
Pirates Welcome USF for Conference Weekend Series
April 24, 2026 | Baseball
| Game 43-45: South Florida Bulls (28-12, 7-8 American) at the East Carolina Pirates (25-16-1, 9-6 American) | |
| Coverage | April 24th: 6:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch April 25th: 4:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch April 26th: 12:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Stream: ESPN+ (Mike Mullis and Spencer Pattison/Evan Burdovich) Radio: 94.3 The Game (Dylan Johnson and Dr. Gary Overton) |
| Location: | Greenville, North Carolina | Lewis Field at Clark LeClair Stadium (5,000) |
| Official Websites: | East Carolina | South Florida |
| Game Notes: | East Carolina | South Florida |
| Statistics: | East Carolina | South Florida |
| Baseball Central: | NCAA Baseball | College Scoreboard | Weekly Rankings | National Stat Leaders |
| Social Media: | ECUBaseball (Twitter) | ecu_baseball (Instagram) | East Carolina Baseball (Facebook) |
GREENVILLE, N.C. Â -Â The East Carolina Pirates (25-16-1, 9-6 American) come to Lewis Field at Clark LeClair Stadium to host their second conference series in a row, welcoming the South Florida Bulls (28-12, 7-8 American) on Friday, April 24. Â
TIME CHANGE
Due to travel restrictions on Sunday, April 26, the series finale between ECU and USF has been rescheduled from the original 1:00 p.m. first pitch to 12:00 p.m. first pitch. Friday and Saturday's first pitch times will remain the same. Â
FRIDAY, APRIL 24 – 6:00 P.M. ESTÂ
SATURDAY. APRIL 25 – 4:00 P.M. ESTÂ
SUNDAY, APRIL 26 – 12:00 P.M. EST
DOMINATING OLD DOMINION
In a three-hour, 38-minute, seven-inning game on Tuesday evening, the Pirates solidified the run-rule over Old Dominion with a final score of 19-9. Â
The Pirates found early traffic on the bases but were unable to capitalize in the opening frames, while Old Dominion struck first with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first. Making his first appearance since March 24, Nick Moran settled in on the mound and kept the deficit at one, aided by steady defensive play behind him.Â
ECU broke through in the fourth inning, turning a 1-0 deficit into a commanding lead. Jack Herring delivered a game-tying RBI single before Jeff Sabater pushed the Pirates ahead. The inning quickly snowballed, as ECU capitalized on multiple Monarch errors and strung together timely hits from Michael Kalinich, Austin Irby, and Braden Burress to produce an eight-run frame and take an 8-1 advantage.Â
After Old Dominion answered with a two-run homer in the fifth, the Pirates responded with another offensive surge. ECU plated seven runs in the sixth inning, all with two outs, highlighted by a two-run single from Davin Whitaker and additional RBI contributions from Sabater, Kalinich, and Bouche to extend the lead to 15-3.Â
The Pirates continued to apply pressure in the seventh, adding four more runs behind consistent contact and patient at-bats. Old Dominion managed to push across late runs, but ECU closed the door as Colby Wallace recorded the final three outs with the bases loaded to secure the run-rule victory.Â
The Pirates gained all their runs in the middle innings, totaling 19 in the fourth, fifth, and sixth. ECU used a total of nine pitchers in seven innings, with Old Dominion having seven on the day. Â
Luke Payne won the game, and all nine pitchers threw a combined 154 pitches. Â
The Pirates swept Old Dominion in the home-away two-game series, also run-ruling in both victories. In the two games, the Pirates totaled 30 runs on 28 hits, only having three extra-base hits in the series. Â
TWO-OUT TEARS
The East Carolina Pirates have consistently shown resilience at the plate, particularly in two-out situations. They hold an impressive 22–5 record in games where they've scored with two outs, including 15 victories featuring multiple innings fueled by two-out rallies.Â
That clutch production was on full display in their latest conference series win, as the Pirates recorded at least one two-out scoring inning in each game of the weekend. Their ability to extend innings and capitalize under pressure proved to be a decisive factor in securing the series victory.Â
LOOKING AT CONFERENCE
As May approaches and the conference tournament looms, the standings remain as tight as ever. UTSA and UAB continue to battle atop the league, each holding a 10-5 conference record. East Carolina sits alone in third at 9-6, just one game behind the leaders. Following its series loss to the Pirates, Wichita State occupies fourth place at 8-7, two games off the pace.Â
The race tightens even further in the middle of the standings, where South Florida, Rice, Tulane, and Memphis are locked in a four-way tie for fifth at 7-8. Florida Atlantic and Charlotte round out the standings at the end of April, setting the stage for a competitive push toward postseason play.Â
EAST CAROLINA VS. SOUTH FLORIDA HISTORY
East Carolina and South Florida have had a history since the Pirates joined the American, holding the overall series lead over the Bulls 28-17. East Carolina lost their first series to South Florida since 2021 last season, but the Pirates took it personally and won both times that they played the Bulls in the 2025 American Conference Tournament.
Seeded No. 3 in conference tournament; the No. 6 Pirates took South Florida's chances of a title in the semi-final game in Clearwater, 9-7. Â
The last time South Florida made the trip to Greenville was back in 2024, where the Bulls were able to force a rubber match after taking Sunday's first game of a doubleheader, after the Pirates run-ruled Friday's match 11-1 in seven innings. Â
East Carolina holds a 10-5 home record, compared to their 12-10 record in Tampa, Florida. With winning records in both locations, the Pirates have a slight advantage staying home in Greenville at Clark LeClair Stadium. Â
ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA
The South Florida Bulls found success in the regular season, posting an overall 28-12 record, but were less successful in conference play, going 7-8. Some big wins through the regular season, including their season opener against Illinois, and taking two of three games in Tampa. They also showed out against a Big 12 opponent, Central Florida, taking the series as well and marking their first away series win. Starting the conference at the end of March, the Bulls won their first conference series, taking the last two games from the Rice Owls, but fell the next week against Charlotte in the series finale, taking only one on the weekend. The Bulls have also lost a conference series to both UTSA and UAB. Â
South Florida currently leads the conference in pitching with the lowest ERA at 3.86, as well as holding the most wins in the conference with 28. The charge, led by Michael Senay, who holds a 2.86 ERA with an impressive six wins and 47 strikeouts in 63.0 innings of work, can make his appearances last. Offensively, Lance Trippel maintains a high .344 batting average, and although not a strong bat with three runs, he is consistent, totaling 63 bases and accounting for 25 runs and 25 RBI. Â
First pitch for Friday's series opener is set for 6:00 p.m. EST. Â
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Players Mentioned
04/13/26 Cliffs Cab
Monday, April 13
04/07/26 Inside Pirate Athletics
Tuesday, April 07
04/01/26 Cliff's Cab
Thursday, April 02
03/26/26 Inside Pirate Athletics
Thursday, March 26















