Sunday, March 10
Lynchburg, Va.
1:00 p.m.
East Carolina University
8
at
4
Liberty
No. 11 East Carolina Brooms Liberty Via 8-4 Victory
March 10, 2024 | Baseball
LYNCHBURG, Va. āĀ No. 11 East Carolina received a lock down effort from its bullpen and scored six unanswered runs to down Liberty 8-4 and complete the road series sweep Sunday afternoon at Worthington Field inside Liberty Baseball Stadium.
Ā
After taking an early two-run lead in the top of the first, the Pirates (10-4) fell behind by a pair but notched three runs apiece in the fifth and ninth innings. Jaden Winter, Chris Kahler, Erik Ritchie and Danny Beal took it from there, blanking the Flames (5-10) over the final six frames and combining for eight strikeouts.
Ā
Winter (1-1) was deemed the winning pitcher after a solid relief effort during which he scattered two hits and struck out two in 2.1 innings of work. Beal collected his second save of the season, tossing the final two frames and registering a pair of strikeouts with no walks. Garrett Horn (2-1) was saddled with his first loss of the year after surrendering five runs (four earned) on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 4.1 innings of work.
Ā
Jacob Jenkins-Cowart notched two hits, scored a pair of runs and drove in one while Jacob Starling chipped in with three RBI. As for Liberty, Camden Troyer tallied two hits, two runs scored and three RBI.
Ā
Ryley Johnson started off the contest by dropping a single into left field before Jenkins-Cowart roped a base hit up to middle to give East Carolina a pair of runners. Following a strikeout, Wilcoxen ripped a single to left center that was subsequently mishandled and allowed both runs to score for an early 2-0 Pirate advantage. The Flames answered right back, drawing a pair of leadoff walks before Troyer lined a 3-1 pitch over the wall in right to put the home side ahead 3-2.
Ā
Liberty added to its lead in the bottom of the third thanks to an Aidan Sweatt RBI single that plated Troyer before reliever Jaden Winter induced a fly ball to right field that Jenkins-Cowart corralled at the foul line to terminate the frame.
Ā
ECU grabbed the upper hand in the fifth inning with a three spot of runs. Ryan McCrystal walked on a full count to lead things off before a Dixon Williams sacrifice bunt moved pinch runner Luke Nowak into scoring position. Johnson followed with a four-pitch walk and Carter Cunningham kept the line moving with an RBI base knock to slice the Pirates' deficit to one. Jenkins-Cowart then took a 2-2 pitch into right field, plating Johnson to even the score. After a pitching change, Starling laid down a textbook squeeze bunt that allowed Cunningham to scoot home and give the Purple and Gold a lead it would not relinquish.
Ā
Starling provided the knockout blow in the top of the ninth with the Pirates still holding on to a 5-4 advantage. With two outs and no one on base, Cunningham was hit by a pitch and Jenkins-Cowart worked a walk. Following another pitching change, Starling roped the first pitch he saw into the right center gap to make it a 7-4 game. He then scored from third on a wild pitch to account for the final margin of victory. Beal worked around a leadoff single in the ninth to seal the sweep.
Ā
Ā
Ā
After taking an early two-run lead in the top of the first, the Pirates (10-4) fell behind by a pair but notched three runs apiece in the fifth and ninth innings. Jaden Winter, Chris Kahler, Erik Ritchie and Danny Beal took it from there, blanking the Flames (5-10) over the final six frames and combining for eight strikeouts.
Ā
Winter (1-1) was deemed the winning pitcher after a solid relief effort during which he scattered two hits and struck out two in 2.1 innings of work. Beal collected his second save of the season, tossing the final two frames and registering a pair of strikeouts with no walks. Garrett Horn (2-1) was saddled with his first loss of the year after surrendering five runs (four earned) on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 4.1 innings of work.
Ā
Jacob Jenkins-Cowart notched two hits, scored a pair of runs and drove in one while Jacob Starling chipped in with three RBI. As for Liberty, Camden Troyer tallied two hits, two runs scored and three RBI.
Ā
Sweep sweep victoryšš“āā ļø#PIRATES pic.twitter.com/qmYXj7JXuw
ā ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) March 10, 2024
Ryley Johnson started off the contest by dropping a single into left field before Jenkins-Cowart roped a base hit up to middle to give East Carolina a pair of runners. Following a strikeout, Wilcoxen ripped a single to left center that was subsequently mishandled and allowed both runs to score for an early 2-0 Pirate advantage. The Flames answered right back, drawing a pair of leadoff walks before Troyer lined a 3-1 pitch over the wall in right to put the home side ahead 3-2.
Ā
Liberty added to its lead in the bottom of the third thanks to an Aidan Sweatt RBI single that plated Troyer before reliever Jaden Winter induced a fly ball to right field that Jenkins-Cowart corralled at the foul line to terminate the frame.
Ā
ECU grabbed the upper hand in the fifth inning with a three spot of runs. Ryan McCrystal walked on a full count to lead things off before a Dixon Williams sacrifice bunt moved pinch runner Luke Nowak into scoring position. Johnson followed with a four-pitch walk and Carter Cunningham kept the line moving with an RBI base knock to slice the Pirates' deficit to one. Jenkins-Cowart then took a 2-2 pitch into right field, plating Johnson to even the score. After a pitching change, Starling laid down a textbook squeeze bunt that allowed Cunningham to scoot home and give the Purple and Gold a lead it would not relinquish.
Ā
Starling provided the knockout blow in the top of the ninth with the Pirates still holding on to a 5-4 advantage. With two outs and no one on base, Cunningham was hit by a pitch and Jenkins-Cowart worked a walk. Following another pitching change, Starling roped the first pitch he saw into the right center gap to make it a 7-4 game. He then scored from third on a wild pitch to account for the final margin of victory. Beal worked around a leadoff single in the ninth to seal the sweep.
Ā
- East Carolina polished off its second series sweep of Liberty in the last two seasons, winning all three against the Flames in Greenville last year.
- The Pirates secured their first road non-conference series sweep since 2020 at Charlotte.
- Cunningham extended his hitting streak to 14 games and has registered at least one hit in every contest this season.
- ECU improved to 3-3 in true road games in 2024.
- The Pirates were 4-for-9 (.444) with runners in scoring position.
Ā
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
OF/1B
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballECU Baseball Breaks Ground for the Dick and Sarah Bennett Baseball Building.
Friday, September 05
ECU Baseball NCAA Selection Show
Monday, May 26
ECU's Cliff Godwin Celebrates AAC Championshipmp4
Sunday, May 25
Cliff Godwin ECU Baseball Media Day
Monday, January 27
