Pirates Win Second Straight, Take Season Series Over UNCW
GREENVILLE, N.C. — For the second straight game, East Carolina played clean, aggressive baseball — and the results followed.
The Pirates picked up a 7–3 win over UNC Wilmington on Tuesday night at Clark-LeClair Stadium, taking the season series from the in-state foe and improving to 22–16 overall. ECU has now won two straight after snapping a six-game skid, with both wins showing a more connected, consistent team effort.
Fast Start Fuels the Win
The Pirates wasted no time jumping ahead with a four-run first inning. Dixon Williams got things started with a bases-loaded infield single that brought home Braden Burress. Walker Barron followed with an RBI groundout, and John Collins added another with a grounder to third. Austin Irby capped the frame with an RBI single to center, scoring Williams and giving ECU a 4–0 lead.
After UNCW chipped away with two runs in the fifth to cut it to 4–2, the Pirates answered right back in the bottom of the sixth.
Irby struck again with an RBI single through the right side — his second RBI of the game — and Burress added the knockout blow, lacing a two-run single into right to extend the lead to 7–2. UNCW added one more on a wild pitch in the seventh, but ECU never let them get closer than that.
Burress, Irby Lead the Way at the Plate
Braden Burress continued his breakout campaign with his second four-hit game of the season, going 4-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored, and a walk. The freshman raised his average to .405 and reached base in all five trips.
Austin Irby finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, helping to anchor the middle of the order. Dixon Williams, Walker Barron, and John Collins each added an RBI as the Pirates posted 10 hits and played mostly mistake-free baseball throughout the night.
Pitching by Committee Works Again
ECU used a bullpen-heavy approach and it paid off.
Bradley Zayac got the start and the win, going 2.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Colby Wallace followed with two hitless frames, striking out three. Nick Moran ran into some trouble in the fifth but held the lead. Lance Williams and Gabe Beschloss closed it down with a combined 3.2 innings of one-run ball, including four strikeouts from Williams.
The staff finished with 13 strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed across nine innings.
What They Said
“We’ve won back-to-back games and we played pretty well,” ECU head coach Cliff Godwin said. “Anytime we score more than five runs, I think we’re 17-4, so we’re always trying to fight and get five or more. I thought everybody on the mound went out there and did their job.”
“Our offense has done what our approach is and they’ve kept the chain connected,” Godwin added. “I met with the team yesterday and said, ‘Hey, if you guys want to make a run and do something, we’ve got to be more connected, together.’ When we do that, we’re really good. When we don’t do that, we’re not good. I thought Sunday and today were definitely steps in the right direction.”
What’s Next
East Carolina (22–16, 6–5 AAC) heads to UAB this week for a Thursday-through-Saturday American Athletic Conference series. The Pirates will look to ride their two-game win streak into their first AAC series win since late March.