By Staff
ECU Sports Information
GREENVILLE -- Davey Penny scattered five hits over seven shutout innings and East Carolina blasted four home runs as the Pirates cruised to a 12-0 win over Delaware in college baseball action Saturday afternoon at Harrington Field.
The Pirates improved to 7-3 overall with their best performance, both at the plate and on the mound, of the season. ECU's 12 runs and 15 hits were both season highs and the combined shutout was its first of the season. Delaware falls to 0-4.
Penny struck out nine and walked one as the senior right-hander improved to 1-2. His strikeouts pushed his career total to 204, making him just the seventh pitcher in ECU history to reach the 200-strikeout milestone. He was followed on the mound by redshirt freshmen Kevin Rhodes and Brian McCullen, who pitched an inning apiece to complete the shutout.
First baseman Ryan Norwood led the offensive attack with a 3-for-3 showing, including a pair of home runs -- his fourth and fifth of the season -- and five RBI. Center fielder Ryan Jones also had a big day with a pair of hits, including his first home run, and four RBI. Freshman catcher Jake Smith added his third homer of the season, a two-run shot in the eighth inning.
The Pirates jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third on Jones' two-run homer. They pushed it to 5-0 in the fifth on Norwood's first home run, good for three RBI, then blew the game open with a five-run sixth inning which made it 10-0. Norwood hit a two-run shot, Jones brought home two more runs with an RBI, and Mike DeJesus added an RBI single to highlight the big inning.
Blue Hen starter Jason Vincent (0-2) was roughed up for seven runs on nine hits and lasted five innings. Nick DeCarlo and Todd Davison had two hits apiece for Delaware, which stranded 11 runners on base this afternoon.
The two teams will wrap up the three-game series today at 1 p.m. Left-hander Ashley Capps is slated to make his first start of the season for the Pirates. The Blue Hens are expected to counter with right-hander Mark Michael.