Pirates post 6-2 victory over Green Wave, clinch third in CUSA

East Carolina takes series from Tulane

Senior Seth Maness turned in six strong innings and five Pirates had multi-hit games, as East Carolina collected a 6-2 win in game two of its series with Tulane on Friday night at Turchin Stadium.

The Pirates (36-18, 13-10), who clinched the No. 3 seed at next week's CUSA Tourney with the win, took a 1-0 lead in the fourth.

Corey Thompson led off with a single to left, but Trent Whitehead lined into a 1-3 double play to clear the bases. Zach Wright proceeded to deliver his 13th homer of the season to make it 1-0.

ECU extended its advantage to 2-0 in the fifth.

McDonald, Reinheimer and Ussery collected consecutive one-out singles, but the Pirates were able to push just one run across via a Philip Clark groundout.

The Green Wave (30-23, 10-13) got on the board with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning.

Matt Ryan led off with a single then advanced to third on a throwing error by first baseman John Wooten. Ryan came home on a Cannizaro single to left.

The Pirates answered with two in the sixth.

Ben Fultz doubled with two outs to score Whitehead, who led off the frame with a single.

Tulane opted to intentionally walk Chase McDonald, but Conrad Flynn hit the next two batters--Reinheimer and Ussery--to force in a run to make it 4-1.

The Green Wave's best chance came in the eighth. They trimmed their deficit to 4-2 and loaded the bases with two outs, but Whitehead made an highlight reel catch to rob Woodson.

ECU added some insurance in the ninth. A single by Ben Fultz made it 5-2 before an error by the first baseman allowed Zach Wright to score to produce the final margin.

After a shaky start, Simmons settled down in the ninth and sat Tulane down in order to record his sixth save.

The Pirates, who outhit Tulane 13-7, were led by the three-hit effort of freshman Ben Fultz.

Matt Ryan was the only Green Wave player to have more than one hit, as he went 2-for-3.

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Maness, who improved to 8-3, allowed just the one unearned run on four hits in six innings.

Armstrong allowed one run on two hits in 1 2/3 innings before Simmons was inserted into the game.

Flynn drops to 3-6 with the loss. He allowed four runs--all earned--on nine hits in six innings.

The teams will conclude the series on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. (EST)