Pirates Slip By West Virginia 6-3 at LeClair Classic

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Junior Zach Woods struck out a career-best 11 hitters, while Cam Freeman and John Wooten each drove in two runs to help No. 11 East Carolina to a 6-3 win over West Virginia Saturday afternoon at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. With the win the Pirates improve to 6-3, while the Mountaineers dropped to 2-7 on the young season.

Woods (2-0) was once again masterful in his fourth outing of the season. The Virginia Beach, Va. native entered the game in the third inning with a runner on first and got into a jam after giving up a single to Matt Frazer putting runners first and second with one out. Woods got out of the jam and scattered just two more hits over the next six frames for this second win of the season. From the fourth inning on, Woods retired two over the minimum and struck out seven of nine batters faced in innings five through seven. Starter Brad Mincey, who was lifted due to arm stiffness, allowed three runs on six hits with a walk.

Eric Hinkle (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing six runs on nine hits in 3.2 innings. Right-hander Andy Altemus silenced the Pirate bats, which pounded out 11 hits on the afternoon, with split-finger and fastball combination that limited ECU to two hits over 4.1 innings.

Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the third, ECU pushed across a pair of runs to take a 5-3 lead thanks to a two-out 2-RBI single off the bat of Cam Freeman. John Wooten and Corey Thompson both singled with one out before crossing home on Freeman’s line drive to left field.

ECU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first when Wooten single to left center scoring Trent Whitehead and Dustin Harrington. Whitehead started the frame with a single to left, which was promptly followed by Harrington’s base knock down the right field line. Kyle Roller was hit for the third time in the tournament loading the bases Wooten.

The Mountaineers took a 3-2 lead in the second with three consecutive two-out hits. Matt Malloy singled through the right side and took second on Kevin Griffin’s sac bunt. After Colin Durborow fouled out to first, Mark Dvoroznak doubled down the left field line pushing across Malloy. Brady Wilson followed with an RBI single to left scoring Dvoroznak before Jedd Gyorko’s RBI single to left plated Wilson.

Harrington, who extended his current hitting streak to 17 games in the first inning, gave the Pirates an insurance run in the fourth when he doubled down the left field line scoring Whitehead from second putting ECU up 6-3.

Offensively seven of the nine Pirate starters recorded at least one hit with Freeman, Harrington, Whitehead and Wooten each posting multi-hit games.

The Pirates will face Western Carolina (8-1) Sunday afternoon in a game of unbeatens in the Keith LeClair Classic. First pitch is scheduled for 45 minutes after the conclusion of the Illinois and West Virginia game, which starts at 10 a.m.