Saturday, February 17
Greenville, N.C.
2:00 p.m.
East Carolina University
2-0
7
vs
0
Rider
0-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Rider
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
East Carolina
0
2
4
1
0
0
0
0
X
7
12
1
No. 11 ECU Blanks Rider 7-0 To Clinch Series
February 17, 2024 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Sophomore LHP Zach Root set the tone Saturday from a blustery Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium as No. 11 East Carolina notched a 7-0 victory over Rider to clinch its first series win of the season.
The Pirates (2-0) will reconvene Sunday at 1 p.m. in an attempt to record their 10th series sweep since the start of the 2023 campaign.
Root (1-0), on a predetermined pitch count, collected his first victory of 2024 on the bump as he fired across 4.2 solid innings and finished with a career-high seven strikeouts while scattering three hits. Jaden Winter, Erik Ritchie and Drew Bryan combined to limit the Broncs (0-2) to just two hits the rest of the way. The trio also registered six strikeouts. PJ Craig (0-1) took the loss, surrendering seven runs (all earned) on nine hits with three walks and no strikeouts.
Ryley Johnson, Jacob Starling and Carter Cunningham all concluded the day with two-hit performances as Starling and Cunningham also both clubbed their first home runs of the year. A quintet of Rider players all produced a single apiece while the squad as a whole drew just one walk against 13 strikeouts.
Both starting pitchers sailed through the opening frame, but ECU's offense revved up in the second inning as Cunningham greeted Craig with a first pitch opposite field bomb over the left field fence to put the Pirates ahead 1-0. Dixon Williams and Luke Nowak followed with consecutive walks before Ryan McCrystal laid down a textbook sac bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Joey Berini then delivered an RBI groundout to plate Williams and leave East Carolina with a 2-0 advantage.
The bottom of the third began just like the second as Starling blasted a 1-2 offering well over the left field wall to make it a 3-0 contest. Justin Wilcoxen kept the line moving with a four-pitch walk and Jacob Jenkins-Cowart roped a double down the left field line to put the Pirates in business. A Cunningham RBI groundout and subsequent Williams run-scoring single pushed the ECU edge to 5-0 before McCrystal polished off the half inning with a first-pitch RBI single to shallow center.
Runs were scarce the rest of the way as Starling led off the fourth with a single and later scored on a wild pitch to provide the game's final run. The Pirate bullpen entered lockdown mode from there and held the Broncs to just a pair of singles in the final five innings.
The Pirates (2-0) will reconvene Sunday at 1 p.m. in an attempt to record their 10th series sweep since the start of the 2023 campaign.
Root (1-0), on a predetermined pitch count, collected his first victory of 2024 on the bump as he fired across 4.2 solid innings and finished with a career-high seven strikeouts while scattering three hits. Jaden Winter, Erik Ritchie and Drew Bryan combined to limit the Broncs (0-2) to just two hits the rest of the way. The trio also registered six strikeouts. PJ Craig (0-1) took the loss, surrendering seven runs (all earned) on nine hits with three walks and no strikeouts.
Great outing for @ZachRoot07 🔥🏴☠️
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) February 17, 2024
7 K's and 0 runs allowed in 4.2 innings pic.twitter.com/5vfsWCCwBU
Ryley Johnson, Jacob Starling and Carter Cunningham all concluded the day with two-hit performances as Starling and Cunningham also both clubbed their first home runs of the year. A quintet of Rider players all produced a single apiece while the squad as a whole drew just one walk against 13 strikeouts.
Both starting pitchers sailed through the opening frame, but ECU's offense revved up in the second inning as Cunningham greeted Craig with a first pitch opposite field bomb over the left field fence to put the Pirates ahead 1-0. Dixon Williams and Luke Nowak followed with consecutive walks before Ryan McCrystal laid down a textbook sac bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Joey Berini then delivered an RBI groundout to plate Williams and leave East Carolina with a 2-0 advantage.
The bottom of the third began just like the second as Starling blasted a 1-2 offering well over the left field wall to make it a 3-0 contest. Justin Wilcoxen kept the line moving with a four-pitch walk and Jacob Jenkins-Cowart roped a double down the left field line to put the Pirates in business. A Cunningham RBI groundout and subsequent Williams run-scoring single pushed the ECU edge to 5-0 before McCrystal polished off the half inning with a first-pitch RBI single to shallow center.
Runs were scarce the rest of the way as Starling led off the fourth with a single and later scored on a wild pitch to provide the game's final run. The Pirate bullpen entered lockdown mode from there and held the Broncs to just a pair of singles in the final five innings.
- East Carolina improved to 10-0 all-time against Rider.
- The Pirate pitching staff notched 13 strikeouts for the second-straight day.
- Rider was 0-for-13 with runners on base in the contest.
- Four of ECU's eight leadoff batters reached base.
- East Carolina registered its first shutout since blanking former American Athletic Conference opponent Cincinnati 10-0 in seven innings back on April 15, 2023 in Greenville.
- The Pirates have won 31 of their last 36 games played at Clark-LeClair Stadium
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Root, Zach (1-0)
L: Craig, PJ (0-1)
Base Running:
PO: Tiroly, Joe 1
Batting:
2B: Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 1
HR: Starling, Jacob 1 ; Cunningham, Carter 1
RBI: Starling, Jacob 1 ; Cunningham, Carter 2 ; Williams, Dixon 1 ; McCrystal, Ryan 1 ; Berini, Joey 1
SH: McCrystal, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Starling, Jacob 2 ; Wilcoxen, Justin 1 ; Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 1 ; Cunningham, Carter 1 ; Williams, Dixon 2
SB: Johnson, Ryley 1 ; Chrismon, Nathan 1
HBP: Cunningham, Carter 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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