No. 11 ECU Downs Purdue Behind Yesavage Gem

Friday, March 1

Greenville, N.C.

2:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

6-3

Purdue

6-3

Purdue

East Carolina

March 01, 2024 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Junior RHP Trey Yesavage tossed a career-best eight scoreless innings Friday afternoon to propel No. 11 East Carolina past Purdue 7-1 on the first day of the 21st annual Keith LeClair Classic inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

Yesavage (2-0) continued to shine at the top of the Pirate (6-3) rotation as he struck out 11 Boilermaker (6-3) batters and scattered two hits over the eight frames. Jordan Morales (2-1) was tagged with his first loss of the campaign after entering the contest with a 0.00 ERA over 11.1 innings. He allowed five runs (all earned) on six hits with no walks and three strikeouts in 7.0 innings.

Carter Cunningham paced the offensive efforts with two hits, a run scored and three RBI on the strength of his third home run of the season. He has registered a hit in all nine games this season. Jacob Jenkins-Cowart also extended his hitting streak to 11 with a base knock in the eighth. Logan Sutter and Keenan Taylor accounted for the only two Purdue base knocks.

He's him. @treyyesavage 🔥

8.0 IP
0 R
2 H
11 K's pic.twitter.com/xlgr2qbxwB
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) March 1, 2024

Both pitchers settled in to begin the contest, firing across zeros in the first two innings. Ryan McCrystal sparked an ECU rally in the bottom of the third, ripping a double into the right center gap. Then, with two away, Ryley Johnson sent one up the middle and it ricocheted off of Morales to allow McCrystal to score from third. Cunningham took it from there, cranking a first-pitch offering off the scoreboard to put the Pirates in front 3-0.

Dixon Williams collected a career moment in the fourth, jumping on the first pitch he saw and going the other way over the left field fence for his first home run in the Purple and Gold.

With Yesavage dealing, East Carolina put the game away for good in the eighth with a three spot. Joey Berini was hit to lead off the half inning and Johnson followed with a double to left center. Cunningham pushed the Pirates' fifth run across via a sac fly before Starling made it 6-0 with an RBI single. Williams capped the frame with a groundout that plated Starling, leaving the Pirates seven ahead going to the ninth.

Sutter broke up the shutout in the top of the ninth with a solo home run to right, but Jackson DiLorenzo easily retired the next two batters he faced to end the contest.

• East Carolina improved to 5-0 at Clark-LeClair Stadium this season.
• Yesavage recorded his seventh career 10-plus strikeout performance.
• The Pirates left a season-low two runners on base.
• ECU's pitchers have collected at least 10 strikeouts in all but one game this campaign.
• The Pirates were 5-for-10 (.500) with runners on base in the contest.

Looking Ahead: Due to expected inclement weather, East Carolina officials have announced that Saturday's games as part of the 21st Annual Keith LeClair Classic have been moved back. The first game between Purdue and Southeastern Louisiana will now start at 1 p.m. (ET), with ECU's scheduled contest against Cal State Fullerton starting 45 minutes after its conclusion. All tickets for the originally scheduled time are still valid and no exchanges are necessary.