No. 10 East Carolina Begins AAC Slate At UTSA

Games 20-22: No. 10 East Carolina at UTSA
Coverage	March 22nd: 7:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch March 23rd: 3:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch March 24th: 2:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Stream: ESPN+ Radio: 94.3 The Game (Scott Rogers)
Location:	San Antonio, Texas \| Roadrunner Field (1,000)
Official Websites:	East Carolina \| UTSA
Statistics:	East Carolina \| UTSA
Baseball Central:	Media Center \| Roster \| Schedule/Results \| NCAA Baseball \| College Scoreboard \| Weekly Rankings \| National Stat Leaders
Social Media:	ECUBaseball (Twitter) \| ecu_baseball (Instagram) \| East Carolina Baseball (Facebook)

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – No. 10 East Carolina begins pursuit of its fifth-straight American Athletic Conference regular season title this weekend when it faces of with league newcomer UTSA in a three-game series at Roadrunner Field.

All three contests will stream live via ESPN+ while Scott Rogers will have the radio call locally on 94.3 The Game.

The Pirates (15-4) enter the weekend with plenty of momentum, riding an eight-game winning streak. ECU traveled to Elon Tuesday and came away with a 10-1 victory thanks in large part to a season-long outing from RHP Chris Kahler. He limited the Phoenix to just one earned run in five innings with two strikeouts. Carter Cunningham also registered a pair of base knocks to extend his hitting streak to 19 games.

Cunningham enters the weekend as one of the hottest hitters in the nation, ranking 14th in batting average (.455), 11th in hits per game (1.84) and 16th in total hits (35). East Carolina also has three pitchers that reside in the top 15 nationally in earned run average – Trey Yesavage (10th/1.20), Zach Root (11th/1.21) and Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman (14th/1.37). Lunsford-Shenkman also slots third in strikeouts per nine innings (18.31).

The Roadrunners lead the AAC in batting average (.305) while the Pirates are right behind in second with a .299 collective mark. ECU boasts the top team ERA on the circuit (3.47), placing the Purple and Gold 12th nationally. East Carolina also ranks among the NCAA Division I leaders in WHIP (2nd/1.06), hits allowed per nine innings (3rd/6.25), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4th/3.52), fielding percentage (10th/.982) and walks allowed per nine innings (12th/3.26).

The Pirates are 5-3 in true road games with a sweep at Liberty and wins over UNCW and Elon. ECU's trio of road losses occurred at Campbell, Old Dominion and then No. 15 North Carolina with each contest decided by a lone run.

Projected Series Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Trey Yesavage (4-0, 1.20 ERA, 30.0 IP) vs. RHP Robert Orloski (2-2, 5.26 ERA, 25.2 IP)
Saturday: LHP Zach Root (3-0, 1.21 ERA, 29.2 IP) vs. TBA
Sunday: RHP Jake Hunter (1-1, 4.58 ERA, 19.2 IP) vs. RHP Ulises Quiroga (1-0, 3.38 ERA, 13.1 IP)

About UTSA
The Roadrunners came up just short at Texas State on Tuesday, dropping a 14-13 decision to the Bobcats. Caleb Hill paces the offense with a .418 batting average and seven home runs as well as 19 RBI. UTSA's pitching staff sports a 5.23 ERA with 179 strikeouts and 68 walks in 184.0 innings of work. The Roadrunners are 7-5 at home, including a series win over Northwestern.

