Friday, April 17
Greenville, N.C.
6:00 P.M.
East Carolina University
vs
Wichita State
Pirates Welcomes Wichita State for Fifth Week of Conference Play
April 16, 2026 | Baseball
| Games 39-41: Wichita State Shockers (23-15, 7-5 American) at East Carolina Pirates (22-15-1, 7-5Â American) | |
| Coverage | April 17th: 6:00 p.m. EST \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch April 18th: 4:00 p.m. EST \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch April 19th: 1:00 p.m. EST \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Stream: ESPN+ Radio: 94.3 The Game (Dylan Johnson and Dr. Gary Overton) |
| Location: | Greenville, NC | Lewis Field at Clark LeClair Stadium (5,000) |
| Official Websites: | East Carolina | Wichita State |
| Game Notes: | East Carolina | Wichita State |
| Statistics: | East Carolina | Wichita State |
| Baseball Central: | NCAA Baseball | College Scoreboard | Weekly Rankings | National Stat Leaders |
| Social Media: | ECUBaseball (X) | ecu_baseball (Instagram) | East Carolina Baseball (Facebook) |
GREENVILLE, N.C. -Â The East Carolina Pirates (22-15-1, 7-5 American) start their third conference home series on Friday, April 17, to host the Wichita State Shockers (23-15, 7-5 American). The Pirates are currently in a three-way tie for third in the American Conference standings, the Shockers and the Rice Owls (24-14, 7-5 American).Â
PROBABLE WEEKEND SERIES STARTERS
Friday: #43 LHP Luke Payne vs. #18 RHP Matthew CucciasÂ
Saturday: TBA vs. TBAÂ
Sunday: TBA vs. TBAÂ
NC STATE RECAP
The Pirates had a tough night at Clark-LeClair Stadium, as defensive miscues and a quiet bat early on led to a 10–3 loss. ECU struggled to find a rhythm against a young Wolfpack pitching staff, managing only five hits and striking out ten times over the course of the game. Two critical errors at shortstop early in the contest proved costly, allowing three unearned runs to cross the plate and giving the opponent extra opportunities to build momentum.Â
On the mound, Ryan Towers took the loss, but the bullpen saw work from several arms, including Sean Jenkins, Ethan Rose, Jackson Dilorenzo, and Frank Ciccone. Offensively, Davin Whitaker provided the primary highlight for the home crowd with a two-run homer to deep right field in the eighth, and Brayden Bachman added a sacrifice fly to account for the third run. Jack Herring notched two hits, with Blade Carver also contributing a double, but the Pirates were ultimately unable to string enough hits together to mount a full comeback before the final out.Â
The game Tuesday night marked the Pirates' worst offensive performance since opening day against Xavier, with a batting average against the Wolfpack of .161, with their opening day performance marking a batting average of .147. Â
JOB FOR JENKINS
Sophomore Sean Jenkins has shown his strength out of the bullpen. Jenkins currently is one of the top producers for the Pirates, leading with a 2.72 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 39.2 innings, with a steady opposing average of .223. He holds two wins and currently has six saves for the Pirates in his 16 appearances, the second most appearances so far, right behind Joseph Webb at 17. Â
TOUCHING BASE
Jack Herring is currently on a 37-game on-base streak for the Pirates, now being one of 18 Pirates to have reached base in at least 30 games since 1998. Herring has been able to reach base safely in every game he has started this season, with 37. Herring is currently in a three-way tie sixth overall with Bryant Packard (3/16-5/18/18) and Darryl Lawhorn (2/15-4/17/02). The longest on-base streak the Pirates hold is 56, held by Connor Norby from March 1, 2020, to May 20, 2021.Â
ECU VS. WICHITA STATE HISTORY
The Pirates and the Shockers have met a total of 27 times since Wichita State joined the American in 2018. With the Shockers holding the overall series 14-13, the Shockers came out victorious in their last conference series in 2025, taking two of three games in Wichita, Kansas. The last time the Pirates hosted in Greenville, back in 2024, they were able to have a full sweep on the Shockers, with two of the three wins totaling over 10 runs. ECU will have the opportunity over the weekend to take the overall series from Wichita State, as well as move up in the standings of the conference. Â
ABOUT WICHITA STATE
The Shockers are currently 23-15, 7-5 in conference, and lead the American Conference in several key categories, including total hits (391) and RBI (293). The lineup has been defined by its collective discipline and power, maintaining a team batting average of .307 while posting a slugging percentage of .482. This offensive output is complemented by an aggressive approach on the basepaths, with the team successfully having. On the mound, the pitching staff found its rhythm during conference play, lowering the collective ERA to 4.42.Â
Wichita State was able to break UAB's streak after their two straight sweeps in conference play and beating UAB in two of three. With the series win, East Carolina, Rice and Wichita state all have a conference record of 7-5, tying for third. Â
First pitch for the series opener is set on April 17 at 6:00 p.m. EST. Â
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