UTSA Holds Off East Carolina 8-5 In Series Opener

Friday, May 9

Greenville, N.C.

6:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

27-22, 11-11

UTSA

38-10, 19-3

UTSA

East Carolina

May 09, 2025 | Baseball

Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina dropped its American Athletic Conference series opener to UTSA by an 8-5 score Friday night inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

The Pirates (27-22, 11-11 AAC) held an 11-9 advantage in the hit column, but the Roadrunners (38-10, 19-3 AAC) built an 8-1 advantage on the scoreboard before settling for the three-run victory.

Dixon Williams and Jack Herring paced the ECU lineup with two hits apiece while Jordan Ballin was the lone UTSA batter to record multiple base knocks and finished 2-for-2 with a run scored.

Roadrunner starter Zach Royse (8-4) picked up the win on the mound, allowing just one run on six hits with a walk and eight strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work. Ethan Norby (6-5) took the loss after giving up four runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts in five complete frames. Robert Orloski notched his sixth save of the year with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.

The Pirates were the first to crack the board in the contest as a Williams RBI single in the bottom of the third afforded the home side a 1-0 lead. However, a two-run home run off the bat of James Taussig was the impetus for a four-run UTSA fifth inning that propelled the visitors in front by three.

The Roadrunners tacked on another run in the sixth and seemed to pull away with a three spot in the eighth, but East Carolina mounted one last charge in the home half of the frame. Austin Irby was hit by a pitch to begin the half inning while Williams and Colby Wallace followed with consecutive singles to load the bases with no outs. A two-run double by Herring cut the Pirate deficit to five before a double by pinch hitter John Collins scored two more to make it an 8-5 contest. ECU would have runners on the corners with no outs later in the inning, threatening to pull even closer, but nothing more went across the plate and both teams were retired in order in the ninth.

Up Next: Due to the threat of inclement weather in the Greenville area Sunday, the teams will now conclude the series with a doubleheader Saturday. Game one is scheduled for a 2 p.m. first pitch with game two following 45 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.