowing a hit while striking out nine and walking three. Bryan Phillips took the loss, giving a up a run in 11th on the wild pitch. UNC starter Andrew Miller set a new career-high with 12 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings pitched. Miller allowed two earned runs on six hits while walking four ASU batters. Zechry Zinicola took the mound for the Sun Devils, pitching 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits while walking four and striking out five.
Sferra and Buck each collected two hits for ASU while only Greg Mangum, Justin Webb and Chad Flack recorded a hit for UNC.
Arizona State got on the board in the bottom of the second when Willy Fox scored on a double steal with Jeff Landry advancing to second.
North Carolina took a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth with two home runs. Justin Webb hit a deep solo shot over the wall in left-center to tie the game 1-1 before Flack hit a two-run homer over the wall in left-center.
The Sun Devils tied the game up in the bottom of the seventh at 3-3. Travis Buck doubled to center, scoring Sferra who reached earlier on a single. Jeff Larish then singled two batters later to drive in Buck for Arizona State's third run of the game.
Saturday's Keith LeClair Classic schedule features Georgia and Michigan at 11 a.m., North Carolina and Ohio State at 2 p.m. and Arizona State and ECU in the final game at 5 p.m.
