ECU Shuts Out Charlotte in a Two Hitter to Take The Weekend Series
(8)East Carolina took the rubber match of the three-game series with Charlotte in a 3-0 two-hit shutout Saturday night in Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Jacob Wolfe picked up the win for ECU(12-4) in his second shutout of the season. Chris Holba picked up the save while Zach Flanagan fell to 1-2 with the loss for Charlotte.
Dusty Baker had three hits while Eric Tyler, Bryant Packard, Charlie Yorgen had a pair of hits and Spencer Brickhouse had an RBI for the Pirates.
“We’re a senior-laden team, but we had four freshmen in the lineup today. Packard played great. Nick Barber played great defense, Spencer Brickhouse with another RBI, but Dusty - what a spark,” said ECU head coach Cliff Godwin, “The guy plays with a ton of energy, he’s deserved a shot and it makes a difference to our team.”
Wolfe went seven innings giving up just two hits, a pair of walks and four strikeouts for the Pirates to move to 2-0 on the season.
“We really needed somebody to go deep into the game just because we had used some guys out of the bullpen. Joe (Ingle) had been used, Sam (Lanier) was used last night and Matt Bridges was used a lot so we needed a guy to go deep in the game and man was he phenomenal today,” said Godwin.
Dusty Baker’s single in the first inning moved Charlie Yorgen to third base. Yorgen then scored when a passed ball from Charlotte pitcher Zach Flanagan got past catcher Zach Smith and ECU took an early 1-0 lead.
Charlotte threatened again in the top of the seventh when Zach Jarrett doubled to centerfield. Dusty Baker dived for the ball in shallow centerfield but came up empty. Jarrett then advanced to third base on a Logan Sherer ground out. But Charlotte(10-6) redshirt senior Eddie Hull dribbled a two-out grounder to Charlie Yorgen who extinguished the threat.
The Pirates had seven hits all told through six complete innings. Then Bryant Packard’s stand up double in the bottom of the seventh advanced Eric Tyler to third base and Packard moved to second on the throw attempt to third. Then Eric Tyler scored on a wild pitch from Charlotte’s J.D. Prochaska that gave the Pirates a 2-0 cushion.
Spencer Brickhouse’s pop fly to right field in the bottom of the eighth scored Baker for an insurance run to help cement the 3-0 win.
