PIRATES ROLLING: ECU earns two wins at Memphis
Published 4:54 pm Monday, April 18, 2016
![MICHAEL PRUNKA | DAILY NEWS RUNNING INTO PROBLEMS: Jacob Wolfe throws a pitch in his appearance against UN-Wilmington earlier in the season. He worked four solid innings on Sunday, but ran into trouble in the fifth inning. Memphis walked off for the win on Sunday, depriving ECU of a series sweep.](https://www.thewashingtondailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2016/04/WEBSPORTS_ECU-earns-two-wins-at-Memphis.jpg)
MICHAEL PRUNKA | DAILY NEWS
RUNNING INTO PROBLEMS: Jacob Wolfe throws a pitch in his appearance against UN-Wilmington earlier in the season. He worked four solid innings on Sunday, but ran into trouble in the fifth inning. Memphis walked off for the win on Sunday, depriving ECU of a series sweep.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The East Carolina baseball team again missed a chance to earn a weekend sweep with a Sunday loss, this time around against conference-foe Memphis.
After keeping the Tiger offense at bay Friday and Saturday, surrendering just three runs over the first two games of the series. Sunday, however, the ECU pitchers struggled with control and eventually lost in walk-off fashion.
Jacob Wolfe cruised through the first four innings of his appearance, but ran into trouble in the fifth frame. Wolfe threw two wild pitches and the Pirates committed three errors as a team while the Tigers pushed across three runs, all charged to Wolfe. ECU head coach Cliff Godwin called on Sam Lanier to pitch. Lanier threw a wild pitch as well and committed a throwing error. He allowed an inherited runner to score before ending the inning.
In the top half of the next frame, Charlie Yorgen knocked in two runs with a double and Parker Lamm tied the game with a single.
Joe Ingle came into to pitch in the tied game in the sixth, but two walks and two hits led to two runs in the frame and called for another offensive comeback.
The offense answered the bell again, as it had all weekend, and tied the game in the ninth. With two on and no outs in the inning, Bryce Harman reached on a fielder’s choice, and an error on Memphis’ shortstop plated Zach Mozingo. Garrett Brooks came up with then-biggest hit of the game with a single back of the middle that scored the game-tying run.
Evan Voliva entered his second inning of relief to start the ninth. After a leadoff walk and sacrifice bunt, Voliva hit Jake Overbey with a pitch. A sacrifice fly advanced Cody Duncan to third. The Tigers sent ECU home without the sweep as Zach Schritenthal broke up his 0-for-4 day with an RBI single to end the game.
Friday and Saturday, the ECU offense light up the Tigers for eight runs each day. Meanwhile, the ECU starters and bullpen held together to limit the Memphis offense.
On Friday, Evan Kruczynski rolled through eight innings, allowed seven hits and just one run in the second inning with seven strikeouts. Denny Brady came in to pitch the ninth inning and struck out the side to finish off an 8-1 series opening win.
Offensively, Parker Lamm carried the team with six RBI. Lamm put the game out of reach with a three-RBI triple, his lone hit of the game, to make it a 7-1 game in the eighth. In the seventh inning, Lamm laid down a sacrifice bunt with two runners in scoring position in Brooks and Turner Brown. The pair scored as Lamm was thrown out at first on the play.
Also in the seventh inning, a Brooks sacrifice fly delivered Luke Bolka to score the eighth and final run of the game for the Pirates.
Lamm also drove in Garrett Brooks from third on a sacrifice fly in the third inning to plate the first ECU run of the game and tied the game at one.
Saturday, Jimmy Boyd’s solid start, Matt Bridges long relief outing and Travis Watkins big three-hit, four-RBI game paved the way to clinch a series win.
Boyd was charged with two runs in 5 2/3 innings pitched and scattered six hits over the outing. Sam Lanier closed out the sixth frame out of the bullpen. Boyd still earned his fifth win of the season thanks to Watkins. The redshirt junior broke a 1-1 tie in the third inning with a two-RBI double to score Lamm and Eric Tyler.
Lamm built off of his strong Friday performance and picked up another RBI in the fourth inning of game two of the series.
Bridges threw the final three innings of the game and allowed just one hit and two walks in the outing. Bridges dropped his season-ERA to 1.88 on the season and has been a consistent force out of the bullpen.
The Pirates are set for a home mid-week contest against NC State before heading out on the road to face High Point. Over the weekend, ECU will host UConn in another conference weekend set.