Tuesday, May 21
Clearwater, Fla.
12:30 p.m.
East Carolina University
41-13
12
vs
4
Rice
22-35
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Rice
1
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
4
7
1
East Carolina
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
12
X
12
11
1
East Carolina Musters Up Big Rally To Claim AAC Baseball Championship Opener
May 21, 2024 | Baseball
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Top seed East Carolina scored in just one inning Tuesday afternoon but did it 12 times in the bottom of the eighth to erase a late four-run deficit on the way to a 12-4 victory over No. 8 seed Rice in the opening round of the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship inside BayCare Ballpark.
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The 12-run inning represents a tournament record and the most for ECU since it plated 11 in the second frame of a 30-4 win over N.C. Central back on March 26, 2010.
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With the win, East Carolina (41-13) advances to the winner's bracket and will take No. 4 seed Wichita State Thursday at 1 p.m. for the right to advance to the semifinal round. Rice will play in an elimination game Wednesday, facing fifth-seeded UAB.
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ECU received a solid start out of AAC All-Freshman Team honoree Ethan Norby who limited the Owls (22-35) to a pair of earned runs in five innings with three walks and three strikeouts. Colby Wallace (1-0) garnered his first collegiate victory, tossing the top of the eighth inning and holding Rice to a lone run before the Pirate offense exploded in the home half of the frame. Davion Hickson (3-2) was charged with the loss, surrendering six runs (five earned) on three hits in just 1.1 innings of work.
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Ryley Johnson ended up pacing the East Carolina offense with two hits, two runs scored and three RBI while Joey Berini went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a run driven in. Jacob Starling added two runs scored and two RBI. Kyte McDonald did his part for the Owls, registering three hits and two runs scored while falling a home run shy of the cycle.
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With ECU trailing 4-0 in the eighth, AAC Player of the Year Carter Cunningham started the scoring barrage when he singled home Berini before Johnson scored on a grounder by Jacob Jenkins-Cowart to cut the lead to two. Cunningham came home on a single by Dixon Williams before Justin Wilcoxen singled to score Jacob Starling to tie the contest.
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The Pirates then took the lead on an RBI single by Luke Nowak before Berini hit a second ball of the inning to right field that was misplayed to send home another run. Johnson would provide the knockout blow with a three-run triple to the gap in right center field before scoring on a wild pitch. Starling put the exclamation point on the comeback, hitting a two-run tank over the right field wall to close out the scoring.
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Tuesday, May 21
Game 1: No. 4 Wichita State 8, No. 5 UAB 2 | Box Score | Highlights
Game 2: No. 1 East Carolina 12, No. 8 Rice 4 | Box Score | Highlights
Game 3: No. 7 Charlotte vs. No. 2 UTSA | 4:47 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: No. 6 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 3 Tulane | 47 minutes after Game 3 | ESPN+
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Wednesday, May 22
Game 5: Rice vs. UAB | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 6: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 | 47 minutes after Game 5 | ESPN+
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Thursday, May 23
Game 7: Wichita State vs. East Carolina | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 8: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 47 minutes after Game 7 | ESPN+
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Friday, May 24
Game 9: Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 5 | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 10: Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 6 | 47 minutes after Game 9 | ESPN+
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Saturday, May 25
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 | 9 a.m. | ESPN+
Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10 | 47 minutes after Game 11 | ESPN+
Game 13: Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11 (if necessary) | TBD | ESPN+
Game 14: Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12 (if necessary) | TBD | ESPN+
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Sunday, May 26
Game 15: Semifinal Winners | Noon| ESPNEWS/ESPN+
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All times listed are Eastern.
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The 12-run inning represents a tournament record and the most for ECU since it plated 11 in the second frame of a 30-4 win over N.C. Central back on March 26, 2010.
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With the win, East Carolina (41-13) advances to the winner's bracket and will take No. 4 seed Wichita State Thursday at 1 p.m. for the right to advance to the semifinal round. Rice will play in an elimination game Wednesday, facing fifth-seeded UAB.
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ECU received a solid start out of AAC All-Freshman Team honoree Ethan Norby who limited the Owls (22-35) to a pair of earned runs in five innings with three walks and three strikeouts. Colby Wallace (1-0) garnered his first collegiate victory, tossing the top of the eighth inning and holding Rice to a lone run before the Pirate offense exploded in the home half of the frame. Davion Hickson (3-2) was charged with the loss, surrendering six runs (five earned) on three hits in just 1.1 innings of work.
