CINCINNATI — Landon Ginn earned his first career win and East Carolina coach Cliff Godwin got career victory No. 250 as the Pirates took an American Athletic Conference series at Cincinnati, three games to one, with a 5-2 triumph on Sunday.
ECU, ranked No. 11 for the past week by Division I baseball, moved to 36-11 overall and remained first in the AAC at 18-6, a half-game ahead of Tulane (28-18, 17-6) in the league standings.
The Pirates scored first on a 2-run homer to right by Bryson Worrell in the top of the second. The Bearcats (25-24, 14-14) pulled even in the third on a solo homer by Griffin Merritt and an RBI single by Joey Bellini.
ECU got the go-ahead run in the fifth after a leadoff double down the right field line by Ryder Giles. He moved to third on a single by Connor Norby and scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Thomas Francisco.
The Pirates added two more runs in the ninth after Alec Makarewicz drew a 2-out walk. Giles singled and pinch runner Ryley Johnson went to second. An infield single by Norby loaded the bases. Francisco’s 2-run double down the left field line provided a 5-2 lead.
Ginn, a freshman right-hander, was the fifth of six ECU pitchers and retired all nine batters he faced with two strikeouts. C.J. Mayhue went the last two innings for his eighth save.
The Pirates are scheduled to close the regular season with a 4-game series at South Florida (22-24, 12-12), beginning with a doubleheader on Thursday at 2 p.m.
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