East Carolina University
Marshall
ECU Takes Series From Marshall, 5-1
March 29, 2009 | Baseball
March 29, 2009
CHARLESTON, WVa. -After an official 35 minute rain delay and a full 24 hours away from the ball park, No. 19 East Carolina took game two and a Conference USA series win over Marshall with a 5-1 victory of a suspended doubleheader at Appalachian Power Park Sunday morning.
With the win the Pirates improve to 20-4 overall and 5-0 in league play and recorded their 10th consecutive win, the longest win streak in the nation, while Marshall falls to 10-14 overall and 2-3 in C-USA action.
Knotted at one heading into the bottom of the seventh, ECU's Brad Mincey took the mound and retired the side just before Devin Harris blooped a game-winning single with two outs in the eighth to push across Ryan Wood for a 2-1 lead.
Brad Mincey (5-1) notched his fifth win of the season after working three scoreless innings where he fanned three and walked one in his eighth relief appearance of the season. Starter Seth Maness allowed one run on five hits with four strikeouts in six innings of work.
Austin Coan dropped to 2-2 on the season after surrendering four runs on three this with three walks and three punch outs in two innings. Marshall starter Dan Straily was impressive working seven full frames giving up one run on six hits, while fanning a career-high eight batters.
Victor Gomez put Marshall up 1-0 on a solo shot to left-center, his sixth of the season, in the bottom of the second inning.
Trailing 1-0 in the seventh, sophomore Austin Homan ripped a two-out double off the left field wall to score Jared Avchen from first base knotting the game at one each. Avchen recorded his third hit of the game, a single through the right side, with two outs and came around to touch home on Homan's 10th RBI of the season.
ECU pushed across three insurance runs in the ninth to take a 5-1 lead. Wood plated the first run of the frame when Cam Freeman scored from second after doubling down the right field line with one out. Trent Whitehead followed with a walk then moved to third on Wood's at-bat. Stephen Batts loaded the bases when he drew a free pass and Kyle Roller drove in the second run of the inning after being plunked by a Coan pitch. The final run of the frame came on Drew Schieber's fielder's choice that scored Wood.