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Ryley Johnson ended up pacing the East Carolina offense with two hits, two runs scored and three RBI while Joey Berini went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a run driven in. Jacob Starling added two runs scored and two RBI. Kyte McDonald did his part for the Owls, registering three hits and two runs scored while falling a home run shy of the cycle.
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The Defensive Player of the Year is also a weapon at the plate @ryley_johnson2 pic.twitter.com/JELdWTZN9E
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) May 21, 2024
With ECU trailing 4-0 in the eighth, AAC Player of the Year Carter Cunningham started the scoring barrage when he singled home Berini before Johnson scored on a grounder by Jacob Jenkins-Cowart to cut the lead to two. Cunningham came home on a single by Dixon Williams before Justin Wilcoxen singled to score Jacob Starling to tie the contest.
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The Pirates then took the lead on an RBI single by Luke Nowak before Berini hit a second ball of the inning to right field that was misplayed to send home another run. Johnson would provide the knockout blow with a three-run triple to the gap in right center field before scoring on a wild pitch. Starling put the exclamation point on the comeback, hitting a two-run tank over the right field wall to close out the scoring.
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- East Carolina improved to 5-4 in the opening round of the AAC Baseball Championship.
- The Pirates have won four straight against the Owls, cutting Rice's lead in the all-time series to 24-13.
- The Owls were 1-for-11 (.091) with runners in scoring position, leaving 11 runners on base, while ECU was 6-for-10 (.600).
- The Pirates improved to 17-0 when scoring 10 or more runs in a contest this season.
- Eight of East Carolina's nine hitters in the starting lineup notched at least one hit.
Tuesday, May 21
Game 1: No. 4 Wichita State 8, No. 5 UAB 2 | Box Score | Highlights
Game 2: No. 1 East Carolina 12, No. 8 Rice 4 | Box Score | Highlights
Game 3: No. 7 Charlotte vs. No. 2 UTSA | 4:47 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: No. 6 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 3 Tulane | 47 minutes after Game 3 | ESPN+
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Wednesday, May 22
Game 5: Rice vs. UAB | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 6: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 | 47 minutes after Game 5 | ESPN+
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Thursday, May 23
Game 7: Wichita State vs. East Carolina | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 8: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 47 minutes after Game 7 | ESPN+
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Friday, May 24
Game 9: Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 5 | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 10: Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 6 | 47 minutes after Game 9 | ESPN+
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Saturday, May 25
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 | 9 a.m. | ESPN+
Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10 | 47 minutes after Game 11 | ESPN+
Game 13: Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11 (if necessary) | TBD | ESPN+
Game 14: Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12 (if necessary) | TBD | ESPN+
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Sunday, May 26
Game 15: Semifinal Winners | Noon| ESPNEWS/ESPN+
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All times listed are Eastern.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wallace, Colby (1-0)
L: Davion Hickson (3-2)
Batting:
2B: Kyte McDonald 1 ; Nathan Becker 1
3B: Kyte McDonald 1
RBI: Kyte McDonald 1 ; Ben Dukes 1 ; Treyton Rank 1
SH: Ben Dukes 1 ; Jack Riedel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kyte McDonald 2 ; Pierce Gallo 1 ; Max Johnson 1
SB: Kyte McDonald 1
Batting:
3B: Johnson, Ryley 1 ; Berini, Joey 1
HR: Starling, Jacob 1
RBI: Johnson, Ryley 3 ; Cunningham, Carter 1 ; Starling, Jacob 2 ; Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 1 ; Williams, Dixon 1 ; Wilcoxen, Justin 1 ; Nowak, Luke 1 ; Berini, Joey 1
SH: Barron, Walker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Johnson, Ryley 2 ; Cunningham, Carter 1 ; Chrismon, Nathan 1 ; Starling, Jacob 2 ; Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob 1 ; Williams, Dixon 1 ; Wilcoxen, Justin 1 ; Nowak, Luke 1 ; Berini, Joey 2
HBP: Johnson, Ryley 1 ; McCrystal, Ryan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ BaseballOF/1B
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OF
/ BaseballOF
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LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
INF
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