GREENVILLE — With three team home runs, the East Carolina baseball team cruised its way to a 15-3 win over in-state rival North Carolina State.

The first of the three Pirates home runs was the biggest of the day and the first career home run from junior transfer Zack Mozingo. With two outs, ECU loaded the bases off a Joe Dunand throwing error that could have ended the inning.

Mozingo followed and belted a 1-1 curveball over the right field wall and made it a 7-0 ECU lead, burying the Wolfpack with one swing of the bat.

“It felt good to get the first (career home run) out of the way,” Mozingo said. “I just knew it was a big time, they had just made an error and I needed to try and capitalize on it. I was sitting on a curveball and put a good swing on it.”

Home runs in the sixth and seventh innings by Turner Brown and Bryce Harman, respectively, put the game completely out of reach.

Brown launched a first-pitch fastball to right field with Harman on third and Jeff Nelson on second. Luke Bolka reached on a fielding error by third baseman Evan Mendoza and was replaced with Nelson on the base paths on batter before Brown. On the same play, a throwing error by Dunand after Mendoza’s fielding error allowed Watkins to score from second and make it an 8-0 game in the sixth.

“We wanted to be aggressive and we didn’t want to let down at all,” Brown said. “Our approach was to be aggressive on fastballs and not beat.”

ECU coach Cliff Godwin added, “We talked about it. (Beckman) is a power arm. I didn’t care if he threw a changeup, I just wanted him to be aggressive early in the count and (Beckman) provided the power and (Brown) just put the barrel on the ball.”

Harman put his own three-run homer in front of the scoreboard in right-center field with one out in the seventh. Eric Tyler started the inning with a single and Watkins moved Tyler to second after a Mozingo strike out. Harman followed and ripped a 1-1 pitch over the right field wall and brought the game to its eventual final score of 15-3.

“The guys just had a good approach,” Godwin said. “When they got fastballs in good counts, they got good swings off. Mozingo’s home run was big.”

The three home run hitters knocked in four runs each. Charlie Yorgen produced the second run of the game with a safety squeeze as Harman scored from third in the first inning. Brown plated Watkins with a single back up the middle to score the first runs of the game.

Three ECU pitchers combined to allow just three runs and six hits in the game, though they did struggle with control. Six Wolfpack batters reached on walks and two were hit by pitches.

The Wolfpack finally got on the board in the sixth inning with a pair of home runs off freshman Matt Bridges. The first came in a 0-1 count with State’s home run leader, Chance Shepard, at the plate. Shepard drove his 11th home run of the season over the left field wall for a solo shot and made the score 8-1.

Two batters later, left fielder Brett Kinneman turned on a 2-1 pitch and nearly pushed it onto the ECU football practice fields. After hitting the following batter, Bridges settled in and earned two quick outs to retire the frame and send the offense on to a big sixth inning itself.

Fellow freshman Chris Holba ended the game on the mound as he allowed just one hit over three innings and permitted a run to cross in the ninth. With six games in seven days on the horizon, it was important for the ECU bullpen to preserve arms.

State used eight pitchers, with only the pair of ninth-inning pitchers not allowing a run.

The Pirates will travel to High Point Wednesday before returning home for a three-game set against Connecticut. The Pirates will have a quick turnaround with a Monday rematch against the Wolfpack.