CINCINNATI — East Carolina clinched its American Athletic Conference series at Cincinnati with an 11-3 win on Saturday as Justin Wilcoxen and Jacob Starling provided the power.
Wilcoxen was 2-for-4 with a grand slam, two runs and five RBIs.
Starling went 3-for-5 with a home run, three runs and three RBIs.
The 14th-ranked Pirates (33-14. 11-6 AAC) went ahead to stay on a run-scoring triple by Josh Moylan with one out in the top of the first inning after Lane Hoover walked to begin the game.
Wilcoxen drew a walk with the bases loaded in the third for a 2-0 lead.
Hoover had a sacrifice fly in the sixth before Starling’s 3-run homer to right.
Starling scored on an infield single by Ryley Johnson in the ninth before Wilcoxen launched a bases-loaded blast to left.
Carter Spivey (5-2) pitched two and two-thirds innings of relief for the win.
ECU is one game behind Houston (28-19, 12-5) in the AAC standings as the Pirates look to sweep the Bearcats (20-26, 8-9) in game three of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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