East Carolina University
Liberty
Late Inning Run Lifts Flames Over Pirates, 4-3
February 22, 2015 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Liberty scored in the top of the ninth on an East Carolina error and held off a late Pirate charge claiming a 4-3 victory Sunday afternoon at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium during the 12th Annual Keith LeClair Classic.
With the game knotted at three-all in the ninth, the Flames (3-3) plated the game-winning run when Aaron Stroosma singled home Tray Roberts with a shot back up the middle with the Pirates' (1-4) playing in. Clay Keranen got things going when he was hit by a pitch to start the frame before Roberts came in as a pinch runner. Nick Salisbury pushed Roberts over to second on a sac bunt and a Reid Love failed pickoff moved the runner within 90 feet of home.
Shawn Clowers (2-0) picked up the win tossing four innings of relief where he allowed one runs (unearned) on two hits with three strikeouts. Starter Parker Bean surrendered a pair of runs (both earned) on three this with five strikeouts and two walks in five full innings.
Love (0-1) suffered the loss in his first out this season working 1.2 innings allowing one run (earned) on two hits. Jacob Wolfe tossed a career-best 6.2 innings where he gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits with three punch-outs. Joe Ingle appeared in his second game working a third of an inning with a walk, while Jimmy Boyd allowed two hits and struck out one in one-third of a frame.
Luke Lowery continued his hot hitting on the young season belting his third home run in three consecutive at-bats staking ECU to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs, Bryce Harman was hit by a Bean pitch and came around to score on Lowery's two-run shot to left field.
Andrew Yacyk pulled Liberty within one on a solo shot in the top of the second to right field making it a 2-1 contest.
Liberty plated a run in the sixth on Becker Sankey's RBI single to right center that scored Alex Close and another in the seventh on Ingle's wild pitch giving the Flames a 3-2 lead. But ECU responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the frame knotting the game at three-all. Garrett Brooks walked and took second on Hunter Allen's sac bunt. Parker Lamm reached on a throwing error by Dalton Britt and scored on a safety squeeze off the bat of Charlie Yorgen.
ECU had a chance to tie the game in the bottom half of the ninth inning by playing small ball. Eric Tyler laced a pinch-hit single to right field and was immediately lifted for Jeff Nelson, who moved over to second on Allen's second sac bunt of the day and landed on third after Lamm's ground out to short. Yorgen stepped to the plate and hit a screamer right at the Flames first baseman where the ball bounced off his chest, but he was able to get the diving Yorgen out at first with a flip over to Clowers covering the bag to end the contest.
The Pirates managed just five hits with two coming from Lowery on the afternoon. Lamm extended his hit streak to five games with a single to right in the fifth inning, while Kirk Morgan had a base knock in the first frame to join Tyler in the hit club.
