GREENVILLE — East Carolina won its American Athletic Conference series against Memphis with a 5-3 victory at Clark-LeClair Stadium on Friday night.
The Pirates (42-12, 20-3 AAC) will go for a sweep of the Tigers (26-26, 9-13) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The 20 conference wins sets ECU apart from former AAC member Louisville as the all-time record holder for league victories in a season. The Pirates’ 19-10 thrashing of Memphis in Thursday’s series opener tied the mark set by the Cardinals in 2014.
With the score tied at 2 in the bottom of the fourth on Friday night, Brady Lloyd had a single up the middle that scored Turner Brown to put ECU ahead to stay.
Jake Kuchmaner (6-1) pitched seven and one-third innings. He allowed five hits and three runs (two earned) while walking one and striking out seven. Ryder Giles, Evan Voliva and Alec Burleson had scoreless relief stints. Burleson got his fifth save.
Thomas Francisco was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI for the sixth-ranked Pirates. Spencer Brickhouse, Burleson, Lloyd and Giles each drove in a run.
Hunter Goodman hit a solo homer for the Tigers in the top of the fourth to tie the score at 2. After Lloyd’s go-ahead RBI in the fourth, Francisco scored on ground out by Giles.
Brickhouse had an RBI single in the first and an RBI ground out by Burleson later in the frame provided ECU with a 2-0 lead.
Francisco’s RBI single in the eighth completed the scoring.
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