Friday, May 30
Conway, S.C.
12:00 p.m.
East Carolina University
34-25
11
vs
6
Florida
38-21
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6
7
8
9
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H
E
East Carolina
2
2
2
3
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1
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11
15
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Florida
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0
1
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6
9
2
East Carolina Sprints Past No. 17 Florida In Conway Regional Opener
May 30, 2025 | Baseball
CONWAY, S.C. – Sophomore LHP Ethan Norby put together a special performance on the mound and the offense backed him with plenty of run support Friday afternoon as East Carolina took care of No. 17 Florida 11-6 to open the NCAA Conway Regional inside Springs Brooks Stadium.
The Gators (38-21) had finished the regular season by winning six-straight SEC series, but now face an elimination game Saturday against the loser of Friday night's Fairfield-Coastal Carolina matchup. ECU awaits the winner of that contest Saturday evening at 6 p.m. when it aims to advance to its sixth consecutive regional final.
The Pirates (34-25) treated the partisan East Carolina crowd to a 15-hit performance while Norby (8-5) spun a gem – striking out 10 against no walks in a 7.1-inning masterclass. He tossed a career-high 116 pitches while racking up double-digit strikeouts for the third time in an East Carolina uniform.
As they have all season, multiple freshmen answered the bell as Austin Irby produced his first career four-hit effort – the first Pirate to record four hits in an NCAA Regional affair since Joey Berini did so against Oklahoma at the 2023 Charlottesville Regional. He fell just a triple short of the cycle, finishing the day 4-for-5 with three runs scored, three RBI, a double and a home run. Braden Burress, Jack Herring and Ryley Johnson also chipped in with two hits apiece. Bobby Boser paced the Florida (38-21) lineup with two hits, a run scored and three RBI.
ECU knocked out Gator ace Liam Peterson (8-4) early, tagging him for four runs (two earned) on five hits. Florida used seven pitchers in the game as compared to the Pirates' two as Jake Hunter easily covered the final 1.2 frames.
Burress set the tone from the very first at bat of the afternoon, reaching on a bunt single before stealing second and moving to third on a fly ball to center. Dixon Williams was then hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners and John Collins put down a squeeze bunt that saw Burress cross home plate safely after a fielding error by the Gator catcher. A Johnson single kept things moving, loading the bases for Colby Wallace who sent a ball to center deep enough to score Williams and make it 2-0.
Three-straight singles with one out in the top of the second provided the Pirates another great opportunity to put up offense and Williams worked back from an 0-2 count to drive a ball to left and score Walker Barron from third to push East Carolina ahead 3-0. Collins then notched a two-out RBI single that extended the margin to four after two complete innings.
The Pirates continued to keep the pressure on in the top of the third. Irby deposited a one-out single into center before Alex Peltier worked a walk. A wild pitch sent Irby to third and Peltier stole second to put ECU in another promising position. After Florida intentionally walked Burress with two outs to load the bases, Herring made them pay – working a full count before drilling a pitch into right field for a two-run single and a 6-0 Pirate advantage.
A fielding error allowed Collins to reach base safely to begin the fourth inning and East Carolina did not waste the chance, eventually scoring three runs via an Irby RBI double and Peltier two-run two bagger to balloon the lead to 9-0. The Gators would break onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of solo home runs to slice their deficit to seven. Florida looked to further chip away in the bottom of the fifth, but Norby stranded a pair of Gators on base by striking out Brendan Lawson on a devastating sweeper to terminate the frame.
Irby placed the exclamation point on his day with a leadoff solo long ball in the sixth while also scoring Johnson with an RBI single in the seventh to leave ECU with an 11-2 cushion at the stretch. Florida would notch four runs in the eighth and ninth innings but never really threatened a comeback as Burress flipped a grounder to first for the final out, sending the Pirates into the winner's bracket.
The Gators (38-21) had finished the regular season by winning six-straight SEC series, but now face an elimination game Saturday against the loser of Friday night's Fairfield-Coastal Carolina matchup. ECU awaits the winner of that contest Saturday evening at 6 p.m. when it aims to advance to its sixth consecutive regional final.
The Pirates (34-25) treated the partisan East Carolina crowd to a 15-hit performance while Norby (8-5) spun a gem – striking out 10 against no walks in a 7.1-inning masterclass. He tossed a career-high 116 pitches while racking up double-digit strikeouts for the third time in an East Carolina uniform.
