Thursday, May 16
Greenville, N.C.
6:00 p.m.
East Carolina University
38-13, 17-8
8
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Rice
22-32, 11-14
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9
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Rice
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East Carolina
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No. 13 ECU Defeats Rice 8-2 In Series Opener
May 16, 2024 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, N.C. – A three-run home run off the bat of Jacob Jenkins-Cowart afforded No. 13 East Carolina a lead it would not relinquish Thursday night as the Pirates picked up an 8-2 win over Rice to begin an American Athletic Conference series inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
ECU (38-13, 17-8 AAC) maintained a one-game lead over UTSA for the top spot in the league standings as the Roadrunners took care of Florida Atlantic 14-1 in Boca Raton earlier in the evening.
Dixon Williams and Ryan McCrystal both posted two hits apiece to go along with Jenkins-Cowart's three RBI. Pierce Gallo led the visitors with two hits and a run scored.
Trey Yesavage (11-1) collected his 11th victory of the campaign, allowing just one earned run on two hits with seven strikeouts and four walks in 5.2 innings. Ethan Norby nabbed his second save of the year with 2.2 scoreless relief frames. Parker Smith (4-5) was saddled with the loss in a complete-game effort, surrendering eight earned run on eight hits in eight innings of work.
The Owls (22-32, 11-14 AAC) scored a quick run in the top of the second when Nathan Becker walked, moved to third on a Gallo single and scored via a Manny Garza sacrifice fly. The Pirates responded in the bottom of the fourth, however, as McCrystal shot a double down the right field line and Jacob Starling reached on a hit by pitch, setting the stage for an opposite field three-run home run by Jenkins-Cowart that gave East Carolina a 3-1 advantage. Bristol Carter would add an RBI single later in the frame to push the upper hand to three.
Starling ripped a first pitch double that landed on the left field line to kick off the bottom of the sixth and ended up crossing home on a one-out Williams two bagger that split the gap in left center to make it 5-1. Rice answered with a run in the top of the seventh on a fielder's choice play, but Justin Wilcoxen lined a 0-0 pitch over the wall in left to push the Purple and Gold in front 8-2.
The Owls loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the ninth, but Joey Berini made a nice grab on a liner and doubled off Garza at second for a crucial double play. Norby then induced a grounder to second that ended the contest.
ECU (38-13, 17-8 AAC) maintained a one-game lead over UTSA for the top spot in the league standings as the Roadrunners took care of Florida Atlantic 14-1 in Boca Raton earlier in the evening.
Dixon Williams and Ryan McCrystal both posted two hits apiece to go along with Jenkins-Cowart's three RBI. Pierce Gallo led the visitors with two hits and a run scored.
Trey Yesavage (11-1) collected his 11th victory of the campaign, allowing just one earned run on two hits with seven strikeouts and four walks in 5.2 innings. Ethan Norby nabbed his second save of the year with 2.2 scoreless relief frames. Parker Smith (4-5) was saddled with the loss in a complete-game effort, surrendering eight earned run on eight hits in eight innings of work.
NO RULES @JenkinsCowart 😤🏴☠️ https://t.co/NRQl4sPO76 pic.twitter.com/CFVuhQIbJn
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) May 16, 2024
The Owls (22-32, 11-14 AAC) scored a quick run in the top of the second when Nathan Becker walked, moved to third on a Gallo single and scored via a Manny Garza sacrifice fly. The Pirates responded in the bottom of the fourth, however, as McCrystal shot a double down the right field line and Jacob Starling reached on a hit by pitch, setting the stage for an opposite field three-run home run by Jenkins-Cowart that gave East Carolina a 3-1 advantage. Bristol Carter would add an RBI single later in the frame to push the upper hand to three.
Starling ripped a first pitch double that landed on the left field line to kick off the bottom of the sixth and ended up crossing home on a one-out Williams two bagger that split the gap in left center to make it 5-1. Rice answered with a run in the top of the seventh on a fielder's choice play, but Justin Wilcoxen lined a 0-0 pitch over the wall in left to push the Purple and Gold in front 8-2.
The Owls loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the ninth, but Joey Berini made a nice grab on a liner and doubled off Garza at second for a crucial double play. Norby then induced a grounder to second that ended the contest.
- East Carolina ran its record to 24-4 at Clark-LeClair Stadium in 2024.
- ECU improved to 10-24 all time versus Rice.
- The Pirates were 4-for-9 (.444) with runners in scoring position and notched four two-out RBI.
- Starling reached base safely for the 17th-straight game.
- Wilcoxen tied Carter Cunningham for the team lead in home runs with his 13th blast of the campaign.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Yesavage, Trey (11-1)
L: Parker Smith (4-5)
S: Norby, Ethan (2)
Batting:
RBI: Jacob Devenny 1 ; Manny Garza 1
SF: Manny Garza 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nathan Becker 1 ; Pierce Gallo 1
SB: Pierce Gallo 1
CS: Pierce Gallo 1
HBP: Jacob Devenny 1 ; Kyte McDonald 1
Batting:
2B: McCrystal, Ryan 1 ; Starling, Jacob 1 ; Williams, Dixon 1
HR: Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 1 ; Wilcoxen, Justin 1
RBI: Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 3 ; Williams, Dixon 1 ; Wilcoxen, Justin 3 ; Carter, Bristol 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McCrystal, Ryan 1 ; Nowak, Luke 1 ; Starling, Jacob 3 ; Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 1 ; Williams, Dixon 1 ; Wilcoxen, Justin 1
HBP: Johnson, Ryley 1 ; Starling, Jacob 2 ; Williams, Dixon 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
3
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
INF
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OF/1B
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