4/6/2019 football Edit

ECU Slugs Houston 15-2 in the First of a Saturday Double Header

Spencer Brickhouse hammered a pair of homers including a grand slam in the opening game against Houston on Saturday.

Mark Lindsay • PirateIllustrated

Publisher

Two Spencer Brickhouse home runs including a grand slam and a two-run shot from Jake Washer highlighted ECU’s 15-2 game two win over Houston on Saturday in the first game of the Saturday double-header at Schroeder Park.

Right-hander Tyler Smith got the Saturday start for ECU(23-7/7-1 AAC) and lasted five innings, fanning five Cougar hitters and giving up a pair of runs on five hits with two walks. Gavin Williams then entered the game in relief in the bottom of the sixth.

Ryan Randal opened the game for Houston and yielded four hits, two walks and three earned runs in an inning of work. Sean Bretz and Spencer Hines led a succession of relief pitchers on the mound for the Cougars.

Spencer Brickhouse homered to right center in the first inning to give the Pirates a quick 2-0 lead. Later in the same frame, Thomas Francisco reached on a fielding error from Jared Triolo that allowed Alec Burleson to score and that gave the Pirates a three run cushion.

In the second inning, Jake Washer scored a grounder from Bryant Packard that produced a double play giving ECU a 4-0 lead.

Houston17-14/3-5 AAC) finally got into the act on a Lockhart solo homer over the left field wall in the fourth inning coupled with a Tyler Bielamowicz double that scored a run in the fifth to trim the ECU lead to two at 4-2.

Spencer Brickhouse extended the lead to 8-2 with a grand slam homer in the top of the sixth inning for his eighth homer of the year and 28th of his career.

ECU added a pair of runs on Jake Washer’s fifth home run of the year and eleventh of his career in the seventh inning. It was a two-run shot off of Houston pitcher Tristen Bayless to left center that put the Pirates up 10-2.

Jared Triolo’s sac fly in the seventh scored a Houston run to cut the lead to a touchdown.

Dusty Baker got the eighth inning started off right with a double for ECU before three more ECU hits added four runs to the ledger to give ECU a commanding 14-2 lead and then walked in a run in the ninth with the bases loaded for the final run of the game.