No. 11 ECU Downs No. 15 UNC 7-4 To Even Series

Saturday, February 24

Fayetteville, N.C.

2:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

4-2

North Carolina

5-1

East Carolina

North Carolina

February 24, 2024 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Another special pitching performance and a pair of four-hit efforts from two veteran players lifted No. 11 East Carolina past No. 15 North Carolina 7-4 before a neutral-site crowd of 6,228 at Segra Stadium Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville.

The Pirate (4-2) victory sets up the series rubber game slated for Sunday at 2 p.m. inside an already sold-out Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

ECU banged out a season-high 15 hits and held one of the most potent offenses in the country down until the late frames. The teams also combined to leave 13 runners on base.

Sophomore LHP Zach Root (2-0) twirled the finest outing of his time in the Purple and Gold, tossing a career-high seven scoreless innings and matching his personal best in strikeouts with seven while scattering three hits. Ben Peterson (0-1) was tagged with the loss after surrendering two runs on six hits with three strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work. Danny Beal earned his first save of the season, retiring the only batter he faced to end the contest.

What a DOMINANT afternoon for @ZachRoot07

7IP | 7K's | 3 hits | 0 runs 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/SXuFjvvdvn
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) February 24, 2024

Senior infielders Carter Cunningham and Jacob Starling combined to go 8-for-9 at the plate as Cunningham was 4-for-4 with three runs scored and one driven in. Jacob Jenkins-Cowart also chipped in with two hits and two RBI. Alberto Osuna paced the Tar Heels (5-1) with three hits, a run scored and a pair of RBI.

East Carolina put up an offensive threat in the top of the first when Cunningham and Starling registered consecutive one-out singles, but a double play would terminate the inning with no score. The Pirates broke onto the scoreboard in the top of the third, however, as Ryley Johnson delivered a two-out single to spark a rally. He would proceed to steal second and move to third on a throwing error. Cunningham followed with a double to left to plate Johnson before Starling roped a single to the same part of the field to score Cunningham and leave ECU with a 2-0 advantage.

The Pirates added onto the lead in the top of the fifth. Cunningham dropped a one-out single into right and Starling laced a first-pitch double to left before Jenkins-Cowart lined a two-bagger down the left field line to drive in both runners and make it a 4-0 margin.

With Root holding the North Carolina side in check into the late innings, East Carolina put up a three spot in the seventh. Cunningham and Starling kept their solid days going, registering a single and double respectively to lead off the half inning. Jenkins-Cowart then reached on an infield single, and Dixon Williams worked a four-pitch walk to extend the lead to 5-0. Justin Wilcoxen and Bristol Carter kept the pressure on from there, tallying two-straight sacrifice flies before the inning ended.

The Tar Heels made things interesting late, utilizing a solo home run from Osuna and a two-run Vance Honeycutt long ball to slice their deficit to 7-3 in the eighth. Osuna would add an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth before Beal slammed the door shut by inducing a liner to third for the final out.

The Pirates improved to 3-0 when registering at least 10 hits in a game.
ECU played its sixth-straight game to begin the season against a team that qualified for an NCAA Regional in 2023 (Rider, Campbell and North Carolina).
The East Carolina pitching staff fanned 10 Tar Heel batters in the contest and have recorded double-digit strikeouts in every game thus far.
The Pirates hit .417 (5-for-12) with runners in scoring position and were 4-for-6 with a runner on third and less than two outs.
Root has now struck out 14 batters against one walk in 11.2 scoreless innings of work this season. He is holding opposing batters to a .150 average and has not allowed an extra base hit.