Tuesday, March 12
Wilmington, N.C.
6:00 p.m.
East Carolina University
11-4
8
at
7
UNCW
9-8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
R
H
E
East Carolina
0
2
0
0
1
0
2
2
0
1
8
14
3
UNCW
0
0
0
4
0
1
0
1
1
0
7
10
0
No. 11 East Carolina Outlasts UNCW In Extras, 8-7
March 12, 2024 | Baseball
WILMINGTON, N.C. ā After UNCW scratched across a run to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth Tuesday evening, No. 11 East Carolina responded with a tally of its own in the top of the 10th to hold on for an 8-7 win at Brooks Field.
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The Pirates (11-4) captured their fourth consecutive road win following a sweep of Liberty last weekend while the Seahawks (9-8) saw their three-game winning streak terminated.
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Aaron Groller (1-0) collected his first victory in an ECU uniform, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings with a strikeout. Erik Ritchie and Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman provided some length to the bullpen as well, combining for nine strikeouts and limiting UNCW to just one earned run on three hits in 4.0 frames. Tanner Thach (0-1) was saddled with the loss after he was charged with the eventual winning run in a 1.1-inning outing.
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Justin Wilcoxen exploded for a quartet of hits in six at bats while adding a run scored and two RBI. Carter Cunningham also extended his hitting streak to 15 games with two base knocks as well as three runs scored. John Newton led the Seahawk lineup with two hits, a pair of runs scored and three RBI.
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Both teams put a runner on in the first frame, but each starter was able to work around the traffic to put up scoreless initial frames. The Pirates struck first in the top of the second as Starling drew a leadoff walk and Wilcoxen singled to left field. After a Berini sacrifice bunt, Carter sliced a single the other way into right field to score Starling and put ECU on the board. Ryan McCrystal then put down a squeeze bunt and, after review, Wilcoxen beat the throw and tag at home plate to make it 2-0.
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Newton tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run home run before Kevin Jones later delivered a two-run single to put his team ahead 4-2. It only took until the top of the fifth for the Pirates to respond. Cunningham drew a leadoff walk and Starling worked a free pass with one out to move Cunningham to second. Then, with two outs, Berini roped a single to left field that plated Cunningham to draw East Carolina within 4-3.
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Jones restored the Seahawks' two-run cushion with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, but the Pirates answered immediately with a two spot in the top of the seventh to knot the score once more. Jacob Jenkins-Cowart led off with a single and Starling took the first pitch he saw up the middle and through to put ECU in business. Wilcoxen then roped a long single to the wall in right to juice the bases with no outs. A Berini sacrifice fly and Luke Nowak bases-loaded walk did the trick as the Pirates reached the stretch on even terms.
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After Lunsford-Shenkman stranded a pair of UNCW runners on base with consecutive strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh, the East Carolina offense went to work again in the top of the eighth. Cunningham and Jenkins-Cowart singled consecutively to begin the frame before Wilcoxen laced a 1-1 offering down the right field line for a two-run double and a 7-5 Pirate lead. Jones would bring the Seahawks closer in the bottom of the eighth with a sacrifice fly before Shenkman froze Aiden Evans to leave the tying run on base.
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An error on the infield allowed Trevor Marsh to reach to begin the bottom of the ninth and he would move to second on a wild pitch. Thach then sent a fly ball to right that Jenkins-Cowart snagged for the first out. Marsh attempted to take third base on the play, but Jenkins-Cowart threw an absolute seed to Nathan Chrismon who caught the ball and easily tagged Marsh to complete an impressive double play. Danny Beal then induced a grounder back to mound but his throw to first was high, extending the contest and allowing Newton to deliver an infield RBI single that tied the contest. Newton would try to score from second on a two-out grounder to short, but Berini calmly fired home and Wilcoxen applied the tag to send the game to extra innings.
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Cunningham got things going in the top of the 10th with a single through the right side. Following a strikeout, Starling worked a walk and Berini was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Reliver Connor Mashburn uncorked a wild pitch with Cam Clonch at the dish, permitting Cunningham to race home for the winning run. Groller worked around a two-out hit batter to retire UNCW for good in the home half of the inning.
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The Pirates (11-4) captured their fourth consecutive road win following a sweep of Liberty last weekend while the Seahawks (9-8) saw their three-game winning streak terminated.
Ā
Aaron Groller (1-0) collected his first victory in an ECU uniform, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings with a strikeout. Erik Ritchie and Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman provided some length to the bullpen as well, combining for nine strikeouts and limiting UNCW to just one earned run on three hits in 4.0 frames. Tanner Thach (0-1) was saddled with the loss after he was charged with the eventual winning run in a 1.1-inning outing.
