Sunday, February 25
Greenville, N.C.
2:00 p.m.
East Carolina University
5-2
10
vs
9
North Carolina
5-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
North Carolina
0
0
0
0
0
2
3
3
1
9
8
1
East Carolina
2
1
0
0
1
0
3
2
1
10
13
0
No. 11 ECU Walks Off No. 15 North Carolina To Clinch Series Victory
February 25, 2024 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, N.C. – An early-season heavyweight bout between No. 11 East Carolina and No. 15 North Carolina came down to the final innings Sunday afternoon as true freshman outfielder Bristol Carter etched his name into program lore with a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth that lifted the Pirates past the Tar Heels 10-9 before a facility-record crowd of 6,017 inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
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As a result, ECU (5-2) secured a series victory over North Carolina (5-2) for the second-straight season. The Tar Heels won a 2-1 pitchers' duel Friday in Chapel Hill before the Pirates responded yesterday with a 7-4 victory in front of 6,228 at Fayetteville's Segra Stadium.
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True freshman RHP Jackson DiLorenzo (1-0) held down the fort in the top of the ninth inning to earn his first collegiate victory. He struck out one batter and did not allow a walk in a full frame of work. Shea Sprague (0-1) was saddled with the loss as he was charged with the winning run and surrendered two hits in just 0.1 innings pitched. East Carolina starter Jake Hunter did his job, firing across 5.1 innings of one-hit baseball. He ended up officially allowing a run but struck out six batters against three walks.
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Jacob Jenkins-Cowart put together a three-hit performance in the win, also driving in a pair of runs, while Ryley Johnson, Carter Cunningham and Jacob Starling combined to go 5-for-12 with five runs scored and four RBI at the top of the lineup. Additionally, though it did not provide the winning tally, Luke Nowak put a charge into one in the eighth inning and sent it sailing over the wall in right field for his first career home run that briefly put the Pirates on top before the wild ninth frame. Anthony Donofrio notched two hits and a run scored for the visitors.
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After Hunter stranded a pair of UNC batters in the top of the first, ECU jumped on Tar Heel starter Olin Johnson who issued a leadoff walk to Johnson before walking Cunningham as well. A Starling sacrifice bunt preceded a Jenkins-Cowart single to left that dropped in and plated both runners for an early 2-0 Pirate advantage.
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Nowak kickstarted another rally in the bottom of the second by working a walk and moving all the way to third on a failed pickoff attempt. He would score on a Cam Clonch sac fly to extend the East Carolina lead to three. Cunningham made it 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth by drilling a 2-2 offering over the wall in right.
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Casey Cook hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth to draw North Carolina within two, setting off a frantic race to the finish. Pinch hitter Gavin Gallaher clubbed a three-run shot in the top of the seventh to propel North Carolina ahead 5-4 but the Pirates responded with a three spot in the home half of the frame via a Johnson RBI single, a Cunningham run-scoring groundout and Starling RBI single.
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The Tar Heels were back at it in the top of the eighth, scoring three runs on three hits to move back ahead 8-7. However, ECU did not back down and produced another lead change in the bottom half of the frame. Justin Wilcoxen ripped a one-out single to right field, bringing Nowak to the plate who turned on a 3-1 pitch and hammered it into the Jungle in right for his aforementioned first career bomb that allowed the Pirates to carry a 9-8 edge into the final inning.
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After Parks Harber walked to begin the top of the ninth, DiLorenzo entered the game and fanned Donofrio for the first out. Eliot Dix was then hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. A groundout sent the runners into scoring position and a wild pitch allowed Kaleb Cost to scoot home and knot the score at nine. DiLorenzo would recover, inducing a pop up to shallow center field that fell in Starling's glove to keep things even.
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Starling sparked the game's final offensive spurt as he shot a one-out single through the left side. Jenkins-Cowart wasted no time, lacing the first pitch of his at bat down the right field line for a double that moved Starling to third. After Dixon Williams reached first on an intentional walk to load the bases, Carter did not miss on a 1-0 pitch, finding the grass in right to score Starling and set off a raucous and well-earned Purple and Gold celebration.
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•  Today's facility-record crowd of 6,017 surpassed the then record crowd of 6,003 fans that filed into Clark-LeClair Stadium nearly a year ago to the day (Feb. 24, 2023) to see East Carolina knock off North Carolina in a 6-5 decision.
•  The teams combined to use 17 different pitchers in the contest. Â
•  The Pirates tallied their first walkoff victory since defeating UCF 7-6 in 13 innings at the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship tournament (May 26, 2023).
•  Five of the last six games between the Pirates and Tar Heels have been decided by one run.
•  East Carolina improved to 4-0 at home this season and has won 33 of its last 38 inside the friendly confines.
•  The Pirates went 4-for-6 (.667) with runners in scoring position and 7-for-15 (.467) with runners on base in the contest.
•  ECU's starting rotation surrendered just two earned runs in 18.1 innings of work over the weekend, scattering eight hits while striking out 24 batters against just four walks.
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Looking Ahead: East Carolina heads a couple of hours north to Norfolk, Va., Tuesday (Feb. 27) for a non-conference matchup with Old Dominion. First pitch at Bud Matheny Ballpark is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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As a result, ECU (5-2) secured a series victory over North Carolina (5-2) for the second-straight season. The Tar Heels won a 2-1 pitchers' duel Friday in Chapel Hill before the Pirates responded yesterday with a 7-4 victory in front of 6,228 at Fayetteville's Segra Stadium.
