No. 5 East Carolina Gears Up For South Florida Series

Games 44-46: South Florida at No. 5 East Carolina
Coverage	May 3rd: 6:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch May 4th: 4:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch May 5th: 1:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Stream: ESPN+ (Evan Budrovich and Mike Mullis - Friday) 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 \| South Florida
Game Notes:	East Carolina \| South Florida
Statistics:	East Carolina \| South Florida
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. – No. 5 East Carolina looks to continue its winning ways when it hosts South Florida for an American Athletic Conference series inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Pirates and Bulls begin the set Friday at 6 p.m., reconvene Saturday at 4 p.m. and close out the weekend Sunday at 1 p.m.

As always, Scott Rogers and Dr. Gary Overton will handle the radio broadcast on 94.3 The Game. All three contests will also stream live via ESPN+.

East Carolina (35-8, 14-4 AAC) meets South Florida (22-22, 8-10 AAC) armed with an eight-game winning streak that has vaulted the Purple and Gold into first place in the league standings - two games clear of UTSA. ECU has won five-straight conference series, including a clean sweep of Memphis on the road last weekend. The Pirates hit 11 home runs on the way to outscoring their hosts 36-6 at FedExPark.

In addition to seizing the top spot in the AAC standings, East Carolina now also paces the league in batting average (.317), earned run average (3.52) and fielding percentage (.979). Nationally, the Pirates are second in WHIP (1.18), shutouts (six) and hits allowed per nine innings (7.05) as well as third in earned run average, seventh in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.07), 10th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.0), 13th in batting average, 21st in hits (474) and 24th in fielding percentage.

Individually, Carter Cunningham tops the league in batting average (.412), slugging percentage (.724), RBI (54) and OPS (1.222) while Ryley Johnson leads the circuit in runs scored (56). The duo also slots among the NCAA Division I leaders as Cunningham is 12th in hits (70) and 15th in batting average and Johnson ranks 23rd in runs scored.

Pitching wise, scheduled Friday starter Trey Yesavage, who has earned AAC Pitcher of the Week honors three of the last four weeks, leads the conference in opposing batting average (.148), strikeouts (113) and victories (nine) while sitting second nationally in victories, third in hits allowed per nine innings (4.52), strikeouts and WHIP (0.81) and seventh in strikeouts per nine innings (15.03). Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman still leads the nation in ERA (1.00) and is fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (15.03).

ECU has taken care of business at home this season, sporting a 21-2 record inside the friendly confines of Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Pirates are currently 8-1 against league competition in Greenville.

Projected Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Trey Yesavage (9-1, 1.73 ERA, 67.2 IP) vs. RHP Hunter Mink (3-4, 4.84 ERA, 61.1 IP)
Saturday: TBA vs. TBA
Sunday: TBA vs. TBA

About South Florida
The Bulls head to Greenville off a 5-2 midweek loss to Stetson in Tampa after dropping two of three at home to Florida Atlantic last weekend. Statistically, South Florida is one of the better hitting clubs in the conference, sporting a .289 batting average with 86 doubles, eight triples and 44 home runs. John Montes boasts a team-high .314 batting average and 35 RBI as one of three Bulls hitting at least .307. On the mound, South Florida checks in with a collective 6.07 ERA with 385 strikeouts and 193 walks in 378.0 innings. The Bulls are 6-9 away from home this season.

The South Florida Series
East Carolina leads the all-time series with South Florida 30-16 and has won nine of the last 10 meetings between the programs. The Pirates swept the Bulls in Tampa on the final weekend of the 2023 regular season before eliminating USF in the conference tournament semifinals a week later.

