GREENVILLE — East Carolina downed Western Carolina 12-6 on Sunday and earned a share of the Keith LeClair Classic title.
Utah (5-5) defeated Wright State 12-8 in the first game Sunday to leave both of those teams with 2-1 records for the event.
ECU (8-4) beat Utah and lost to Wright State (4-4) to go 2-1 as well. Head-to-head results did not resolve the tie among the 2-1 clubs.
Western Carolina went 0-3 for the weekend and slipped to 5-5.
A 3-run homer by Thomas Francisco and a 2-run dinger by Jake Washer accounted for a 5-run third inning against the Catamounts and gave the Pirates a 6-1 lead.
ECU had taken a 1-0 lead in the second when Bryant Packard scored on a ground out by Turner Brown. Packard had led off the inning with a double down the right field line and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Ryder Giles.
Packard also opened the fifth with a double and scored on a single by Brady Lloyd for a 7-2 lead.
Daylan Nanny’s 3-run homer was the big blow as Western closed within 7-6 with four runs in the sixth.
Packard’s single started the seventh for the Pirates and was the only hit in a 3-run frame for ECU. The Pirates added two runs in the eighth after a one-out triple by Spencer Brickhouse. Packard had an RBI single and later scored on a wild pitch.
Packard went 4-for-5 and scored four runs. Brickhouse was 3-for-3 and drew two walks. Alec Burleson was 2-for-3 with a double.
Tyler Smith (1-0) pitched five innings for the win. He allowed nine hits and five earned runs while striking out two without a walk. Sam Lanier pitched one inning and was charged with Western’s last run. Lanier yielded two hits and struck out two.
Jake Kuchmaner tossed two scoreless innings before Zach Bridges came on for the ninth, inducing a double play to end the game.
The Pirates visit Mississippi State (10-1) on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. start.
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