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True freshman RHP Jackson DiLorenzo (1-0) held down the fort in the top of the ninth inning to earn his first collegiate victory. He struck out one batter and did not allow a walk in a full frame of work. Shea Sprague (0-1) was saddled with the loss as he was charged with the winning run and surrendered two hits in just 0.1 innings pitched. East Carolina starter Jake Hunter did his job, firing across 5.1 innings of one-hit baseball. He ended up officially allowing a run but struck out six batters against three walks.
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Jacob Jenkins-Cowart put together a three-hit performance in the win, also driving in a pair of runs, while Ryley Johnson, Carter Cunningham and Jacob Starling combined to go 5-for-12 with five runs scored and four RBI at the top of the lineup. Additionally, though it did not provide the winning tally, Luke Nowak put a charge into one in the eighth inning and sent it sailing over the wall in right field for his first career home run that briefly put the Pirates on top before the wild ninth frame. Anthony Donofrio notched two hits and a run scored for the visitors.
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It doesn't get any better than this. @bristol_carter #PIRATES pic.twitter.com/TjruMqJaBF
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) February 25, 2024
After Hunter stranded a pair of UNC batters in the top of the first, ECU jumped on Tar Heel starter Olin Johnson who issued a leadoff walk to Johnson before walking Cunningham as well. A Starling sacrifice bunt preceded a Jenkins-Cowart single to left that dropped in and plated both runners for an early 2-0 Pirate advantage.
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Nowak kickstarted another rally in the bottom of the second by working a walk and moving all the way to third on a failed pickoff attempt. He would score on a Cam Clonch sac fly to extend the East Carolina lead to three. Cunningham made it 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth by drilling a 2-2 offering over the wall in right.
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Casey Cook hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth to draw North Carolina within two, setting off a frantic race to the finish. Pinch hitter Gavin Gallaher clubbed a three-run shot in the top of the seventh to propel North Carolina ahead 5-4 but the Pirates responded with a three spot in the home half of the frame via a Johnson RBI single, a Cunningham run-scoring groundout and Starling RBI single.
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The Tar Heels were back at it in the top of the eighth, scoring three runs on three hits to move back ahead 8-7. However, ECU did not back down and produced another lead change in the bottom half of the frame. Justin Wilcoxen ripped a one-out single to right field, bringing Nowak to the plate who turned on a 3-1 pitch and hammered it into the Jungle in right for his aforementioned first career bomb that allowed the Pirates to carry a 9-8 edge into the final inning.
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After Parks Harber walked to begin the top of the ninth, DiLorenzo entered the game and fanned Donofrio for the first out. Eliot Dix was then hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. A groundout sent the runners into scoring position and a wild pitch allowed Kaleb Cost to scoot home and knot the score at nine. DiLorenzo would recover, inducing a pop up to shallow center field that fell in Starling's glove to keep things even.
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Starling sparked the game's final offensive spurt as he shot a one-out single through the left side. Jenkins-Cowart wasted no time, lacing the first pitch of his at bat down the right field line for a double that moved Starling to third. After Dixon Williams reached first on an intentional walk to load the bases, Carter did not miss on a 1-0 pitch, finding the grass in right to score Starling and set off a raucous and well-earned Purple and Gold celebration.
 •  Today's facility-record crowd of 6,017 surpassed the then record crowd of 6,003 fans that filed into Clark-LeClair Stadium nearly a year ago to the day (Feb. 24, 2023) to see East Carolina knock off North Carolina in a 6-5 decision.
•  The teams combined to use 17 different pitchers in the contest. Â
•  The Pirates tallied their first walkoff victory since defeating UCF 7-6 in 13 innings at the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship tournament (May 26, 2023).
•  Five of the last six games between the Pirates and Tar Heels have been decided by one run.
•  East Carolina improved to 4-0 at home this season and has won 33 of its last 38 inside the friendly confines.
•  The Pirates went 4-for-6 (.667) with runners in scoring position and 7-for-15 (.467) with runners on base in the contest.
•  ECU's starting rotation surrendered just two earned runs in 18.1 innings of work over the weekend, scattering eight hits while striking out 24 batters against just four walks.
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Looking Ahead: East Carolina heads a couple of hours north to Norfolk, Va., Tuesday (Feb. 27) for a non-conference matchup with Old Dominion. First pitch at Bud Matheny Ballpark is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: DiLorenzo, Jackson (1-0)
L: Shea Sprague (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Gavin Gallaher 1 ; Casey Cook 1
RBI: Gavin Gallaher 4 ; Vance Honeycutt 1 ; Casey Cook 2 ; Colby Wilkerson 1
SF: Gavin Gallaher 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gavin Gallaher 1 ; Vance Honeycutt 1 ; Casey Cook 1 ; Kaleb Cost 1 ; Anthony Donofrio 1 ; Carter French 1 ; Luke Stevenson 1 ; Jackson Van De Brake 1 ; Colby Wilkerson 1
SB: Carter French 1
HBP: Vance Honeycutt 1 ; Eliot Dix 1 ; Colby Wilkerson 1
Batting:
2B: Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 1
HR: Cunningham, Carter 1 ; Nowak, Luke 1
RBI: Johnson, Ryley 1 ; Cunningham, Carter 2 ; Starling, Jacob 1 ; Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 2 ; Carter, Bristol 1 ; Nowak, Luke 2 ; Clonch, Cam 1
SH: Starling, Jacob 1
SF: Clonch, Cam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Johnson, Ryley 2 ; Cunningham, Carter 2 ; Starling, Jacob 1 ; Carter, Bristol 1 ; Nowak, Luke 2 ; Chrismon, Nathan 1 ; Berini, Joey 1
CS: Johnson, Ryley 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
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OF/1B
/ Baseball
OF/1B
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RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
INF
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