Wallace Shines, But ECU Falls Just Short in Friday Night Heartbreaker
GREENVILLE, N.C. — There was no shortage of drama inside Clark-LeClair Stadium on Friday night — just not the ending East Carolina hoped for.
Despite a strong night at the plate from Colby Wallace and a furious late push, the Pirates fell 6–5 to Florida Atlantic in a tightly contested series opener. With the tying and winning runs on base in the ninth, ECU had a chance to walk it off, but Owls closer MJ Bollinger struck out Jack Herring looking on a full count to escape with the save.
It was a tough ending to a game full of swings both literal and emotional.
Wallace Leads the Charge
Wallace was red-hot from the start, going 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, and three RBIs. He drove in Dixon Williams in the first and third innings, then added another RBI single in the ninth that brought ECU within one.
Williams didn’t record a hit but still scored twice and reached base twice with a walk and hit-by-pitch. Braden Burress added two hits and two runs scored, while Braxton Tramel went 1-for-4 with a key RBI double in the eighth.
The Pirates totaled nine hits and drew four walks but also struck out 10 times on the night.
Beard Settles In, Big Inning Hurts Pirates
Owls ace Trey Beard one of the top strikeout pitchers in the country gave up three runs over the first three innings but settled in as the game wore on. He retired nine of the next 10 Pirates he faced and finished with 121 pitches thrown across seven innings.
Sophomore Ethan Norby took the loss, falling to 4–3 on the season. He allowed five earned runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings and struck out seven, but a walk to the nine-hole hitter in the fourth inning set up a crushing three-run homer and back-to-back long balls that gave the Owls control.
“Can’t walk the nine-hole guy and then you get to one of their best players — he hits a three-run homer,” head coach Cliff Godwin said. “Then you give up another homer after that. We just couldn’t get off the field with two outs. I thought our guys early against Beard were really good, our approach was really good.”
Jake Hunter gave the Pirates a chance to come back with a solid 4.1 innings of relief. He allowed just one run on four hits and struck out three. Bradd Pruett recorded the final out in the top of the ninth with a strikeout on three pitches.
Late Rally Comes Up Inches Short
Trailing 6–2 entering the bottom of the eighth, ECU showed life. Bowman and Burress reached, and Tramel laced a double down the left field line to drive in a run. But the Pirates stranded two in scoring position.
In the ninth, the Pirates made one final push. Michael Kalinich worked a leadoff walk, Burress followed with a single, and Wallace lined one into left to make it 6–5. With two on and two out, Jack Herring pinch-hit for Kenan Bowman. He got ahead in the count 3–1, but swung through back-to-back changeups to end the game.
“Our guys battled for sure, we battled,” Godwin added. “We had the tying run at second base and go-ahead run at first base, but just weren’t able to get that guy in.”
What’s Next
With the loss, ECU drops to 20–11 overall and 7–1 in American Athletic Conference play. The Owls improve to 16–15 and hand the Pirates their first conference loss of the season.
East Carolina will look to bounce back Saturday in Game 2 of the series. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Clark-LeClair Stadium.