GREENVILLE — A pair of 3-run homers in the seventh inning lifted Kent State to a 7-6 win over East Carolina on the first day of the Keith LeClair Classic on Friday.

Virginia Tech downed Indiana State, 10-2, in the preceding game.

ECU (3-6) will take on the Sycamores (5-4) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The Hokies (7-2) meet the Golden Flashes (2-5) at noon.

ECU starting left-hander Ethan Norby limited Kent State to one run through six innings but ran into trouble in the seventh with singles by Sawyer Solitaria and Brody Williams. With two out and Norby at 93 pitches, Coach Cliff Godwin opted for a right-hander, Oklahoma transfer Brad Pruett.

Right-handed hitter Alexander Covas hit a 1-2 pitch from Pruett (0-2) over the left field fence to tie the score at 4.

Pruett yielded a pair of singles before Gabe Beschloss came in and Jake Casey hit a 3-run homer to left.

“Six runs is tough to overcome,” Godwin said on the Pirate radio network. “I thought our guys battled to the end.”

An RBI single by Dixon Williams cut the margin to 7-5 and another run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh brought ECU within a run.

Williams and Colby Wallace had one-out singles in the ninth before Austin Irby walked to load the bases. Kent State turned a double play to end the game.

The Pirates scored two runs in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth.

Wallace drove in the first ECU run with a double and John Collins had a sacrifice fly in the fourth.

Alex Peltier came home on a wild pitch in the fifth and the Pirates took a 4-1 lead on a sacrifice fly by Wallace.

The Golden Flashes got the initial lead on a run-scoring double by Williams in the fourth.

The top three in the ECU lineup had seven of the team’s nine hits including Peltier (3), Williams (2) and Wallace (2).