No. 9 ECU Begins Homestand With Two Midweek Games

Games 31-32: Elon and Old Dominion at No. 9 East Carolina
Coverage	April 9th: 6:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch April 10th: 6:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Stream: ESPN+ (Evan Budrovich and Mike Mullis) Radio: 94.3 The Game (Scott Rogers and Dr. Gary Overton)
Location:	Greenville, N.C. \| Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium (5,000)
Official Websites:	East Carolina \| Elon \| Old Dominion
Statistics:	East Carolina \| Elon \| Old Dominion
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)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Fresh off a road series victory over American Athletic Conference newcomer Florida Atlantic, No. 9 East Carolina starts a five-game homestand Tuesday evening when it welcomes Elon to Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Pirates will also host Old Dominion Wednesday night.

As always, Scott Rogers and Dr. Gary Overton will handle the radio broadcast on 94.3 The Game while Evan Budrovich and Mike Mullis will have the call on ESPN+ for both contests.

ECU (23-7) rallied from an early three-run deficit and scored eight unanswered runs in Sunday's series rubber game with the Owls before eventually winning an 8-6 decision to exit the weekend at 6-3 in league play – just one game behind current leader UTSA with six series remaining in the regular season. Junior RHP Trey Yesavage was selected the AAC Pitcher of the Week for the first time this season after he tossed seven scoreless innings and struck out 11 in Friday's series opener at FAU.

The Pirates return to Clark-LeClair Stadium for nine of their next 10 outings. East Carolina owns a 13-1 record inside the friendly confines with series sweeps of Rider (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference leader), Columbia (Ivy League leader) and UAB as well as a win over then No. 15 North Carolina. Pirate fans have turned out in force to watch their club compete as ECU is currently 12th in the country in average attendance (4,715).

In terms of its pitching staff, East Carolina has put up some lofty numbers this year as the Pirates are third nationally in WHIP (1.12), third in hits allowed per nine innings (6.82), fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.30), fifth in earned run average (3.43) and 13th in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (3.29). Yesavage has certainly been a large factor in that success, residing among the NCAA Division I leaders in strikeouts (74/fifth), victories (6/seventh), hits allowed per nine innings (5.21/10th), WHIP (0.87/15th), ERA (15th) and strikeouts per nine innings (13.78/21st). Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman has also developed into one of the best relievers in the country, pacing the AAC and ranking second in the country in earned run average (1.03) as well as ninth in strikeouts per nine innings (14.66).

On the offensive side, ECU is batting .297 as a team with 42 doubles, five triples and 31 home runs. Carter Cunningham leads the way with a .400 batting average, 37 runs scored, eight doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 35 RBI. Opposing offenses have not been nearly as successful as the Pirates are limiting their foes to a .209 batting average.

Projected Tuesday Pitching Matchup
Tuesday: RHP Jaden Winter (1-1, 8.68 ERA, 9.1 IP) vs. RHP Hudson Narke (0-0, 7.04 ERA, 15.1 IP)

* Old Dominion has not relayed a Wednesday starting pitcher at this time.

About Elon
Elon (11-20) has lost its last four games and was swept by Stony Brook in a Coastal Athletic Association series over the weekend in New York. The Phoenix sport a 7.38 team ERA with 232 strikeouts and 157 walks in 266.0 innings of work. Elon is hitting .273 collectively led by Kenny Mallory Jr. who owns a .378 batting average. Charlie Granatell tops the team with 14 doubles and has driven in 25 runs to go along with a .328 batting average.

The Elon Series
East Carolina leads the all-time series with Elon by a 59-34-1 margin. The Pirates defeated the Phoenix 10-1 earlier this season in Elon and have won 10 of the last 11 meetings overall.

