East Carolina University
Duke
Pirates Head to Durham for Duke Matchup Tuesday
March 24, 2026 | Baseball
| Games 26: East Carolina (15-9-1, 2-1 American) at Duke (16-10, 4-5 ACC) | |
| Coverage | March 24th: 4:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Stream: ESPN+ Radio: 94.3 The Game (Dylan Johnson and Dr. Gary Overton) |
| Location: | Durham, N.C. | Jack Coombs Field (2,000) |
| Official Websites: | East Carolina | Duke |
| Game Notes: | East Carolina | Duke |
| Statistics: | East Carolina | Duke |
| Baseball Central: | NCAA Baseball | College Scoreboard | Weekly Rankings | National Stat Leaders |
| Social Media: | ECUBaseball (Twitter) | ecu_baseball (Instagram) | East Carolina Baseball (Facebook) |
DURHAM, N.C. - The East Carolina Pirates (15-9-1, 1-2 American) make their way west to Durham Tuesday evening to take on the Duke Blue Devils (16-10, 4-5 ACC) at Jack Coombs Field. This will be the first of two matchups the Pirates will face Duke, with the second contest taking place in April at Lewis Field in Clark LeClair Stadium.Â
Opening Conference against UABÂ
East Carolina opened American Conference play at Clark-LeClair Stadium by taking two of three games from UAB. The Pirates secured a 3-2 victory in the series opener behind a strong start from Ethan Norby, who struck out six over six innings. Trailing early, ECU responded with RBI hits from Colby Wallace and Jack Herring to take the lead, while Sean Jenkins navigated a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning to earn the save.Â
The momentum carried into Saturday as the Pirates' offense exploded for an 18-1 victory, ending the game in seven innings via the run rule. After UAB took a brief one-run lead in the first, ECU sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom half of the inning to score six runs and never looked back. Austin Irby anchored the lineup with five RBI and a home run, while Jack Herring and Grady Lenahan also went deep to support winning pitcher Ethan Rose and a hitless three-inning relief appearance by Charlie Hoagland.Â
UAB managed to avoid the sweep on Sunday, handing ECU an 11-4 loss and marking the Blazers' first win in Greenville since 2003. The Pirates fell behind 5-0 early in the contest and, despite home runs from Grady Lenahan and a triple by Davin Whitaker, were unable to overcome the deficit. The weekend result moves the Pirates to a 2-1 start in conference play as they prepare for a midweek matchup against Duke.Â
American Honorable MentionÂ
Davin Whitaker was able to gain the attention of the conference for his performance over the last week, being named on the American Honorable Mention List. Whitaker ended the week 7-for-13 with a triple, two RBIs and a total of nine runs, being three of the four runs scored on Sunday.Â
Midweek StartersÂ
#27 LHP Nick Moran vs. #48 RHP Drew BryanÂ
About DukeÂ
Duke enters the week with a 16–10 overall record and a 4–5 mark in ACC play following a challenging road series at Virginia Tech. Under first-year head coach Corey Muscara, the Blue Devils have been formidable at Jack Coombs Field, where they have secured 14 of their 16 victories. The team's offensive identity has been defined by high-scoring outbursts, including 20-run performances against both Milwaukee and Miami. However, consistency has been an uphill battle during the early conference slate, with the team currently looking to snap a recent stretch where they have dropped four of their last six games against High Point, Miami, Campbell, and Virginia Tech.Â
The Blue Devils' lineup features several high-impact contributors, led by Cider Canon, who is hitting .452 with six home runs in 14 games, and RJ Hamilton, who provides a dynamic threat on the basepaths with 17 stolen bases. On the mound, the staff has shown flashes of dominance but has struggled with consistency in mid-week and road contests, most recently giving up 13 runs to Campbell and 12 to High Point.Â
Duke enters the 2026 midweek matchup on a three-game winning streak against ECU, including a 6-4 victory in Durham last March and a 5-2 win at Clark-LeClair Stadium in 2024. Despite this recent slide, the Pirates have historically dominated at home in Greenville with a 15-4-1 record, and they will look to recapture that home-field advantage to snap the streak. This matchup on Tuesday afternoon will mark the first time Muscara will face East Carolina as a head coach for the Blue Devils.Â
First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. EST on March 24.
