NEW ORLEANS — Dwanya Williams-Sutton drove in three runs with a pair of homers and freshman left-hander Alec Burleson went seven and one-third innings as East Carolina won its American Athletic Conference series at Tulane with an 8-3 victory on Saturday.
The No. 12 Pirates (32-12, 10-7 AAC) topped the Green Wave (22-26, 7-10) in the series opener on Friday night by a 9-5 margin.
Jake Washer scored on a balk in the second inning for a 1-0 ECU lead and the Pirates were on top the rest of the way. Williams-Sutton belted a two-run homer in the third and Brady Lloyd had an RBI single as ECU went ahead, 4-0.
Connor Litton singled through the left side to score Spencer Brickhouse in the fifth. A sacrifice fly by Litton brought in Brickhouse in the seventh.
Williams-Sutton hit a solo homer in the ninth and a bases-loaded walk to Lloyd accounted for the final run.
Litton and Lloyd each had two hits and two RBIs.
Burleson allowed four hits and three runs (all earned). He struck out seven without a walk. The lefty threw 89 pitches, including 60 for strikes.
Zach Barnes pitched the final one and two-thirds.
“I thought we played as well as we have in a long time today,” said Pirates coach Cliff Godwin. “Obviously, it starts on the mound with (Alec) Burleson, but I thought we executed what we were trying to do offensively as good as we have done all year against their guy (Keagan Gillies), who had the best numbers and who has been pitching well the last couple of weekends.
“I thought our guys got to the plate with a plan and executed at a high level. Dwayna (Williams-Sutton) had a big day with two home runs and I thought everybody up and down the lineup had tough at-bats and that’s what it takes when you face a good pitcher.”
The final game of the series is at 1 p.m. Sunday.
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