Friday, May 17
Greenville, N.C.
2:30 p.m.
East Carolina University
39-13, 18-8
15
vs
5
Rice
22-33, 11-15
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
Rice
0
2
0
0
1
2
0
0
5
5
3
East Carolina
4
7
0
1
2
0
0
1
15
12
2
No. 13 ECU Sweeps Rice To Claim Fifth-Straight American Athletic Conference Regular Season Title
May 17, 2024 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Entering the weekend, No. 13 East Carolina was tasked with sweeping Rice to ensure an outright fifth-straight American Athletic Conference regular season title and the Pirates did just that – capturing both ends of a doubleheader Friday by scores of 15-5 (eight innings) and 6-4 inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Had ECU dropped a game to the Owls, UTSA could have snagged a share of the title, but the Pirates will begin the AAC Baseball Championship Tuesday as the top seed and face off with the No. 8 seed at approximately 1 p.m. at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla.
In addition to a fifth consecutive league crown, East Carolina cemented its sixth straight 40-win season while finishing the regular season a sparkling 26-4 at home.
Junior outfielder Jacob-Jenkins Cowart made history Friday night, posting a pair of RBI to increase his season total to 71 – a new American Athletic Conference single-season record. He currently stands sixth on the ECU single season top 10 list.
Game One: East Carolina 15, Rice 5 (Eight Innings)
Jenkins-Cowart went 4-for-4 with four runs scored and a career-high six RBI to lift the Pirates to the run-rule win in the opener. Justin Wilcoxen also registered two hits, two runs scored and three runs driven in. Manny Garza logged a pair of RBI for Rice.
Jackson DiLorenzo (2-2) was effective in relief, tossing a career-high 3.1 innings and allowing just one earned run while striking out two batters. Colby Wallace also made his collegiate pitching debut, covering the final innings with three strikeouts and no runs across. J.D. McCracken (4-7) was tagged with the loss as the Purple and Gold touched him up for four runs on one hit in one inning of work.
After ECU starter Erik Ritchie retired Rice in order in the top of the first, Carter Cunningham drew a walk and advanced to third on a throwing error by McCracken. Jacob Starling then walked to load the bases for Jenkins-Cowart who shot a two-run single to shallow left field to put the Pirates on top 2-0. Wilcoxen added a run on a bases-loaded walk later in the inning and Bristol Carter capped the frame with a sacrifice fly to leave East Carolina ahead by four.
The Owls would plate two runs in the top of the second, but ECU kept the pressure on and exploded for a seven spot in the bottom of the inning via a Starling sacrifice fly, Jenkins-Cowart RBI double, Luke Nowak run-scoring single, Joey Berini RBI triple and Ryley Johnson RBI single.
Wilcoxen led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to push the Pirates into run-rule territory, but Kyte McDonald answered with a solo blast to cut the lead back to nine. Jenkins-Cowart made it 14-3 in the bottom of the fifth, taking the first pitch he saw backside and over the wall in left. However, back-to-back solo home runs in the top of the sixth reduced the visitors' deficit to nine once more.
With Wallace on the mound firing zeros across, Jenkins-Cowart terminated Rice for good in the bottom of the eighth with a leadoff long ball that ended the contest early.
Game Two: East Carolina 6, Rice 4
Danny Beal put in a solid relief effort, tossing four scoreless innings to earn the win on the mound and help the Pirates hold off the Owls for the two-run victory.
Beal (6-2) and Chris Kahler were phenomenal, combing for seven scoreless frames and limiting Rice two hits while striking out 11. Davion Hickson (3-1) was saddled with the loss after giving up three runs on six hits in 4.1 innings.
Cunningham led the offensive efforts with three hits, two runs scored and three RBI. Jenkins-Cowart also ended up with two hits and a pair of runs driven in. Treyton Rank collected two hits and an RBI for the visitors.
ECU jumped on top in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-run shot off the bat of Cunningham, but the Owls rapped out six hits and plated four runs to grab the upper hand. Cunningham drew the Pirates within three in the bottom of the inning to slice the deficit to one.
Rice held firm for a few innings, however, East Carolina worked some two-out magic in the bottom of the sixth to seize control for the duration. With two away and the bases clean, Johnson sparked the rally with a single to left before Cunningham reached on an infield base knock. Ryan McCrystal then tied things up with an RBI single to right and Starling lined one off Hickson on the mound to load the bases. After working a 2-0 count, Jenkins-Cowart put the exclamation point on the frame with a two-run single to center that made it a 6-4 contest.
The Owls put together one last rally in the top of the eighth, getting runners to the corners with two outs, but Beal was up to the mark and got Eric Correa to swing and miss at an 0-2 offering to preserve the Pirates' two-run cushion. He then calmly retired Rice in order in the top of the ninth to clinch the title.
Had ECU dropped a game to the Owls, UTSA could have snagged a share of the title, but the Pirates will begin the AAC Baseball Championship Tuesday as the top seed and face off with the No. 8 seed at approximately 1 p.m. at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla.
In addition to a fifth consecutive league crown, East Carolina cemented its sixth straight 40-win season while finishing the regular season a sparkling 26-4 at home.
Junior outfielder Jacob-Jenkins Cowart made history Friday night, posting a pair of RBI to increase his season total to 71 – a new American Athletic Conference single-season record. He currently stands sixth on the ECU single season top 10 list.
