
ECU’s Season Ends In Greenville Super Regional
June 13, 2022 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, N.C. – No. 9 seed Texas scored nine runs in the first two innings and claimed the 2022 Greenville Super Regional over No. 8 National Seed East Carolina Monday morning at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. With their win, the Longhorns advance to the 38th College World Series that will begin later this week in Omaha, Neb.
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The Pirates, who won the American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championship, closed out the season with a 46-21 overall record which included a program-best 20 consecutive wins from April 29 to June 4. The 2022 club hosted ECU's fourth consecutive regional, advanced to their third-straight super regional and for the first time in program history it hosted a super regional in Greenville, N.C.
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After a near 90-minute lightning delay to start the contest, Texas wasted little time in cracking the scoreboard pushing across four runs in the first for a 4-0 lead. Douglas Hodo III reached on an infield single, stole second before Eric Kennedy walked. Ivan Melendez, the nation's leader in home runs, belted his 32nd of the season with a shot to left field. Murphy Stehly reached after being hit by a pitch chasing Beal from the game. Austin Todd moved Stehly to second on a sac bunt before Skyler Messinger singled him home. Then the 4-hour and 50 minute lightning delay, which turned into a rain delay halted the game with one out in the first frame.
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Tristan Stevens (7-6) earned the win allowing one run (earned) on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts over six innings. Travis Sthele tossed two scoreless innings of relief with a pair of punch outs, while Jared Southard closed out the game with a scoreless ninth and on strikeout.
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Danny Beal (5-2) suffered the loss giving up four runs (all earned) on two hits with a walk before being lifted for Trey Yesavage in the first. Yesavage was touched for three runs (all earned) on four hits with a pair of punch outs in one inning of relief. ECU would seven additional arms in relief from C.J. Mayhue (0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 Rs, 1 BB), Josh Grosz (0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K), Garrett Saylor (4.0 IP, 2 Hs, 1 R, 4 Ks), Merritt Beeker (0.1 IP, 1 BB), Zach Agnos (0.2 IP, 1 BB), Ben Terwilliger (1.0 IP) and Jake Kuchmaner (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 Ks).
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ECU responded with a run in the home half of the first making it a 4-1 ball game. Zach Agnos laced an opening frame single back up the middle and moved to third on Lane Hoover's base hit to right. Two batters later, Jacob Jenkins-Cowart plated Agnos with a sac fly to center.
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The Longhorns padded their lead with five runs in the second taking a 9-1 lead. Kennedy single to score Trey Faltine for the first run before Stehly's two-RBI double to center. A sac fly by Todd pushed across Kennedy and Messinger's RBI single to center scored Melendez to cap the frame.
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Texas added single runs in the fifth and ninth innings on solo home runs by Faltine (left field) and Silas Ardoin (right field) for an 11-1 final.
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Offensively the Pirates tallied five hits getting two from Agnos, who reached base four times in the contest. Hoover, Jenkins-Cowart and Josh Moylan also registered base knocks.
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ECU Post-Game Notes:
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The Pirates, who won the American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championship, closed out the season with a 46-21 overall record which included a program-best 20 consecutive wins from April 29 to June 4. The 2022 club hosted ECU's fourth consecutive regional, advanced to their third-straight super regional and for the first time in program history it hosted a super regional in Greenville, N.C.
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After a near 90-minute lightning delay to start the contest, Texas wasted little time in cracking the scoreboard pushing across four runs in the first for a 4-0 lead. Douglas Hodo III reached on an infield single, stole second before Eric Kennedy walked. Ivan Melendez, the nation's leader in home runs, belted his 32nd of the season with a shot to left field. Murphy Stehly reached after being hit by a pitch chasing Beal from the game. Austin Todd moved Stehly to second on a sac bunt before Skyler Messinger singled him home. Then the 4-hour and 50 minute lightning delay, which turned into a rain delay halted the game with one out in the first frame.
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Tristan Stevens (7-6) earned the win allowing one run (earned) on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts over six innings. Travis Sthele tossed two scoreless innings of relief with a pair of punch outs, while Jared Southard closed out the game with a scoreless ninth and on strikeout.
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Danny Beal (5-2) suffered the loss giving up four runs (all earned) on two hits with a walk before being lifted for Trey Yesavage in the first. Yesavage was touched for three runs (all earned) on four hits with a pair of punch outs in one inning of relief. ECU would seven additional arms in relief from C.J. Mayhue (0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 Rs, 1 BB), Josh Grosz (0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K), Garrett Saylor (4.0 IP, 2 Hs, 1 R, 4 Ks), Merritt Beeker (0.1 IP, 1 BB), Zach Agnos (0.2 IP, 1 BB), Ben Terwilliger (1.0 IP) and Jake Kuchmaner (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 Ks).
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ECU responded with a run in the home half of the first making it a 4-1 ball game. Zach Agnos laced an opening frame single back up the middle and moved to third on Lane Hoover's base hit to right. Two batters later, Jacob Jenkins-Cowart plated Agnos with a sac fly to center.
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The Longhorns padded their lead with five runs in the second taking a 9-1 lead. Kennedy single to score Trey Faltine for the first run before Stehly's two-RBI double to center. A sac fly by Todd pushed across Kennedy and Messinger's RBI single to center scored Melendez to cap the frame.
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Texas added single runs in the fifth and ninth innings on solo home runs by Faltine (left field) and Silas Ardoin (right field) for an 11-1 final.
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Offensively the Pirates tallied five hits getting two from Agnos, who reached base four times in the contest. Hoover, Jenkins-Cowart and Josh Moylan also registered base knocks.
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ECU Post-Game Notes:
- Sunday's game was the 67th of the season marking the most games played by a Pirate team in a single-season (previous was 66 in 2009) …
- Attendance Sunday was 5,787 marking the seventh-straight contest (all NCAA post-season games) with 5,000-plus …
- ECU's 46 wins on the season are tied for fifth-most in a single-season by a squad …
- Saylor finished the season with 108 strikeouts, which ranks seventh on ECU's single-season charts … His relief appearance on the night was his 39th tying Shane Mathews (2007) for the most in a season …
- Bryson Worrell belted 20 home runs on the year tying him for third on ECU's single-season charts with Tim Flaherty (1997) … His 40 career home runs rank fifth all-time in program history …
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Stevens, Tristan (7-6)
L: Beal, Danny (5-2)
Batting:
2B: Stehly, Murphy 1
HR: Melendez, Ivan 1 ; Ardoin, Silas 1 ; Faltine, Trey 1
RBI: Kennedy, Eric 1 ; Melendez, Ivan 3 ; Stehly, Murphy 2 ; Todd, Austin 1 ; Messinger, Skyler 2 ; Ardoin, Silas 1 ; Faltine, Trey 1
SH: Todd, Austin 1
SF: Todd, Austin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hodo III, Douglas 2 ; Kennedy, Eric 2 ; Melendez, Ivan 2 ; Stehly, Murphy 2 ; Ardoin, Silas 1 ; Faltine, Trey 2
SB: Hodo III, Douglas 1
HBP: Stehly, Murphy 2 ; Ardoin, Silas 1

Batting:
RBI: Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 1
SF: Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Agnos, Zach 1
SB: Agnos, Zach 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
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