Friday, May 1
Memphis, Tenn.
7:05 P.M.
East Carolina University
29-17-1, 29-17-1
12
at
0
Memphis
16-28, 8-11
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Carolina | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| Memphis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Towers Leads in Run-Rule Against Memphis, 12-0
May 01, 2026 | Baseball
MEMPHIS, TENN. -Â The curtain closes early on Friday evening in Memphis, with the East Carolina Pirates (29-17-1, 13-6 American) run-ruling the Memphis Tigers (16-28, 8-11 American) in FedEx Park.Â
The Pirates start almost immediately in Memphis, starting with a leadoff single from Braden Burress. To start something with no outs, Davin Whitaker hits a single to move Burress to third. Jack Herring breaks the game wide open for the Pirates, hitting his 14th double of the season to score the first run for the Pirates, with more to come in the first.Â
Colby Wallace marks the first out, but with a productive at-bat, sacrifices flying out to right field to gain an RBI, bringing in Whitaker. Jeff Sabater, hoping for a sacrifice bunt, comes out on top, successfully scoring Herring, as well as being safe at first. Austin Irby works the shift in Memphis and works through the left side  to gain a base on the play, moving Sabater into scoring position. Walker Barron hits the fourth single of the inning, with an RBI, and moves another runner into scoring position.Â
Designated hitter Michael Kalinich does what he does best, solidifying a double deep to left center to not just hit Irby safely in, but also bringing Barron in from first base.Â
At the end of the first inning, the Pirates have six runs on six hits, with Herring and Kalinich both having an extra-base hit for the Pirates.Â
Trying to put something up for the Tigers, Memphis puts two on in the first, with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, but the Ryan Towers and Pirate defense force the Tigers to leave them stranded.
East Carolina slowly adds to their lead in the third. Barron singles once again, now being 2-for-2, with Kalinich right behind with a walk for two runners on. Burress comes up to bat for another single that ends with Barron passing through for a run from second. Pirates now hold a 7-0 lead.Â
Towers shows his cool under pressure. After the Tigers had one hit in the third and a hit-by-pitch, the baserunners made their way to scoring position on third and second with two outs. Towers keeps calm, gaining his third strikeout on the night, forcing the Tigers to leave two more on base.
The odd innings stay in favor of the Pirates. Leading off the fifth inning with a single, Irby gives the Pirates yet another baserunner. Kalinich finds his way on base again with his second walk of the day, now with runners on first and second. With two outs, Burress barrels his third single in the game for Irby reaching safely home from second, the Pirates lead now 8-0 going into the bottom of the fifth.Â
The Pirates then find a way in the top of the eighth. With a leadoff walk from Burress, the Tigers end up walking both Whitaker and Herring to load the bases. Wallace comes up to the plate to put the Pirates over the edge, singling into left field for two RBIs, putting the Pirates into run-rule territory, now 10-0.Â
Pinch hitter Brayden Bachman extended the eighth for the Pirates, singling for another run for the Pirates. Irby finished off the Pirate offense with a sacrifice fly out to wrap up the inning with a score of 12-0.
Wallace enters the eighth as the relief pitcher for the Pirates, going the full eighth to keep the Tigers shut out for the night, ending the game via run-rule. The last time the Pirates shut out an opponent was on Friday night, March 27, against UTSA, 3-0.
The Pirates totaled 12 runs, on 12 hits with eight walks, Herring and Kalinich marking five. Wallace and Burress went 3-for-4, having five RBI split between them. Seven of nine starters notched a hit, with five starters accounting for two runs. The Pirates had a baserunner in every inning except in the sixth inning.Â
Ryan Towers deservingly receives the win on the night, with a career outing in Memphis. Going an impressive career high of innings pitched, with 7.0 shutout innings, tying his career high in strikeouts in 10, hitting double-digit strikeouts for the first time since March of 2024, back at Loyola Marymount. Towers only gave up three hits on the day, with one walk and two hit-by-pitches in 105 pitches, the first time in Towers's career hitting a triple-digit pitch count.
The Pirates take Memphis in game two on Saturday in hopes of solidifying their first series on the road. First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m. EST.