Individual Notables
Head Coach Cliff Godwin: Owns 386 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 (23) ... 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 ... 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 ... Allowed just one earned run in three innings in the William & Mary contest ... Earned the win in the middle game of the Memphis series, limiting the Tigers to one run and striking out four over a season long 6.0-inning outing.
Joey Berini: Has started all 43 games at shortstop ... 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 ... Hit .545 (6-for-11) with five runs scored, seven RBI and two home runs in the Wichita State series.
Bristol Carter: Has started 34 games in left field and one in center ... 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 ... Posted a career-high three RBI in the win over Elon ... Produced a pair of multi-hit performances in the Charlotte series ... Clubbed a two-run home run in the top of the 13th at William & Mary as part of a three-hit performance ... Notched a career-high four hits in the middle game of the Memphis series.
Carter Cunningham: Named the AAC Player of the Week Feb. 26 and April 29 ... Hit safely in the first 19 games of the season ... Leads the American Athletic Conference in batting average, slugging percentage, RBI and OPS ... Has started 39 games at first base and three in left field ... Put together a 19-game hitting streak to start the season ... Paces the club in both multi-hit (21) and multi-RBI (16) efforts ... 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 ... Matched career-high marks in at bats (7) and hits (4) in the contest at William & Mary ... Logged two hits and three runs scored in the home win over No. 21 NC State ... Hit .583 (7-for-12) in the Memphis series with six runs scored, nine RBI, two doubles and three home runs.
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 ... Registered five strikeouts in 1.2 innings at William & Mary ... Earned the win in relief in the Memphis series finale.
Jacob Jenkins-Cowart: Has started all 43 games at right field ... Ranks second on the club in both multi-hit (20) and multi-RBI (13) efforts ... 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 ... 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 ... Registered two hits, three runs scored and three RBI in the win over Old Dominion ... Posted three hits and four RBI at William & Mary ... Went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI in the Memphis series opener.
Ryley Johnson: Named the AAC Player of the Week for the first time in his career April 15 ... Has started 41 games at center field and has hit leadoff in all but two contests ... Has reached base safely in every game this season and owns a 16-game hitting streak ... Paces the club with 18 stolen bases in 21 attempts ... 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 ... Went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in the 5-1 win over Charlotte ... Posted three hits and scored four runs at William & Mary ... Hit .600 (6-for-10) with three runs scored and four RBI in the Wichita State series ... Notched three hits and scored four runs in the home win over No. 21 NC State ... Leads the AAC in triples, on base percentage and runs scored ... Hit .417 (5-for-12) with six runs scored and four RBI in the Memphis series.
Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman: Tabbed to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List ... Leads the nation with a 1.00 earned run average ... Paces the squad with five saves ... Slots second on the team in strikeouts (77) ... Is second on the club in appearances (20) ... Has surrendered just three earned runs in his last 36.2 innings of work ... Notched a 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 ... Collected a career-high eight strikeouts in a four-inning save versus Charlotte ... Struck out six over three innings at William & Mary while allowing just an unearned run.
Ethan Norby: Owns a 3-0 record and one save in 13 appearances (six starts) ... Struck out six and did not allow a hit in 4.0 scoreless and hitless innings in the UAB series finale ... Became the first Pirate pitcher to register double-digit strikeouts in a relief appearance since Jake Agnos tallied 11 in a 5-4 victory over Western Carolina March 3, 2017 ... Collected his first collegiate save in the Wichita State series opener by striking out four over the final 1.1 innings ... Allowed just one earned run in 4.1 innings of relief to earn the win over No. 21 NC State.
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 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 ... Limited Charlotte to one run in five innings of work to claim his fifth win of the season against no losses.
Jacob Starling: Has started 31 games at second base ... Hit for the cycle in the 10-6 win over No. 21 NC State and finished the game with four RBI ... 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 ... Drove in five runs, logging a double and home run in the middle game of the Memphis series.
Justin Wilcoxen: Has started 33 games at catcher and eight 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 ... Turned in his second career multi-home run effort in the 11-7 win over Wichita State ... Notched two hits, including a home run, in the home win over No. 21 NC State ... Went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBI, a double and a home run in the Memphis series finale.
Dixon Williams: Has started 31 games at third base and 11 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 ... Went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and three RBI in the run-rule win over Charlotte ... Tallied two hits and a pair of RBI in the home win over No. 21 NC State ... Hit .615 (8-for-13) with five runs scored in the Memphis series.
Trey Yesavage: Tabbed to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List ... Named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week April 8th, 15th and 29th ... Leads the league in strikeouts and opposing batting average and slots sixth nationally in earned run average ... Has posted seven 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 ... Combined with Jackson DiLorenzo to throw a no hitter in the run-rule victory over Charlotte, striking out 12 batters over six innings ... Notched a career-high 15 strikeouts in the series-opening win over Wichita State ... Came within one out of throwing a no hitter at Memphis, racking up 12 strikeouts in the 14-0 run-rule victory.

Looking Ahead: East Carolina hosts nationally ranked Duke (No. 10 this week) Tuesday, May 5th at 6 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Danny Beal

Joey Berini

Bristol Carter

Carter Cunningham

Jackson DiLorenzo

Jake Hunter

Jacob Jenkins-Cowart

Ryley Johnson

Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman

Ethan Norby

Jacob Starling

Justin Wilcoxen

Dixon Williams

Trey Yesavage

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