Pirates staff way to 7-4 victory over Phoenix

East Carolina used ten pitchers to sweep season series from Elon

With his team in desperate need of a win, East Carolina head coach Billy Godwin opted to employ a “staff” approach on Tuesday night at in-state rival Elon.

The Pirates (28-21), who had dropped four straight and nine of 12 coming in, used ten pitchers in the game. Zach Woods (7-3) allowed no hits in a scoreless first and received credit for the victory. Seth Maness recorded his first save of the season. None of the Pirate hurlers went more than 1.2 innings and ECU used each of its three weekend starters.

While Elon starter Jared Kernodle (6-3) did strikeout six in his three innings of work, the Pirates jumped on from the first batter of the game and touched him for five runs—all earned—on seven hits. ECU center fielder Trent Whitehead took a 3-2 pitch over the fence in left center for an early 1-0 advantage.

The Pirates extended their lead to 3-0 in the second. Devin Harris led off the frame with a double to right center. Cam Freeman delivered a clutch two-out, two-strike double down the left field line to plate Harris. Freeman would later score when Trent Whitehead bounced a single between short and third.

Elon (34-19) got on the board in the bottom of the inning when Ryan Adams singled to left to bring home Neal Pritchard.

The Pirates pushed their advantage to 5-1 in the fourth when Trent Whitehead and Kyle Roller came through with run-scoring singles.

In the fifth, the Phoenix pulled to within 5-3. Mike Melillo drew a two-out walk and Neal Pritchard made the Pirates pay by launching his tenth round-tripper of the season deep into the left centerfield pines.

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ECU responded in the sixth. Chris Gosik led off with a double, advanced to third on Trent Whitehead’s groundout and scored on Corey Thompson’s sacrifice fly to deep right center.

Elon closed its deficit to two in the eighth when Harry Austin delivered a two-out double and scored on Niko Fraser’s single to center. However, the damage stopped there when Seth Maness came in to seal the deal.

The Pirates bounced back with a run in the top of the ninth. Devin Harris laced a single to left to make it 7-4.

East Carolina, which outhit Elon 13-9, was led by Trent Whitehead and Devin Harris. Whitehead went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and Harris also went 3-for-5. Chris Gosick, who went 2-for-3, also had a multi-night for the Pirates.

ECU will return to action on Friday when it begins its three-game series at UCF. The series is critical, as ECU is tied for fifth and battling for the right to play in the new six-team CUSA Tournament at Houston.