(8)ECU had few solutions for UCF starting pitcher Jack Sinclair and the Knights won game four on Sunday 6-1 to split the AAC weekend series in Greenville.
Sinclair, who picked up the victory, lasted seven innings, giving up just four hits and one run while fanning seven in 107 pitches. Right-hander David Litchfield then came on in the eighth in relief for a UCF team that gave up just three walks on the day.
“Yesterday that’s why we won the game. Our pitching staff gave up just two freebies and the hit us eleven times yesterday,” Godwin stated, “We flipped that script today and just too many free base runners and the game is not going to reward you. But it’s everybody’s responsibility from our position players, our approach wasn’t what it needed to be early. The wind was different. Sinclair was right on the verge of getting drafted in the top five rounds because he has got really good stuff. Big league stuff. Today, I tip my hat to him, he was a lot better than we were.”
East Carolina uncharacteristically gave up ten walks on Sunday and that made for a bad combination for the Pirates on Sunday.
“He was throwing a fastball that was 93-95 miles per hour with a high spin rate and was throwing it to both sides of of the plate. He had a slider that was 83 mph and a change up that was way better than he has thrown on video, ”ECU head coach Cliff Godwin told PirateIllustrated, “He made it really tough on our hitters and they didn’t really do they needed to do, but I can tell you this. I’d take that guy on my team. That’s a big league arm. He just hasn’t had good command this year for whatever reason, but today he had it and he was special, he just stuffed us and he was really good.”
Pablo Ruiz got things rolling for the Knights in the second inning with a grounder to short that scored UCF’s first run of the day. Then in the third frame Alex Freeland’s RBI base hit to left scored another run before Tom Josten’s double in the same inning scored three more. Suddenly UCF was out to a quick 5-0 lead.
Tyler Smith(1-2) threw 65 pitches in just two innings for (8)ECU(29-7/10-2 AAC) yielding three runs with one strikeout to take the loss. C.J. Mayhue came on in relief and would give up two more runs in his one inning of work before Josh Grosz then entered in the fourth.
Zach Agnos finally got the Pirates on the scoreboard when his fifth inning solo homer to left off of Jack Sinclair(2-4) to cut the lead to 5-1. The Pirates then threatened with runners on first and second in the seventh and eighth but were unable to capitalize.
Matt Bridges was ECU’s seventh pitcher of the day in the ninth, coming in after Garrett Saylor, Danny Beal and Landon Ginn all saw action out of the Pirate bullpen.
UCF(19-23/9-9 AAC) threatened in the top of the ninth again when John Montes’ single to right field put runners on the corners. Then a Pablo Ruiz base knock up the middle off of Bridges scored the Knights’ sixth run of the day to make it 6-1.
That got Bridges lifted for ECU’s eighth pitcher of the day, Nick Logusch whose wild pitch advanced UCF runners to second and third before he walked Andrew Brait to load the bases. But Jordan Rathbone lined out to right field to snuff out the Knights threat in the ninth.
East Carolina hits the road next week to take on Wichita State in a four game AAC series with a Friday double-header beginning at 2 o’clock on ESPN+.
