GREENVILLE — East Carolina withstood a 5-run ninth inning by Michigan to improve to 2-0 in the 2022 Keith LeClair Classic with a 10-8 win over the Wolverines at Clark-LeClair Stadium on Saturday.
ECU climbed to 5-5 on the season with home runs from Alec Makarewicz, Jake Agnos and Josh Moylan.
Maryland topped Indiana State, 12-6, in the first game on Saturday. The Pirates face the Terps (9-1) on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. for the 22nd LeClair Classic title.
Michigan (7-4) took a 2-0 lead in the first on Saturday as Ted Burton connected for a 2-run homer to left.
Makarewicz, Carter Cunningham, Agnos, Justin Wilcoxen and Ryder Giles had RBIs as ECU went ahead to stay with five runs in the bottom of the first.
Makarewicz and Agnos each hit 2-run homers in the seventh. Moylan launched a solo shot in the eighth.
Tito Flores hit a grand slam for the Wolverines to cut the Pirates’ lead to 10-8 in the ninth.
Michigan brought the potential tying run to the plate before Nick Logusch sealed the outcome with a pair of strikeouts to end the game.
Starter Josh Grosz improved to 2-0 with the win and Logusch got his first save of the season.
Michigan coach Erik Bakich and Wolverines assistant Nick Schnabel each played for ECU under LeClair in 1999 and 2000. Bakich and Schnabel were teammates of Pirates coach Cliff Godwin in 1999 when ECU reached a Super Regional in Kinston against Tennessee.
Michigan plays Indiana State (5-4) in the first game Sunday at 11 a.m.
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