Looking at Old Dominion
ODU (16-15) traveled to then No. 20 Coastal Carolina for a Sun Belt Conference series over the weekend and dropped two of three to the Chanticleers. The Monarchs are hitting .238 as a team with 46 doubles, three triples and 28 home runs. The unit is led by Luke Waters who checks in with a .333 batting average and a club-best 27 RBI. Old Dominion owns a 4.36 collective earned run average with 287 strikeouts and 101 walks in 264.1 innings.

The Old Dominion Series
Old Dominion leads the series with East Carolina by a 37-33 count. The Monarchs won the first meeting between the programs this season 6-5 on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth in Norfolk.

Individual Notables
Head Coach Cliff Godwin: Owns 374 career victories 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 (17) ... 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 ... Collected his third save of the season in the 14-10 victory at UTSA ... Credited with the win at NC State with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.
Joey Berini: Has started all 30 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 ... Clubbed his first home run of the season in the series finale at UTSA ... Legged out his second career triple and registered a pair of hits in the 7-4 win over UNCW ... Logged two hits in the series finale at Florida Atlantic.
Bristol Carter: Made his collegiate debut in the season opener ... Has started 18 games in left field and one in center ... 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 ... Went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in the 14-10 victory at UTSA ... Logged two hits and drove in two runs in the Florida Atlantic series finale.
Carter Cunningham: Named the AAC Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Feb. 26 ... Leads the American Athletic Conference in batting average and RBI ... Has started 27 games at first base and three in left field ... Paces the club with 11 multi-RBI performances and slots second in in multi-hit efforts (14) ... Went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI in the season-opening 16-2 win over Rider ... 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 ... Exploded for three hits, three runs scored and two RBI at NC State ... Turned in a three-hit performance in the Florida Atlantic series finale.
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 ... Picked up his first save of the season with two scoreless innings against UAB ... Threw 4.1 hitless innings to secure the win in the Florida Atlantic series finale.
Jacob Jenkins-Cowart: Has started all 30 games at right field ... Leads the club in multi-hit performances (15) 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 ... Notched two hits and drew two walks in the 12-4 win at NC State ... Drove in three runs in the Florida Atlantic series opener.
Ryley Johnson: Has started 28 games at center field and has hit leadoff in all but two contests ... Has reached base safely in every game this season ... Paces the club and AAC with 15 stolen bases in 17 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 ... Scored three runs in the Florida Atlantic series opener.
Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman: Leads the American Athletic Conference in earned run average ... Paces the squad with four saves ... Slots third on the team in strikeouts (57) ... Is second on the club in appearances (16) ... Has surrendered just one earned run in his last 21.2 innings of work ... 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 at UNCW ... Picked up the win in relief at UTSA via 2.2 scoreless innings ... Threw three scoreless innings with four strikeouts to notch the victory in the 7-4 win over UNCW ... Tallied a win and a save in the UAB series ... Allowed just one earned run and registered seven strikeouts over five innings to record two saves in the Florida Atlantic series.
Zach Root: Tabbed to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watchlist ... Named the AAC Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career on Feb. 26 ... 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 27 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 ... Registered two hits, two RBI and two runs scored in the win at NC State.
Justin Wilcoxen: Has started 22 games at catcher and six 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 in the win at NC State.
Dixon Williams: Has started 27 games at third base and two at second 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 ... Went 2-for-4 with two RBI in the win at NC State.
Trey Yesavage: Named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week April 8th ... Leads the league in strikeouts and opposing batting average ... Has posted four double-digit strikeout efforts this campaign ... 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 ... Tossed seven scoreless frames and struck out 11 in the series opener at Florida Atlantic.

Looking Ahead: East Carolina welcomes Charlotte to Greenville April 12-14 for an American Athletic Conference series that coincides with the 39th annual Great Pirate Purple/Gold Pigskin Pig-Out Party.

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Players Mentioned

Danny Beal

Joey Berini

Bristol Carter

Carter Cunningham

Jake Hunter

Jacob Jenkins-Cowart

Ryley Johnson

Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman

Jacob Starling

Justin Wilcoxen

Dixon Williams

Jaden Winter

Trey Yesavage

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