GREENVILLE — Alec Burleson singled in the eighth inning to bring home Ryder Giles and tie the score at 2, but Gabe Martinez homered in the ninth to lift Air Force to 3-2 win over host East Carolina on Monday.

Burleson went 2-for-4 and Giles was 1-for-2 with a double as the No. 9 Pirates were limited to three hits by a pair of Falcons pitchers. Nathan Price (2-0) tossed five innings in relief for the win. He allowed two hits and one earned run while walking one and striking out two.

All-America candidate Bryant Packard returned to the lineup for East Carolina, going 0-for-3 with a walk in the leadoff spot.

Zach Barnes (0-2) yielded the homer to Martinez and absorbed the loss.

Turner Brown scored on a sacrifice bunt by Brady Lloyd to give ECU (5-3) a 1-0 lead in the second.

Drew Wiss homered for Air Force (5-3) in the fourth to tie the score and Ashton Easley followed with a triple off Pirates starter Jake Kuchmaner. Easley came home for a 2-1 Falcons lead on a ground out by Martinez.

Coming off an 8-5 home loss to Monmouth on Sunday, the outcome against the Falcons represented ECU’s second defeat in a row

The Pirates will host Elon on Wednesday at 4 p.m. before turning their focus to this weekend’s Keith LeClair Classic during which ECU will meet Utah on Friday, Wright State on Saturday and Western Carolina on Sunday, weather permitting.

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