East Carolina Falls At Old Dominion, 6-5

Tuesday, February 27

Norfolk, Va.

3:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

5-3

Old Dominion

5-3

East Carolina

Old Dominion

February 27, 2024 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

NORFOLK, Va. – Steven Meier hit a walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to propel Old Dominion to a 6-5 win over No. 11 East Carolina Tuesday afternoon at Bud Matheny Ballpark.

The top of the Pirate (5-3) lineup provided all of the offense, sparked in large part by Jacob Jenkins-Cowart who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI. Carter Cunningham also registered a pair of hits and two RBI. Meier clubbed two of the Monarchs' (5-3) three home runs while Luke Waters chipped in with a trio of hits.

Bailey Matela (1-0) notched his first win of the campaign, logging five strikeouts in two perfect innings of work. Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman (0-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing one run on one hits with four strikeouts and no walks in 2.1 frames.

ECU jumped out to a lead in the top of the first as Cunningham laid down a bunt single and moved to second on a throwing error. Jacob Starling then drew a walk before Jenkins-Cowart hammered the first pitch he faced over the right field wall for a three-run bomb. Old Dominion answered in the bottom of the frame via a two-run home run off the bat of Alex Bouche.

The teams traded single tallies in the third inning to leave the Pirates ahead 4-3, but the Monarchs came up with a two spot in the bottom of the fourth. After Gavin Abrams and Jake Ticer led off the half inning with consecutive walks, they would move to second on a sacrifice bunt. Kyle Edwards would tie the game with a sac fly and Gavin Abrams followed with a RBI single to put the home side ahead 5-4.

With both pitching staffs settling in through the middle to late innings, ECU was able to tie the game in the top of the eighth. Cunningham ripped a leadoff triple off the wall in center before Starling took a 2-2 pitch deep to left center for an RBI double. The Pirates couldn't get anything going after that, however, as Matela entered and notched three-straight strikeouts.

Meier proved the hero in the bottom of the ninth. Following a strikeout, he worked a 3-1 count and connected on a pitch that sailed over the left field wall to give his team the victory.

All three of East Carolina's losses have occurred on the road by one run.
The Pirate pitching staff notched 13 more strikeouts in the contest and have fanned double-digit batters in all but one game this year.
Cunningham and Jenkins-Cowart have recorded a base hit in all eight games this season. Jenkins-Cowart also posted his team-leading sixth multi-hit effort.
Five of the Monarchs' leadoff batters reached base.
The Pirates were just 2-for-12 (.167) with runners on base and 2-for-11 (.182) with runners in scoring position.

Looking Ahead: East Carolina returns to Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium this weekend for the 21st annual Keith LeClair Classic. ECU welcomes Purdue, Cal State Fullerton and Southeastern Louisiana to Greenville for the three-day event. The Pirates and Boilermakers will face off at 4:30 p.m. Friday after the Titans and Lions kick things off at Noon.