As they have all season, multiple freshmen answered the bell as Austin Irby produced his first career four-hit effort – the first Pirate to record four hits in an NCAA Regional affair since Joey Berini did so against Oklahoma at the 2023 Charlottesville Regional. He fell just a triple short of the cycle, finishing the day 4-for-5 with three runs scored, three RBI, a double and a home run. Braden Burress, Jack Herring and Ryley Johnson also chipped in with two hits apiece. Bobby Boser paced the Florida (38-21) lineup with two hits, a run scored and three RBI.
ECU knocked out Gator ace Liam Peterson (8-4) early, tagging him for four runs (two earned) on five hits. Florida used seven pitchers in the game as compared to the Pirates' two as Jake Hunter easily covered the final 1.2 frames.
Have yourself a day, @2024Irby
— ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) May 30, 2025
11-2 Pirates 🏴☠️ pic.twitter.com/CgoQZa3jtR
Burress set the tone from the very first at bat of the afternoon, reaching on a bunt single before stealing second and moving to third on a fly ball to center. Dixon Williams was then hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners and John Collins put down a squeeze bunt that saw Burress cross home plate safely after a fielding error by the Gator catcher. A Johnson single kept things moving, loading the bases for Colby Wallace who sent a ball to center deep enough to score Williams and make it 2-0.
Three-straight singles with one out in the top of the second provided the Pirates another great opportunity to put up offense and Williams worked back from an 0-2 count to drive a ball to left and score Walker Barron from third to push East Carolina ahead 3-0. Collins then notched a two-out RBI single that extended the margin to four after two complete innings.
The Pirates continued to keep the pressure on in the top of the third. Irby deposited a one-out single into center before Alex Peltier worked a walk. A wild pitch sent Irby to third and Peltier stole second to put ECU in another promising position. After Florida intentionally walked Burress with two outs to load the bases, Herring made them pay – working a full count before drilling a pitch into right field for a two-run single and a 6-0 Pirate advantage.
A fielding error allowed Collins to reach base safely to begin the fourth inning and East Carolina did not waste the chance, eventually scoring three runs via an Irby RBI double and Peltier two-run two bagger to balloon the lead to 9-0. The Gators would break onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of solo home runs to slice their deficit to seven. Florida looked to further chip away in the bottom of the fifth, but Norby stranded a pair of Gators on base by striking out Brendan Lawson on a devastating sweeper to terminate the frame.
Irby placed the exclamation point on his day with a leadoff solo long ball in the sixth while also scoring Johnson with an RBI single in the seventh to leave ECU with an 11-2 cushion at the stretch. Florida would notch four runs in the eighth and ninth innings but never really threatened a comeback as Burress flipped a grounder to first for the final out, sending the Pirates into the winner's bracket.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Norby, Ethan (8-5)
L: Liam Peterson (8-4)
Batting:
2B: Irby, Austin 1 ; Peltier, Alex 1
HR: Irby, Austin 1
RBI: Herring, Jack 2 ; Williams, Dixon 1 ; Collins, John 1 ; Wallace, Colby 1 ; Irby, Austin 3 ; Peltier, Alex 2
SF: Williams, Dixon 1 ; Wallace, Colby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Burress, Braden 2 ; Williams, Dixon 1 ; Johnson, Ryley 2 ; Wallace, Colby 1 ; Irby, Austin 3 ; Peltier, Alex 1 ; Barron, Walker 1
SB: Burress, Braden 1 ; Johnson, Ryley 1 ; Peltier, Alex 1
HBP: Burress, Braden 1 ; Williams, Dixon 1
Batting:
2B: Justin Nadeau 1
HR: Bobby Boser 1 ; Brendan Lawson 1 ; Blake Cyr 1
RBI: Bobby Boser 3 ; Brendan Lawson 1 ; Ty Evans 1 ; Blake Cyr 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bobby Boser 1 ; Brendan Lawson 1 ; Blake Cyr 1 ; Landon Stripling 1 ; Justin Nadeau 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
3
H
4
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
6
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
Catcher
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Catcher
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RHP
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LHP
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Outfield
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Infield/RHP
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Infield
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