East Carolina Overpowers VCU For Midweek Sweep

Wednesday, March 12

Richmond, Va.

3:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

9-8

VCU

4-12

East Carolina

VCU

March 12, 2025 | Baseball

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – A stellar start by senior LHP Nick Moran set the tone Wednesday afternoon as East Carolina defeated VCU 11-1 to polish off a midweek sweep of the Rams at The Diamond.

The Pirates (9-8) outscored their hosts 23-3 in the two contests and allowed just two earned runs in 17 innings. The Rams (4-12) pitching staff was what some would call erratic - issuing 15 walks, uncorking seven wild pitches and hitting three ECU batters in Wednesday's contest alone.

Braden Burress and John Collins logged two hits apiece for the Purple and Gold while Dixon Williams finished with two runs scored and a pair of RBI. Will Henson was the lone VCU hitter to register multiple hits, ending the day with two.

Moran (1-0) was excellent in a season-long outing, limiting the Rams to just one hit over 5.0 scoreless innings and striking out three. VCU starter Drew Ramos (0-2) did not last through the first frame, surrendering four runs on two hits with four walks and no strikeouts in 0.2 official innings.

Burress got things going right away, lacing a leadoff single to right field in the top of the first. He then stole second before Collins ripped a one-out RBI double to the gap in left center to score Burress and make it 1-0. Collins would advance to third on a groundout before scooting home on a wild pitch to increase the lead to two. Subsequent bases-loaded walks by Alex Bouche and Alex Peltier left the Pirates ahead 4-0 moving to the home half.

Both pitching units really settled in from there as Moran did not put a Ram runner on base until the bottom of the fourth. East Carolina started to pull away in the sixth, putting up a four spot. Burress began the rally with an infield single before Williams drilled a 3-1 offering to downtown Richmond for his fourth home run of the campaign. An error and subsequent Colby Wallace RBI double capped the half inning's scoring.

VCU broke onto the board with an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth, but the Pirates responded with a pair in the top of the seventh – plating both Burress and Williams via two wild pitches. The game enjoyed a fitting end in the top of the ninth as Walker Barron worked a leadoff walk, got to second on a Nick Parham hit by pitch, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored thanks to Parker Byrd's first career RBI by way of a sacrifice fly. Fans may remember that Byrd made his collegiate debut in the 2024 season opener and became one of the few student-athletes to ever play in a Division I baseball game wearing a prosthetic after losing part of his leg in a horrendous boating accident in 2022.

Coolest sac fly ever? We think so.🤟@parkerbyrd11 | #PIRATES pic.twitter.com/MLfweD6JtH
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) March 12, 2025

Gabe Beschloss covered the final two frames on the mound in scoreless fashion, racking up four strikeouts to help seal the win.

East Carolina improved to 2-2 in true road games this campaign.
The Pirates' 15 walks drawn are the most for ECU in a single game since doing so in a 13-1 win over Liberty back on March 11, 2023, in Greenville.
The teams combined to leave 25 runners on base while going 0-for-3 with the bases loaded 4-for-20 with runners in scoring position.
The Pirates defeated the Rams for the third-straight time and increased their lead in the all-time series to 37-32.
Williams extended his on base streak to 13 games and has recorded a base hit in four consecutive outings.

Up Next: East Carolina returns to Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium this weekend for a three-game set against William & Mary. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.