GREENVILLE — East Carolina won a battle between nationally-ranked teams, 5-2, over College of Charleston on Wednesday afternoon at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
The Pirates (9-3) are ranked No. 19 by D1Baseball.com this week. The Cougars (10-3), coming off a weekend sweep at home against Georgia, were No. 24 in the same poll.
College of Charleston had a seven-game winning streak.
The teams were scheduled to play Tuesday night but that contest was scratched due to rain.
Sophomore left-hander Jake Agnos started for the Pirates after previously going on Saturdays in the weekend rotation.
Agnos walked Dupree Hart to start the game and Luke Morgan followed with a homer down the right field line to put ECU in a 2-0 hole.
The Pirates scored four runs in the bottom of the second after a one-out walk to Jake Washer. A wild pitch from College of Charleston starting right-hander Brian Rourke allowed Washer to advance to second. Chandler Jenkins had an RBI double off the fence in right-center to trim the lead to 2-1.
Alec Burleson singled through the left side to put runners on the corners. Jenkins came home with the tying run on a bunt single by Brady Lloyd. A throwing error on the bunt left runners at second and third.
Dusty Baker drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single and the Cougars brought in left-hander Zach Williams from the bullpen. Lloyd scored on a ground out to second by Bryant Packard for a 4-2 Pirates lead.
“We had some quality at-bats,” said ECU coach Cliff Godwin of the decisive frame.
A walk to Burleson to start the bottom of the sixth, a single to center by Lloyd and a walk to Baker loaded the bases. ECU scored the final run of the game as Andrew Henrickson reached on a fielder’s choice. Henrickson came in after Packard apparently hurt his back.
Agnos (1-1) went five innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs while walking one and striking out two.
Trey Smith yielded just one hit in a three-inning stint. Davis Kirkpatrick allowed a walk and a hit in the ninth before Burleson came on for his first save.
Jenkins and Lloyd each finished with two hits.
The Pirates start a three-game series at Charlotte on Friday at 3 p.m.
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Pirate Al: Thank you for the heads up. The error has been corrected. — Danny Whitford, Editor