Tulane topples miscue-prone Pirates

From electronic and staff reports
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After gifting an unearned run to East Carolina in the first inning, Tulane tightened the screws and took advantage of the 27th-ranked Pirates' own miscues to claim a 4-1 Conference USA victory Friday night at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

The Pirates' only score came when senior second baseman Tim Younger reached on a fielding error, dashed to second on a passed ball and came home on a single by senior third baseman Corey Thompson.

The Green Wave came up with three scores over the next two innings to give starter Andrew Reeves (1-1) all the runs he would need to earn credit for his first triumph of the season.

In the second, Blake Crohan belted a double to right center, moved to third on a wild pitch by ECU starter Kevin Brandt and then scored on a single to left by designated hitter Tucker Oakley.

Tulane also benefitted from stray pitches in the third. With one out, Garrett Cannizaro singled to left and advanced to third on Nick Schneeberger's single up the middle. A Brandt wild pitch allowed Cannizaro to score and Schneeberger to take second. Brandt's third and final wild pitch of the day then allowed Schneeberger to race all the way home from second.

The Wave added a run in the sixth when Crohan reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to second on a single by Oakley, took third on a fly ball and then came home on a fielding error by Thompson.

A junior righthander, Reeves limited East Carolina to six hits, a pair of walks and a hit batsman over seven innings.

Senior righthander D.J. Ponder took over in the eighth after Reeves served up a single to Thompson to lead off the inning. Ponder promptly retired the Pirates on a fly ball and a double play to end the frame and followed that by giving up only an infield single in the ninth to nail down the upset win and pick up the save.

Brandt (5-4) lasted six innings and absorbed the loss. The senior lefthander gave up four runs, three earned, on seven hits and two walks. Junior righty Andy Smithmyer took over for Brandt to start the seventh and shut out Tulane the rest of the way, striking out seven and parceling out four hits in his three innings of work.

The Wave outhit East Carolina 11 to 7. Schneeberger was 3-for-5 for Tulane and Thompson was 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Pirates.

The teams meet again on Saturday (2 p.m.) and conclude their series on Sunday (11:30 a.m.)

PAGE UPDATED 04/29/12 05:40 PM.

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