Box Score

ECU at NCCU Box Score (HTML)

DURHAM, N.C. – In the return match of the home-and-home series against East Carolina University, North Carolina Central University grounded into four double plays and left 10 runners on the base paths as the Pirates cruised to the 5-1 win on Saturday afternoon at the Durham Athletic Park to take both games from the Eagles.
 
After a 1-2-3 top of the first, NCCU put Pirate starter David Lucroy in a tough spot by recording back-to-back singles by Akeem Hood (Raleigh, N.C.) and Zach Lee (Wilson, N.C.) to put runners at first and second with no outs.  After a Luis Diaz (Geneva, N.Y.) fly out junior third baseman Troy Marrow (Lutherville, Md.) got plunked for the 20th time this season to loaded the bases with one out.  That’s when junior catcher Carter Williamson (Roanoke, Va.) hit into the first of four double plays in four straight innings for the maroon and gray.
 
ECU struck first in the top of the second as Zach Houchins picked up where he left off on Friday with a single to left field, followed up by a Drew Reynolds bunt single down the third base line.  After Chase McDonald flew out to centerfield, left fielder Ben Fultz drilled a double to right center field to score the first two runs of the game for the Pirates, giving them the 2-0 lead.  Second baseman Bryan Bass singled to right field, but a Ronald Thompson error allowed Fultz to score from second and give East Carolina the 3-0 lead.
 
In the bottom of the second inning, the Eagles had the Pirates on the ropes with three straight walks to start the frame, forcing ECU head coach Billy Goodwin to pull Lucroy from the game.  After Brett Mabry struck out Ryan Collins (Elizabethtown, N.C.), Hood ripped an RBI single to right center field scoring Spencer Franceshetti (Escalon, Calif.) to score the first run for NCCU on the day.  With the momentum clearly on the side of the maroon and gray, Lee grounded into the second straight double play to bail the purple and gold out of the threat as NCCU trailed 3-1 after two.
 
After a scoreless top of the third for ECU, Diaz reached base on a bunt single down to third base, but Marrow grounded into the third twin killing of the day to destroy any positive momentum for NCCU.
 
ECU plated a run in the fourth and fifth to take a commanding 5-1 lead over the maroon and gray, but the Eagles’ frustrations continued in the fourth as Thompson led off the frame with a single through the right side, which was followed up with the fourth and final double play of the afternoon to keep NCCU off the scoreboard.
 
Throughout the remainder of the game, the Eagles put runners in scoring position only twice when a runner reached second in the seventh, and in the eighth, but the combined efforts of Glenn Frye (Lillington, N.C.) and Jake Russell (Winston-Salem, N.C.) along with the solid defensive play by the maroon and gray slowed the Pirate bats down as ECU went scoreless after the fifth inning. 
 
East Carolina held NCCU at bay to take the game 5-1.  With the win, the Pirates (14-14) are now 5-0 all-time against the Eagles.
 
Despite recording only one hit on Friday, NCCU racked up nine hits on Saturday, with Hood leading the way with a 3-for-5 effort at-the-plate with an RBI.  In fact, the top three hitters in the maroon and gray lineup recorded a combined six hits (Hood-3, Lee-2, Diaz-1).
 
In the loss, Frye (3-2) gave up four earned runs while surrendering just nine hits to the potent Pirate lineup.  His two strikeouts gives him 183 in his career. 
 
Mabry (1-1) saved the day for ECU (14-14) going 5.2 innings allowing only five hits with three strikeouts to earn his first win of the season, while heralded starter Lucroy lasted 1.0 inning allowed one run on two hits with three walks.
 
NCCU (18-11, 8-4 MEAC) gets back on the road for a Monday night matchup against the Spartans of UNC Greensboro.  This marks the first meeting between these two teams.  First pitch between the Eagles and Spartans from the UNCG Baseball Stadium is set for 6:00 p.m.
 
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