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Justin Wilcoxen exploded for a quartet of hits in six at bats while adding a run scored and two RBI. Carter Cunningham also extended his hitting streak to 15 games with two base knocks as well as three runs scored. John Newton led the Seahawk lineup with two hits, a pair of runs scored and three RBI.
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Great team win tonight š¤#PIRATES pic.twitter.com/1jQqyB59HX
ā ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) March 13, 2024
Both teams put a runner on in the first frame, but each starter was able to work around the traffic to put up scoreless initial frames. The Pirates struck first in the top of the second as Starling drew a leadoff walk and Wilcoxen singled to left field. After a Berini sacrifice bunt, Carter sliced a single the other way into right field to score Starling and put ECU on the board. Ryan McCrystal then put down a squeeze bunt and, after review, Wilcoxen beat the throw and tag at home plate to make it 2-0.
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Newton tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run home run before Kevin Jones later delivered a two-run single to put his team ahead 4-2. It only took until the top of the fifth for the Pirates to respond. Cunningham drew a leadoff walk and Starling worked a free pass with one out to move Cunningham to second. Then, with two outs, Berini roped a single to left field that plated Cunningham to draw East Carolina within 4-3.
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Jones restored the Seahawks' two-run cushion with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, but the Pirates answered immediately with a two spot in the top of the seventh to knot the score once more. Jacob Jenkins-Cowart led off with a single and Starling took the first pitch he saw up the middle and through to put ECU in business. Wilcoxen then roped a long single to the wall in right to juice the bases with no outs. A Berini sacrifice fly and Luke Nowak bases-loaded walk did the trick as the Pirates reached the stretch on even terms.
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After Lunsford-Shenkman stranded a pair of UNCW runners on base with consecutive strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh, the East Carolina offense went to work again in the top of the eighth. Cunningham and Jenkins-Cowart singled consecutively to begin the frame before Wilcoxen laced a 1-1 offering down the right field line for a two-run double and a 7-5 Pirate lead. Jones would bring the Seahawks closer in the bottom of the eighth with a sacrifice fly before Shenkman froze Aiden Evans to leave the tying run on base.
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An error on the infield allowed Trevor Marsh to reach to begin the bottom of the ninth and he would move to second on a wild pitch. Thach then sent a fly ball to right that Jenkins-Cowart snagged for the first out. Marsh attempted to take third base on the play, but Jenkins-Cowart threw an absolute seed to Nathan Chrismon who caught the ball and easily tagged Marsh to complete an impressive double play. Danny Beal then induced a grounder back to mound but his throw to first was high, extending the contest and allowing Newton to deliver an infield RBI single that tied the contest. Newton would try to score from second on a two-out grounder to short, but Berini calmly fired home and Wilcoxen applied the tag to send the game to extra innings.
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Cunningham got things going in the top of the 10th with a single through the right side. Following a strikeout, Starling worked a walk and Berini was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Reliver Connor Mashburn uncorked a wild pitch with Cam Clonch at the dish, permitting Cunningham to race home for the winning run. Groller worked around a two-out hit batter to retire UNCW for good in the home half of the inning.
- East Carolina improved to 4-3 in true road contests this season.
- The teams combined to leave 25 runners on base in the game.
- The Pirates had eight of their 10 leadoff batters reach base.
- ECU converted four of six opportunities with a runner at third and less than two outs.
- Cunningham has registered a hit in each of his 2024 outings.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Groller, Aaron (1-0)
L: Tanner Thach (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Wilcoxen, Justin 1
RBI: Wilcoxen, Justin 2 ; Berini, Joey 2 ; Carter, Bristol 1 ; McCrystal, Ryan 1 ; Nowak, Luke 1
SH: Berini, Joey 1
SF: Berini, Joey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cunningham, Carter 3 ; Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 2 ; Starling, Jacob 2 ; Wilcoxen, Justin 1
SB: Nowak, Luke 1
CS: Johnson, Ryley 1
HBP: Berini, Joey 1 ; Carter, Bristol 1 ; Clonch, Cam 1 ; Williams, Dixon 1
PO: Johnson, Ryley 1
Batting:
2B: Kevin Jones 1
HR: John Newton 1
RBI: John Newton 3 ; Kevin Jones 4
SF: Kevin Jones 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Alec DeMartino 2 ; John Newton 2 ; Jac Croom 1 ; Bryan Arendt 2
SB: Jac Croom 2 ; Bryan Arendt 1
CS: Kevin Jones 1
HBP: Kyle Dobos 1 ; Tanner Thach 1 ; John Newton 1 ; Kevin Novobilsky 1
PO: Kevin Jones 1
Game Leaders
AB
6
R
1
H
4
RBI
2
1b/lf
AB
5
R
3
H
2
RBI
0
AB
6
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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INF
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OF/1B
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LHP
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RHP
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OF
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LHP
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