ECU baseball sweeps season series with UNCW

East Carolina University’s baseball team (17-6, 1-2 American Athletic Conference) came into Tuesday’s midweek matchup against UNC Wilmington (14-11, 3-0 Coastal Athletic Association) looking to bounce back from the Pirates’ first series loss of the year.

And bounce back they did, in what turned out to be a very solid win for the Pirates.

In fact, last night’s 7-4 win cemented the series sweep against UNCW, avenging the series sweep the Pirates suffered against the Seahawks in 2023. The two teams first met this year on March 12 at Brooks Field. That game went to extras, with the Pirates winning it in the top of the tenth thanks to a wild pitch.

ECU faced adversity early, giving up two runs with no outs in the first thanks to a leadoff single and a two-run home run from the first two batters in UNCW’s lineup. The Seahawks would put another runner on, but a double play and a flyout ended the frame. In the bottom half, ECU would have a runner in scoring position thanks to a double from junior outfielder Jacob Jenkins-Cowart, but they’d leave him stranded.

A leadoff home run in the top of the second from Jac Croom chased ECU starter Chris Kahler from the game, handing the remaining eight innings over to the bullpen. And man, did they shine.

Among the heroes in the pen were a couple of lefties in sophomore Erik Ritchie and grad student Aaron Groller, along with a duo of righthanders in senior Danny Beal and junior Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman. Together, the four arms delivered one of the bullpen’s best performances of the year, combining for eight innings of one-run baseball.

Ritchie delivered three innings out of the bullpen, giving up only one run to a very loaded Seahawks offense and striking out three. Beal made his 14th appearance of the season, which is tied for third in the nation.

Lunsford-Shenkman earned the win, pitching three scoreless innings and striking out four batters, walking none. His ERA is now down to 1.07, which ranks seventh in the country and first in the conference. His four strikeouts last night give him 47 on the season, and he sits fifth in the country in strikeouts per nine innings. He’s now 3-1 on the season with one save.

The dominant bullpen held the Seahawks from creating any further damage, leaving the Pirates with a 4-0 deficit they’d have to overcome to complete a comeback.

ECU struck back in the bottom of the second, thanks to a two-run shot from senior infielder Chaz Myers. Freshman outfielder Bristol Carter led off the inning with a walk, and Myers’ first ECU homer brought them both home.

Myers, a transfer from the University of the Pacific, made his first start as a Pirate against the Seahawks, and it was a productive one. He started at first base and was instrumental in a crucial double play in the first inning to get out of a jam. He then hit his first homer as a Pirate in the bottom of the second, cutting the deficit in half.

It took a few innings for any more runs to be put up on the board, but the bullpen gave the Pirates a chance to do so. Then, in the fifth inning, a hit by pitch and a single put a runner on third, and senior infielder Jacob Starling came through with an RBI single to put the Pirates within one.

However, it wasn’t until the seventh inning that ECU would complete the comeback.

UNCW started the seventh inning with a pitching change, sliding two-way player Tanner Thach onto the mound. Unfortunately for Thach, the leadoff runner would reach on a fielding error by the third baseman, and he hit the next batter to put two runners on. He collected only one out before yet another pitching change was made, and he went back to first.

The Seahawks’ new pitcher was former Pirate Cody Benton, and his first pitch hit Starling to load the bases. Benton very quickly found himself in an unfortunate situation, with the bases loaded and only one out for junior catcher Ryan McCrystal.

McCrystal entered the game on a hot streak, with seven hits in his last 13 at-bats. Last night was no different, and he took advantage of the bases loaded opportunity, unloading for a two-run single into right, giving the Pirates a 5-4 lead. After yet another pitching change, senior catcher Justin Wilcoxen plated another with an RBI single.

The bottom of the eighth saw three more pitching changes for UNCW, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Pirates off the board. Senior infielder Joey Berini hit a ball that slid under the first baseman’s glove and rolled into the corner, legging it out for his first triple of the campaign. Senior first baseman / outfielder Carter Cunningham brought him home with an RBI single to make it 7-4.

Starling, McCrystal, Jenkins-Cowart and Berini each had two hits apiece, while Cunningham hit an RBI single, scored two runs and got on base three times. McCrystal now has multiple hits in each of his last four games. Carter picked up a hit, a walk, and scored a run, while also making a highlight reel catch in centerfield to rob UNCW of extra bases.

All in all, ECU forced UNCW to use nine pitchers, with six of those pitchers only collecting one out apiece. ECU used five arms, with all but one going at least a full inning.

ECU is back in action this weekend, hosting the University of Alabama at Birmingham (12-12, 1-2 AAC) for their first series matchup since 2013. The series kicks off with a doubleheader on Friday, with first pitch set for 1 PM from Clark-LeClair Stadium.