For the 5th consecutive season…we are the @American_Conf Regular Season Champions! 🏴☠️⚾️🤟#PIRATES pic.twitter.com/hx2u5QloOM
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) May 18, 2024
Game One: East Carolina 15, Rice 5 (Eight Innings)
Jenkins-Cowart went 4-for-4 with four runs scored and a career-high six RBI to lift the Pirates to the run-rule win in the opener. Justin Wilcoxen also registered two hits, two runs scored and three runs driven in. Manny Garza logged a pair of RBI for Rice.
Jackson DiLorenzo (2-2) was effective in relief, tossing a career-high 3.1 innings and allowing just one earned run while striking out two batters. Colby Wallace also made his collegiate pitching debut, covering the final innings with three strikeouts and no runs across. J.D. McCracken (4-7) was tagged with the loss as the Purple and Gold touched him up for four runs on one hit in one inning of work.
After ECU starter Erik Ritchie retired Rice in order in the top of the first, Carter Cunningham drew a walk and advanced to third on a throwing error by McCracken. Jacob Starling then walked to load the bases for Jenkins-Cowart who shot a two-run single to shallow left field to put the Pirates on top 2-0. Wilcoxen added a run on a bases-loaded walk later in the inning and Bristol Carter capped the frame with a sacrifice fly to leave East Carolina ahead by four.
The Owls would plate two runs in the top of the second, but ECU kept the pressure on and exploded for a seven spot in the bottom of the inning via a Starling sacrifice fly, Jenkins-Cowart RBI double, Luke Nowak run-scoring single, Joey Berini RBI triple and Ryley Johnson RBI single.
Wilcoxen led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to push the Pirates into run-rule territory, but Kyte McDonald answered with a solo blast to cut the lead back to nine. Jenkins-Cowart made it 14-3 in the bottom of the fifth, taking the first pitch he saw backside and over the wall in left. However, back-to-back solo home runs in the top of the sixth reduced the visitors' deficit to nine once more.
With Wallace on the mound firing zeros across, Jenkins-Cowart terminated Rice for good in the bottom of the eighth with a leadoff long ball that ended the contest early.
Game Two: East Carolina 6, Rice 4
Danny Beal put in a solid relief effort, tossing four scoreless innings to earn the win on the mound and help the Pirates hold off the Owls for the two-run victory.
Beal (6-2) and Chris Kahler were phenomenal, combing for seven scoreless frames and limiting Rice two hits while striking out 11. Davion Hickson (3-1) was saddled with the loss after giving up three runs on six hits in 4.1 innings.
Cunningham led the offensive efforts with three hits, two runs scored and three RBI. Jenkins-Cowart also ended up with two hits and a pair of runs driven in. Treyton Rank collected two hits and an RBI for the visitors.
ECU jumped on top in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-run shot off the bat of Cunningham, but the Owls rapped out six hits and plated four runs to grab the upper hand. Cunningham drew the Pirates within three in the bottom of the inning to slice the deficit to one.
Rice held firm for a few innings, however, East Carolina worked some two-out magic in the bottom of the sixth to seize control for the duration. With two away and the bases clean, Johnson sparked the rally with a single to left before Cunningham reached on an infield base knock. Ryan McCrystal then tied things up with an RBI single to right and Starling lined one off Hickson on the mound to load the bases. After working a 2-0 count, Jenkins-Cowart put the exclamation point on the frame with a two-run single to center that made it a 6-4 contest.
The Owls put together one last rally in the top of the eighth, getting runners to the corners with two outs, but Beal was up to the mark and got Eric Correa to swing and miss at an 0-2 offering to preserve the Pirates' two-run cushion. He then calmly retired Rice in order in the top of the ninth to clinch the title.
- East Carolina will serve as the AAC Baseball Championship top seed for the fifth-straight iteration of the tourney.
- The Pirates improved to 12-24 against the Owls and have won five of the last six meetings.
- ECU moved into a first-place tie with UTSA back on April 19 when it knocked off Wichita State and did not relinquish the top spot the rest of the way.
- The Pirates were 10-for-20 (.500) with runners in scoring position over both ends of the twinbill.
- Jenkins-Cowart now leads the club in both multi-hit games (24) and multi-RBI efforts (18).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: DiLorenzo, Jackson (2-2)
L: J.D. McCracken (4-7)
Batting:
2B: Manny Garza 1
HR: Kyte McDonald 1 ; Pierce Gallo 1 ; Trey Duffield 1
RBI: Kyte McDonald 1 ; Pierce Gallo 1 ; Trey Duffield 1 ; Manny Garza 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Kyte McDonald 1 ; Pierce Gallo 2 ; Jacob Devenny 1 ; Trey Duffield 1
Batting:
2B: McCrystal, Ryan 1 ; Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 1
3B: Berini, Joey 1
HR: Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 2 ; Wilcoxen, Justin 1
RBI: Johnson, Ryley 1 ; Starling, Jacob 1 ; Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 6 ; Wilcoxen, Justin 3 ; Carter, Bristol 1 ; Nowak, Luke 1 ; Berini, Joey 1
SF: Starling, Jacob 1 ; Carter, Bristol 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Johnson, Ryley 1 ; Cunningham, Carter 1 ; McCrystal, Ryan 2 ; Starling, Jacob 2 ; Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 4 ; Williams, Dixon 1 ; Wilcoxen, Justin 2 ; Nowak, Luke 1 ; Berini, Joey 1
HBP: Williams, Dixon 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
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4
H
4
RBI
6
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
1b/cf
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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