May 23 6 p.m. sports: Big inning helps ECU advance in AAC tourney
The East Carolina University baseball team played a day early as storms in Clearwater, Fla. threaten to delay games at the AAC Tournament.
The Pirates rallied with a five-run eighth inning to beat Tulane on Wednesday, 6-5. Below is more information on Wednesday's game from ECU Sports Information. Also, click on the video for highlights.
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CLEARWATER, Fla. – No. 15 ECU scored five runs on five hits in the eighth inning to come from behind and defeat Tulane, 6-5, Wednesday at the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship on Robin Roberts Field. With the win, the Pirates (41-15) advance in the winner’s bracket while the Green Wave (25-32) falls to the loser’s bracket and will face Houston in an elimination game Thursday, May 24 at 9 a.m. (ET).
How It Happened:
Trailing 4-1 in the eighth frame, ECU loaded the bases for pinch hitter Jeremy White who grounded into a double play allowing Andrew Henrickson to score. With two outs in the frame and Brady Lloyd standing on third, the Pirate recorded four-straight singles that plated four runs and gave the Pirates a 6-4 lead. Bryant Packard singled home Lloyd, Dwanya Williams-Sutton followed with a single to left center moving Packard to third. After Tulane brought in right-hander Ben White, Spencer Brickhouse welcomed him to the game with a single through the right side that scored Packard and knotted the game at four-all. Williams-Sutton scored the go-ahead run on a White wild pitch and Jake Washer’s RBI single to right plated Brickhouse from second for a 6-4 advantage. Tulane got a run back in the eighth on a Jake Agnos wild pitch pulling within one, 6-5, but that would be all. The Wave jumped out to an early 2-0 lead behind a two-run Grant Witherspoon homer that scored Jonathon Artigues in front of him. The Pirates finally got on the board in the fifth thanks to Lloyd’s sac fly to right field that pushed across Connor Litton, who doubled to open the frame and took third on an error by Witherspoon in center. Tulane extended its lead to 4-1 on Witherspoon’s second homer of the day, another two-run shot in the seventh.
Pirate Pitchers:
Evan Voliva (2-0) picked up his second win in relief tossing two-thirds of an innings with one strikeout, while Jake Agnos notched his first save of the season allowing one run (earned) on one hit with three strikeouts in two innings. Starter Alec Burleson gave up two runs (both earned) on two hits with four walks and two strikeouts in 4.1 innings. ECU would get outings from Trey Benton (1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks), Ryan Ross (0.1 IP, 2 Hs, 2 Rs) and Zach Barnes (0.1 IP, 1 H).
Green Wave Staff:
Kaleb Roper (5-5) suffered the loss surrendering five runs (four earned) on five hits with a pair of walks and a career-high 11 strikeouts in 7.2 innings. Ben White gave up a run (earned) on three hits with a walk in two-third of an inning, while Ross Massey went two-thirds of a frame retiring both batters he faced.
ECU Bats:
The Pirates tallied eight hits on the day getting a pair from Brickhouse, who recorded his 18th multi-hit game of the season. Six other players registered one hit, while six scored a run and four had RBI. Williams-Sutton scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the eighth inning, while Henrickson’s walk in the eighth got the frame going.
Things To Know:
Brickhouse’s on-base streak moved to 26 games with a double in the first inning
Turner Brown’s on-base streak reached 10 games with a walk in the eighth frame
With the win, the Pirates picked up their fourth win this year over the Green Wave
It was the second come from behind win in this year’s championship (trailed UCF 3-0 after first inning)
The Pirates have 41 wins on the season and are 2-0 in the AAC Championships for the third time in the last four years
Up Next:
ECU will be back in action on Thursday, May 24 at 12:30 p.m. (ET) and will face the winner of Houston/Tulane, who play at 9 a.m. (ET). A win for ECU would put them in the Championship Game for the third time in four years.