GREENVILLE, N.C. (ECU ATHLETICS) – East Carolina began the month of March with a bang, picking up a 13-1 victory in seven innings over Indiana State Saturday evening on day two of the LeClair Classic inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
The Pirates (4-6) exploded for season highs in both runs scored (13) and hits (11) while using just two pitchers to limit the Sycamores (5-5) to the lone tally and four base knocks (three singles).
Dixon Williams put together a 3-for-4 performance with three runs scored and an RBI while Austin Irby notched a career single-game best four RBI on the strength of a pair of hits and three runs scored. Eli Gipson paced the visiting side with two hits and a run scored.
Sean Jenkins (1-0) sparkled in his third career start as the rookie sailed through six innings of work. He scattered four hits, allowed just one earned run and struck out six batters against no walks. Indiana State starter Grant Parson (1-2) was tagged with the loss due to ECU touching him up for four earned runs on three hits. He walked five and struck out three before exiting the contest in the fourth inning.
For a fan base used to watching future Major League Baseball pitchers develop in Greenville, Jenkins looked the part of his predecessors right out of the gate, striking out Indiana State’s first three hitters on just 12 pitches. The Pirates started to take advantage of Parson’s erraticism in the bottom of the second as Irby worked a leadoff walk and John Collins was hit by a pitch to put East Carolina in business. A Roger Vergara sacrifice bunt pushed the runners into scoring position and a grounder to third was good enough to score Irby from 90 feet away for an early Pirate advantage.
ECU added another run to its ledger in the bottom of the third via a Collins sacrifice fly, but the Pirates really put on a show in the home half of the fourth. With one away and the bases empty, Drew Downs walked and Alex Bouche shot a single up the middle. Following a pitching change, Alex Peltier kept things moving with a free pass of his own to load the bases. Williams made it a 3-0 contest, earning an RBI the hard way by wearing an 0-1 offering from reliever Jacob Spencer.
Colby Wallace continued the East Carolina parade around the bags with a two-run single to right and Irby followed with a sac fly to extend the Pirate upper hand to six. Collins then stepped in and took the first pitch he faced deep over the right field wall and into the jungle – a two-run tank shot that left ECU ahead by eight entering the fifth.
The Sycamores scored what turned out to be a consolation run in the top of the sixth before the Pirates put up a two spot in the bottom of the same frame. With the run rule in effect, East Carolina sent the faithful home happy and early as, with one out, Peltier walked, Williams singled and Irby drilled a 2-0 pitch into the Greenville night for the walk off round tripper.
Postgame Notes
- The Pirates put together the run-rule victory in front of a season high Clark-LeClair Stadium crowd of 5,809.
- ECU improved to 4-3 at home this campaign.
- The Pirates were solid with two outs, going 4-for-9 (.444) with six two-out RBI. East Carolina was also a spotless 5-for-5 with a runner on third and less than two outs.
- Both Walker Barron and Williams extended their current hitting streaks to six games. Barron has reached base safely in all 10 games this year.
Up Next: East Carolina wraps up the LeClair Classic Sunday at 3:30 p.m. with a matchup against Virginia Tech.
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