The UTSA Series
East Carolina has split four all-time meetings with UTSA on the diamond. All four games occurred during the 2014 season when the Pirates took two of three from the Roadrunners in a Conference USA series in Greenville before the Roadrunners won an 8-3 decision at the league tournament in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Individual Notables
Head Coach Cliff Godwin: Owns 366 career wins and is second on the East Carolina career coaching wins list ... Has been part of 14 NCAA Regional and two College World Series teams at the Division I level as an assistant coach and head coach … Guided ECU to seven NCAA Regional berths (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 Greenville Regional host), four Super Regional appearances, four-straight American Athletic Conference regular season titles and three AAC Tournament crowns while posting a 351-170-1 (.673) overall record … Under Godwin's direction, 13 players have earned All-America status, 18 have been NCAA All-Regional selections, 40 have been named all-conference (25 first teamers) and 22 have been drafted by Major League Baseball teams … A four-time AAC Coach-of-the-Year selection (2015, 2019, 2021, 2022), Godwin was inducted into the George Whitfield Hall of Fame in January of 2016 … In 2018, he completed a summer stint on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team staff that posted a 12-3 record that included series wins over Chinese Taipei, Japan and Cuba … As a player, he helped former ECU skipper Keith LeClair's teams post a 169-76 four-year ledger, including 46-plus wins in each of his final three seasons (46-16 in '99, 46-18 in '00 and 47-13 in '01) … ECU won a pair of CAA Tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Regionals every season from 1999 to 2001 … The Pirates were the top seed in their regional all three years, including a No. 7 national seed in 2001 where they advanced to the Super Regional round before being eliminated by Tennessee.

