PURPLE! Home Stand Issue 1

ISSUE NO. 1

home stand edition east carolina

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uab

May the fultz be with you Ben Fultz, far left, is grabbed by Phillip Clark during the Pirate’s celebration of their win over UAB on Sunday.

Fultz’ sacrifice fly advanced Drew Reynolds from third base for the winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning. The Pirates also defeated the Blazers 11–6 on Friday and 12–2 on Saturday, sweeping UAB for the series. ECU’s record improved to 4–2 in C-USA, and 19–8 overall. photo by jay clark

on the cover: John Wooten hoists Ben Fultz over his shoulder while celebrating the win over UAB on Sunday.

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Home stand 1 - ECU vs. UAB - 2012

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purple and golden glove Left fielder Bryan Bass makes a leaping catch on a sharply-hit fly ball down the left field line in the 6th inning of Sunday’s game. photo by jay clark

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game 2 - ECU vs. virginia tech - 2011

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Blazer Beam Third baseman Corey Thompson guns down a UAB hitter on a sacrifice bunt.

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Home stand 1 - ECU vs. UAB - 2012

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clean Sweep pirates extinguish blazers in exciting series

photo by jay clark

STORY BY chase kroll

In the first home Conference USA series for ECU baseball this season, the Pirates (19-8, 4-2) swept UAB (17-12, 2-4) and proved their versatility. The three-game swing featured both a complete game and some pitching by committee. There was both an early inning offensive explosion and a late game rally. One day was a 10-point blowout, and the next, a one-run extra-inning affair. But each game offered its fair share of excitement.

The series opened on Friday with an 11-6 victory but the game was a lot closer than the score indicated.

After the top of the third inning, senior pitcher Kevin Brandt had already given up eight hits and ECU’s hitters struggled as the Blazers raced out to a 5-0 lead. This marked the shortest outing of the year for Brandt, who was replaced in the fourth by Dario Santangelo and Tanner Merritt.

Trailing 6-2 after the fourth inning, the offense started to show some signs of life. John Wooten, Jay Cannon, and Bryan Bass all scored runs in the sixth inning to pull the score within one. In the seventh, a single up the middle by Tim Younger drove in two runs, giving ECU the lead for the first time. As UAB’s offense sputtered, ECU’s exploded, scoring four runs in the eighth to seal the victory. east carolina university

Cannon led the team with four hits and Younger finished with a career-high of four RBIs. Freshman Dylan Dickens (4.0 innings pitched, 3 hits, 2 strikeouts) got his first win of the season on the mound and Merritt (1.2 ip, 3 so) was credited with the save.

The Pirates entered the second game of the series with the same offensive intensity that ended the first game, racing out to a 6-0 lead after the second inning before running away with a 12-2 win.

Corey Thompson led the team with three hits while Reynolds earned a career-high four RBIs (including a three-run homer in the eighth). The team experienced two five-run innings in both the second and eighth, but all the attention was on junior pitcher Tyler Joyner.

Pitching his first career complete game, Joyner gave up just two runs on four hits and a walk, leaving UAB without a hit in six of the nine innings.

“He never gave them the opportunity to create any type of rally,” said coach Billy Godwin. “When you throw up zeros, it gives your hitters confidence.”

Joyner was awarded Conference USA pitcher-of-theweek honors after his performance but he was quick to give the credit to his teammates.

“I always take the mound with the confidence that my PURPLE! 7

run and done Catcher Zach Wright guides in baserunner Drew Reynolds for the winning run against UAB on Sunday. Reynolds advanced off a pop fly by Ben Fultz in the bottom of the 13th inning. The win completed the sweep over the Blazers who fell to the Pirates 6–5.

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Home stand 1 - ECU vs. UAB - 2012

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sun screen

photo by jay clark (2)

Right fielder Phillip Clark can’t come up with a fly ball after he lost sight of it in the sun.

teams going to get runs for me and play solid defense and that’s what happened today,” said Joyner following the victory.

While it could be argued that the second game of the series had been decided well before the ninth inning, the final matchup needed 13 innings to distinguish a victor.

A sac fly by Ben Fultz allowed Reynolds to score the final run, as ECU won 6-5 and secured the series sweep. But things didn’t look very good for the Pirates in regulation.

Starting pitcher Jharel Cotton (6 h, 3 r, 1 so) lasted just two and a third innings as UAB led 3-0 after two innings.

Wooten drove in the Pirate’s first run with an RBI groundout in the fourth, and after the Blazers made it 5-1, he hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh.

As the game stretched to the bottom of the ninth inning, ECU found itself down 5-2, with the Pirates standing just three outs away from a loss. A wild pitch by UAB’s Ryan Nance allowed Fultz to score leaving ECU down two east carolina university

with runners at second and third. Facing two outs Chase MacDonald singled to right field, driving in Bass and Zach Wright to tie the game at five and force extra innings.

Joyner’s complete game the day before ended up being a blessing for the Pirates pitching unit. The pitchers that were expected to back up Joyner were now ready to go in the finale. In total, coach Godwin used five pitchers in the season’s longest game with Reynolds getting the win (2-0).

Reynolds pitched the four extra innings (1h, 6 so) and went 3-for-5 at the plate.

“The sweep is huge. It gets us some momentum rolling into next week,” said Reynolds. “Hopefully we can continue building off of it.”

The win marked the seventh-straight home win for the Pirates. Next, they travel to Wilmington to play UNCW before hosting Conference USA foe Houston for an Easter weekend series.

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Outfielder Jonathan Holt leaps on the outfield wall to celebrate with fans in the Jungle after ECU’s extra-inning win over UAB on Sunday. The Pirates defeated the Blazers 6–5 in 13 innings after a dramatic comeback in the bottom of the ninth sent the game into extra innings. photo by Jay clark 10 PURPLE!

game 2 - ECU vs. virginia tech - 2011