The Pirates start almost immediately in Memphis, starting with a leadoff single from Braden Burress. To start something with no outs, Davin Whitaker hits a single to move Burress to third. Jack Herring breaks the game wide open for the Pirates, hitting his 14th double of the season to score the first run for the Pirates, with more to come in the first.Â
Colby Wallace marks the first out, but with a productive at-bat, sacrifices flying out to right field to gain an RBI, bringing in Whitaker. Jeff Sabater, hoping for a sacrifice bunt, comes out on top, successfully scoring Herring, as well as being safe at first. Austin Irby works the shift in Memphis and works through the left side  to gain a base on the play, moving Sabater into scoring position. Walker Barron hits the fourth single of the inning, with an RBI, and moves another runner into scoring position.Â
Designated hitter Michael Kalinich does what he does best, solidifying a double deep to left center to not just hit Irby safely in, but also bringing Barron in from first base.Â
At the end of the first inning, the Pirates have six runs on six hits, with Herring and Kalinich both having an extra-base hit for the Pirates.Â
Trying to put something up for the Tigers, Memphis puts two on in the first, with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, but the Ryan Towers and Pirate defense force the Tigers to leave them stranded.
East Carolina slowly adds to their lead in the third. Barron singles once again, now being 2-for-2, with Kalinich right behind with a walk for two runners on. Burress comes up to bat for another single that ends with Barron passing through for a run from second. Pirates now hold a 7-0 lead.Â
Towers shows his cool under pressure. After the Tigers had one hit in the third and a hit-by-pitch, the baserunners made their way to scoring position on third and second with two outs. Towers keeps calm, gaining his third strikeout on the night, forcing the Tigers to leave two more on base.
The odd innings stay in favor of the Pirates. Leading off the fifth inning with a single, Irby gives the Pirates yet another baserunner. Kalinich finds his way on base again with his second walk of the day, now with runners on first and second. With two outs, Burress barrels his third single in the game for Irby reaching safely home from second, the Pirates lead now 8-0 going into the bottom of the fifth.Â
The Pirates then find a way in the top of the eighth. With a leadoff walk from Burress, the Tigers end up walking both Whitaker and Herring to load the bases. Wallace comes up to the plate to put the Pirates over the edge, singling into left field for two RBIs, putting the Pirates into run-rule territory, now 10-0.Â
Pinch hitter Brayden Bachman extended the eighth for the Pirates, singling for another run for the Pirates. Irby finished off the Pirate offense with a sacrifice fly out to wrap up the inning with a score of 12-0.
Wallace enters the eighth as the relief pitcher for the Pirates, going the full eighth to keep the Tigers shut out for the night, ending the game via run-rule. The last time the Pirates shut out an opponent was on Friday night, March 27, against UTSA, 3-0.
The Pirates totaled 12 runs, on 12 hits with eight walks, Herring and Kalinich marking five. Wallace and Burress went 3-for-4, having five RBI split between them. Seven of nine starters notched a hit, with five starters accounting for two runs. The Pirates had a baserunner in every inning except in the sixth inning.Â
Ryan Towers deservingly receives the win on the night, with a career outing in Memphis. Going an impressive career high of innings pitched, with 7.0 shutout innings, tying his career high in strikeouts in 10, hitting double-digit strikeouts for the first time since March of 2024, back at Loyola Marymount. Towers only gave up three hits on the day, with one walk and two hit-by-pitches in 105 pitches, the first time in Towers's career hitting a triple-digit pitch count.
The Pirates take Memphis in game two on Saturday in hopes of solidifying their first series on the road. First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m. EST.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Towers, Ryan (5-3)
L: Howell, Will (4-6)
Batting:
2B: Herring, Jack 1 ; Kalinich, Michael 1
RBI: Burress, Braden 2 ; Irby, Austin 1 ; Herring, Jack 1 ; Kalinich, Michael 2 ; Barron, Walker 1 ; Wallace, Colby 3 ; Sabater, Jeff 1 ; Bachman, Brayden 1
SF: Irby, Austin 1 ; Wallace, Colby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Burress, Braden 2 ; Irby, Austin 2 ; Whitaker, Davin 2 ; Herring, Jack 2 ; Barron, Walker 2 ; Wallace, Colby 1 ; Sabater, Jeff 1
HBP: Herring, Jack 1
Base Running:
SB: Rodriguez, Freddy 1
HBP: Hernandez, Javon 1 ; Smith IV, James 1
Players Mentioned
OF
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C
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OF
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INF
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LHP
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INF/RHP
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OF
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