GREENVILLE — Three-run homers from Cam Clonch and Josh Moylan helped No. 9 East Carolina to a 9-4 American Athletic Conference win over Cincinnati at Clark-LeClair Stadium on Friday night.
Clonch set the tone for the Pirates’ sixth straight win with a 3-run homer to right in the bottom of the first.
After the Bearcats had closed a 6-1 deficit to 6-4, Moylan sent a blast to left center in the eighth that provided the final margin.
ECU moved to 26-8 overall and 5-2 in the AAC going into the second game of the series on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Cincinnati (15-20, 3-4 AAC) was outhit, 8-4, and committed three errors.
Alec Makarewicz had two hits with a double and an RBI in the win.
ECU pitchers Trey Yesavage (6-0), Landon Ginn and Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman combined for 15 strikeouts.
Yesavage started and went five innings with 10 whiffs.
The Bearcats belted three homers, including a solo shot by Tommy O’Connor in the fourth, a 2-run shot by Ryan Nicholson in the sixth and another solo homer by Alec Jones in the eighth to account for all of the runs for the visitors.
Outfielders Carter Cunningham and Lane Hoover made catches that took additional home runs away from Cincinnati.
Starter Griffin Hugus (1-1) absorbed the loss.
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