Agnos Tosses Seven Shutout Innings; Burleson Drives In Four
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS – No. 8 ECU DEFEATS WICHITA STATE, 6-1
By ECU Sports Information
WICHITA, KS. – Jake Agnos tossed seven shutout innings, while Alec Burleson drove in four runs helping No. 8 ECU to a 6-1 win over Wichita State Friday night at Eck Stadium. With the win, the Pirates clinch the American Athletic Conference regular season title and improved to 38-11 overall (17-2 AAC) and the Shockers drop to 22-27 (6-13 AAC).
Eyeing its first regular season title since 2009 (Conference USA), ECU didn’t waste any time as they plated a pair of runs in second inning taking a 2-0 lead. Jake Washer started the frame with a walk, Brady Lloyd singled and Dusty Baker drew another work to load the bases for Burleson, who poked a two-out single through the left side scoring Washer and Lloyd.
Agnos (8-2) earned the win after working seven scoreless innings where he extended his streak to 26.0 innings without allowing a run. The lefty gave up four hits, walked five and punched out six which pushed his strikeout total to 114 on the season – six away from setting the school record. Ryder Giles worked the final two frames surrendering one run (unearned) on one hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
Liam Eddy (4-7) suffered the loss giving up five runs (all earned) on 10 hits with two walks and three punch outs in six innings. Ryan Stuempfig allowed a run (earned) on one hit in two frames, while Jacob Lindemann worked a scoreless ninth with a strikeout.
Turner Brown’s RBI single in the fifth extended the Pirates lead to 3-0. Spencer Brickhouse extended his on-base streak to a team-best 29 games with a two-out double and rumbled home on Brown’s base hit to center.
The Pirates added two more runs in the sixth pushing its lead to five, 5-0. Dusty Baker doubled to right-center with one out (his second on the night) and moved to third on Lloyd’s base hit to right field. On a double steal, Lloyd took second and, on the throw, down, Baker swiped up for the first run of the stanza. After a Nick Barber ground out that moved Lloyd to third, Burleson followed with an RBI single through the right side.
Burleson’s fourth RBI of the night in the eighth capped the scoring for the Pirates on the championship night. Lloyd reached for the third time on the night when he was hit by a pitch then stole second to move into scoring position. Barber’s sac bunt advanced Lloyd to third and Burleson lifted a 3-2 count from Stuempfig to left field easily allowing Lloyd to cross home.
The Shockers scored a run in the ninth avoiding a shutout when Ross Cadena scored on a throwing error.
ECU out-hit Wichita State 12 to 5 in the game and improved to 25-1 when registering double-digit base knocks. Burleson led four Pirates with multiple hits going 3-for-4 with four RBI. Baker, Brown and Lloyd all recorded two hits, while Lloyd scored a game-high three runs.
The two clubs will continue the three-game series Saturday, May 11 with a 3 p.m. (ET) scheduled first pitch.
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HERNANDEZ REACHES BASE FOUR TIMES, DRIVES IN TWO, IN ROUT OF DASH
Woodies Use Two Three-Run Innings to Pull Away in Opener
By Matt Present
Winston-Salem, N.C. – The Down East Wood Ducks got out to a 3-0 lead early, and added on throughout the night, taking the series opener from the Winston-Salem Dash, 9-2, Friday.
Yonny Hernandez led the way with three hits and two RBI for the Woodies (25-10), and has now reached base in 20 consecutive games.
The Woodies (25-10) second baseman led off the ballgame with a walk, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error. He came into score one batter later on a sacrifice fly from Leody Taveras. Later in the inning Ryan Dorow launched a solo homer to left, his fourth of the year, to put the Woodies up 2-0.
Dash (18-15) starter Jake Elliott (loss, 3-1) yielded another run in the third. Yanio Perez reached second on an error, and scored on a Hernandez single, later in the frame. The Woodies, however, stranded the bases loaded as Elliott worked out of trouble. He went two innings in the spot start, giving up three runs (two earned), on two hits, and struck out two.
Winston-Salem answered with a two run second inning against Jason Bahr (win, 2-0). Zach Remillard led off the inning with a single, and then Craig Dedelow belted his sixth home run of the year to right, to make it a 3-2 game. Bahr would settle down after the home run. He went on to work five innings, allowing two runs on four hits, he walked two, and struck out four, and at one point retired 11 in a row.
The Wood Ducks plated three more runs in the fifth against Jorgan Cavanerio. Hernandez led off the inning with a single, advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw, and to third on a groundout, before coming into score on a wild pitch. Later in the inning, Anderson Tejeda and Dorow laced back-to-back singles. They would score on a Diosbel Arias sac fly and a Sam Huff RBI double respectively, making it 6-2.
Down East piled on in the eighth with another three run frame. Huff led it off with a single to right, and Perez followed with a double. Huff would then score on a wild pitch, and two batters later, Eric Jenkins tripled down the first base line to plate Perez. Hernandez followed with an RBI single to left, to push the advantage to 9-2. Hernandez reached base four times in the ballgame.
Josh Advocate took over for Bahr in the sixth and worked 1.2 scoreless innings in relief. Joe Barlow (save, 2) then entered with the tying run in the on deck circle in the seventh, and went on to record the final seven outs of the ballgame, picking up three strikeouts.
The teams return Saturday for the middle game of the three game series. Lefty John King (0-0, -.--) will make his Carolina League debut for the Wood Ducks, and will be opposed by fellow left-hander John Parke (1-2, 4.41) for the Dash. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and the pregame show will begin at 5:50 p.m. on 960AM The Bull, and online at 960thebull.com as well as on the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Radio Apps.