Danny Beal: Leads the team in appearances (11) ... Tossed 3.2 scoreless innings and surrendered just one hit while racking up four strikeouts in the Liberty series, collecting his first win and second save of the campaign Saturday and Sunday respectively ... Earned the win in the series finale versus Columbia by tossing 2.1 scoreless relief innings ... Threw two scoreless frames at Elon.
Joey Berini: Has started all 19 games at shortstop ... Posted a hit in each contest of the Rider series ... Drove in a run in the 7-0 win over Rider (Feb. 17) ... Registered three RBI in the series opener against Columbia.
Bristol Carter: Made his collegiate debut in the season opener ... Has started 11 games in left field ... Posted a pair of hits, including a double, and two runs scored in the 16-2 victory over Rider ... Provided the walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth in ECU's 10-9 win over then No. 15 North Carolina that clinched the series in front of a record Clark-LeClair Stadium crowd of 6,017 ... Went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a double, a triple and an RBI in the series opener at Liberty ... Notched two hits, two runs scored and two RBI in the series opener against Columbia.
Carter Cunningham: Named the AAC Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Feb. 26 ... Currently owns a 19-game hitting streak ... Leads the American Athletic Conference in batting average, on base percentage, hits, RBI, total bases and OPS ... Has started 17 games at first base and two at left field ... Paces the club with eight multi-RBI performances and slots second in in multi-hit efforts (11) ... Went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI in the season-opening 16-2 win over Rider ... Notched another pair of hits and RBI in the Saturday Rider contest, including his first home run of the campaign ... Tallied a career-high four hits in the 7-4 win over then No. 15 North Carolina in Fayetteville ... Went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, four RBI and two home runs versus Southeastern Louisiana ... Collected a career-high five RBI in the series opener at Liberty ... Recorded two hits and scored three runs in the victory at UNCW.
Jake Hunter: Collected his first win of the season on the mound in East Carolina's 7-0 victory over Rider, tossing five scoreless innings and allowing just one hit while striking out six batters ... Tossed 5.1 solid frames in a no decision against then No. 15 North Carolina, surrendering just one run on one hit with six strikeouts.
Jacob Jenkins-Cowart: Has started all 19 games at right field ... Has recorded multi-hit efforts in five of his last eight games ... Leads the club in multi-hit performances (12) and is second in multi-RBI efforts (seven) ... Named the AAC Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Feb. 19 ... Hit .500 (6-for-12) with six runs scored, five RBI, three doubles, two home runs and a pair of stolen bases in the Rider series ... Posted at least two hits in every game of the series with then No. 15 North Carolina, rapping out three hits and driving in two runs in Sunday's 10-9 walkoff victory ... Went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, three RBI and a home run at Old Dominion ... Logged three hits and drove in three runs against Southeastern Louisiana ... Collected four hits and three runs scored in the series at Liberty ... Recorded five hits, four runs scored and five RBI in the Columbia series.
Ryley Johnson: Has started all 19 games at center field and has hit leadoff in every contest ... Paces the club and is second in the American Conference with 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts ... Scored two runs and notched an RBI in the season-opening 16-2 win over Rider ... Swiped a pair of bags and drew two walks at Campbell ... Tallied a pair of multi-hit efforts in the series with then No. 15 North Carolina ... Clubbed a pair of home runs and stole three bases in the Columbia series.
Chris Kahler: Has fanned 16 batters in 15.1 innings of work ... Made his first start in an East Carolina uniform at Campbell, registering three strikeouts in 2.1 innings ... Put in a season-long outing at Elon and earned the win after throwing five innings and allowing just one earned run.
Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman: Slots second on the team in strikeouts (40) ... Is second on the team in appearances (10) ... Notched a career-high seven strikeouts in three innings at Campbell before tallying seven more in four scoreless innings versus Purdue ... Logged 3.1 scoreless frames in the Liberty series, racking up seven strikeouts against one walk and earning his first save of the campaign in the weekend finale ... Recorded five strikeouts in two innings of work at UNCW.
Luke Nowak: Has started six games in left field and four at the designated hitter position ... Notched a hit in the first two games of the Rider series and drove in a run in the season-opening 16-2 win ... Drew a pair of walks at Campbell ... Clubbed his first career home run in the series finale versus then No. 15 North Carolina while adding two runs scored and a pair of RBI.
Zach Root: Named the AAC Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career on Feb. 26 ... Ranks second in the league in ERA ... Collected his first win of the season on the mound Saturday in East Carolina's 7-0 victory over Rider, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings and notching seven strikeouts ... Was masterful in the middle contest of the series with then No. 15 North Carolina, throwing a career-best seven scoreless innings while matching his career high in strikeouts (seven) against no walks ... Turned in another quality start against Cal State Fullerton, surrendering just one run over seven innings while striking out a career-high 10 batters against one walk ... Tossed six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in a win over Columbia.
Jacob Starling: Has started all 19 games at second base ... Posted three hits, five runs scored, three RBI and two home runs in the Rider series ... Drove in a run and drew two walks at Campbell ... Notched a career-high four hits in the 7-4 win over then No. 15 North Carolina in Fayetteville ... Logged three RBI in the series finale at Liberty ... Went 2-for-3 with two runs scored at UNCW.
Justin Wilcoxen: Has started 14 games at catcher and four at designated hitter ... Notched a pair of hits and drove in a run at Campbell ... Tallied two hits and an RBI in the 7-4 win over then No. 15 North Carolina in Fayetteville ... Registered three hits, three runs scored, two RBI and two home runs versus Southeastern Louisiana - his first career multi-home run effort ... Tied his career high with four hits at UNCW ... Logged three hits and four RBI in the Columbia series finale ... Notched a pair of hits and scored two runs at Elon.
Dixon Williams: Has started 18 games at third base ... Hit .375 (3-for-8) during the Rider series while scoring three runs and compiling four RBI ... Has drawn a team-best nine walks ... Drove in a pair of runs in the season-opening 16-2 victory ... Notched two hits and scored two runs at Campbell ... Clubbed his first career home run against Purdue ... Tallied a career-high three RBI in the 8-0 win over Columbia.
Trey Yesavage: Leads the American Conference in earned run average, opposing batting average and strikeouts ... Was dominant in the series opener at then No. 15 North Carolina, giving up just one earned run and striking out 11 batters against one walk in six innings pitched ... Went a career-long eight scoreless innings in the win over Purdue, fanning 11 hitters and scattering two hits ... Struck out nine over six innings while allowing just one run in the series opener at Liberty ... Struck out 10 batters and allowed just one earned run in six innings versus Columbia.

Looking Ahead: East Carolina returns home Tuesday (March 26) for the second leg of the season home-and-home series with UNCW. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

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Players Mentioned

Danny Beal

Joey Berini

Bristol Carter

Carter Cunningham

Jake Hunter

Jacob Jenkins-Cowart

Ryley Johnson

Chris Kahler

Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman

Luke Nowak

Jacob Starling

Justin Wilcoxen

Dixon Williams

Trey Yesavage

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