By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
GREENVILLE — Justin Bristow and T.J. Hose were masterful on the mound for the East Carolina Pirates, which led to a doubleheader sweep of the Presbyterian Blue Hose on Saturday.
Bristow tossed a complete-game, four-hitter in a 3-0 win in the second game. Hose picked up the win with six solid innings in an 11-2 nod in the first game.
The sweep of Presbyterian (12-30), coming in front of 3,217 fans at Clark-LeClair Stadium, gave the Pirates (32-13) their fifth straight win.
Game One
Hose (3-4) picked up the win. The senior allowed two runs on four hits in six innings, striking out six and walking one.
Corey Kemp had three hits, scored three times and drove in a pair to lead the offense. Brandon Henderson and Kyle Roller each had two hits and two RBIs, while Jamie Ray drove in three.
ECU took a 3-0 lead in the first inning despite getting just one hit off Blue Hose starter Jesse Harmon (1-6). Harrison Eldridge, Stephen Batts and Kemp all walked and eventually scored. Eldridge scored on a wild pitch, Batts raced home on a groundout by Henderson and Kemp touched home on Ray’s double.
Jared Combs hit his team-leading seventh home run in the second to get the Blue Hose on the scoreboard.
The Pirates pushed their lead to 5-1 in the third. Kemp singled and scored on Ray’s groundout, while Roller had an RBI single.
ECU made it 9-2 with a four-run fifth. An RBI single by Henderson and a sac fly by Ray, which gave him his third RBI of the game, made it 7-2. Roller drilled an RBI double down the line in right and Dustin Harrington laced a run-scoring single into left.
Kemp capped the scoring in the eighth when he roped a bases-loaded, two-run single that made it 11-2.
Daniel Holder, Matt Cox (two strikeouts) and Matt Laney (one strikeout) each pitched one inning of hitless ball for the Pirates.
Game Two
Bristow (6-2) threw his second complete-game shutout of the season. He struck out a career-high nine batters and didn’t walk any.
The junior transfer retired 12 straight at one point.
Bristow tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout in a 6-0 win over Monmouth on March 2.
Just like the first game, the Pirates jumped on the Blue Hose early in the second game. Eldridge hit a leadoff double off Presbyterian starter Eric Tatum (2-4) and later scored on Kemp’s single up the middle. Ray later slapped an RBI single to make it 2-0.
Tatum was solid for the Blue Hose, allowing three runs on seven hits in 6 1-3 innings. He struck out two and walked three.
Eldridge slapped an RBI single in the seventh to give the Pirates a 3-0 advantage.
That was all the Pirates would need to complete the sweep.
The Pirates play Tuesday at No. 27 UNC-Wilmington, then return home Friday for the start of a three-game Conference USA series against UAB.
Game 1
Presbyterian 010 100 000 — 2 4 3
East Carolina 302 040 02x — 11 11 1
WP: T.J. Hose (3-4); LP: Jesse Harmon (1-6)
Hitters: P — Jared Combs 2-4 (HR, 2B, RBI), Zac Rhinesmith 1-3, Cory Lyda 1-3; ECU — Corey Kemp 3-4 (2 RBIs, 3 runs), Kyle Roller 2-2 (2B, 2 RBIs), Brandon Henderson 2-5 (2 RBIs), Jamie Ray 1-2 (2B, 3 RBIs), Dustin Harrington 1-4 (RBI), Harrison Eldridge 1-3, Trent Ashcraft 1-1.
Game 2
Presbyterian 000 000 000 — 0 2 0
East Carolina 200 000 10x — 3 8 0
WP: Justin Bristow (6-2); LP: Eric Tatum (2-4)
Hitters: P — Cory Lyda 2-4, William Bolchoz 1-3, Kyle Craven 1-4; ECU — Harrison Eldridge 3-4 (2B, RBI), Dustin Harrington 2-3, Brandon Henderson 1-3, Jamie Ray 1-4 (RBI), Corey Kemp 1-4 (RBI).