GREENVILLE — Southeastern Louisiana scored three runs in the second inning and led the rest of the way in an 11-9 win over No. 11 East Carolina despite five home runs by the Pirates on Sunday.
Carter Cunningham and Justin Wilcoxen each hit two homers for ECU, which slipped to 7-4 going into a home game with Virginia Commonwealth on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Jacob Jenkins-Cowart also homered for the Pirates, whose bullpen yielded five walks, hit two batters and one wild pitch in six innings.
The Lions (8-4) added four runs in the fourth inning and four more in the sixth.
“A lot of those crooked numbers in those innings were because of giving them a lot of freebies,” said ECU coach Cliff Godwin “That’s not a recipe for success.”
Cunningham went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs.
Wilcoxen was 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs.
Jenkins-Cowart was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run.
Ryley Johnson was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.
Those four players had all of the hits for the Pirates, who matched the visitors’ total of 11 hits.
ECU starter Jake Hunter (1-1) absorbed the loss. He was charged with four earned runs in three innings.
T. J. Salvaggio had a 2-run homer in SLU’s 3-run second inning, the lone round-tripper for the Lions.
A misplayed fly ball to centerfield in the second inning signaled the beginning of a very frustrating day. Although ruled a hit, the misplay allowed SLU to strike first. However, that would be the least of the Pirate problems, as the bullpen failed once again to support an ECU power surge at the plate. The season is still young, but there has been a noticeable lack of control exhibited by Pirate relievers, by and large. SLU made Pirate pitchers earn each out, while battling at every at bat. Hopefully, some bullpen arms will settle down and become steady performers. You aren’t going to have much success when your pitching is routinely giving away free passes to first base.