No. 27 Pirates pound Cougars, 16-1, in 7 innings

East Carolina hands Houston another blowout loss

Tyler Joyner worked seven strong innings while John Wooten went 4-for-4 to help lead No. 27 East Carolina to a 16-1, seven-inning victory over Houston on Friday night at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

The Pirates (22-8, 6-2), who won their sixth straight, fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first when Landon Appling scored on a squeeze play when Chase Jensen laid down the bunt.

However, ECU responded with the first of five multi-run innings in the bottom of the frame as it plated five runs on just three hits against Cougars' starter Jordan Lewis. The big blow came when struggling Chase McDonald connected on a three-run blast to left with two down.

Houston (11-18, 1-7) saw its deficit grow to seven in the third. John Wooten led off with a solo shot to left that made it 6-1. Then, following a walk to Jay Cannon, Zach Wright produced a two-run round-tripper that increased the Pirates' lead to 8-1.

East Carolina extended the lead to 10-1 via four straight singles to start the fourth with Jay Cannon producing a two-run single.

The Pirates proceeded to put up three spots in the sixth and seventh innings to end the game.

All but one ECU starter hit safely and four had multi-hit games as the Pirates outhit the Cougars, 15-6.

John Wooten finished 4-for-4 with three RBI. Meanwhile, Zach Wright, Corey Thompson and Tim Younger all had two hits. Wright also drove in a team-high five runs.

Joyner, who went the distance, allowed one runs on six hits en route to improving to 5-0. He struck out five and didn't walk a batter.

Landon Appling and Jacob Lueneburg had two hit games for Houston.

The Pirates and Cougars will conclude their three-game set on Saturday morning. First-pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Clark-LeClair Stadium.