CHARLOTTE — A game-ending double play sealed a 3-2 win for Charlotte on Saturday and clinched an American Athletic Conference series victory over East Carolina.
The Pirates slipped to 20-16 overall and 6-5 in league play after getting the potential tying run to third and the go-ahead run to second in the top of the ninth with one away.
Walks to pinch hitters Michael Kalinich and Austin Irby plus a wild pitch from Joseph Taylor set up the final opportunity for ECU. The 49ers (21-13, 8-3 AAC) survived the threat as Roger Vergara lined out to short and pinch runner Chance Hall was caught off second.
A bases-loaded double by Spencer Nolan accounted for Charlotte’s runs in the second.
Pinch hitter Jack Herring had a bases-loaded double in the sixth to cut the lead to 3-2, but reliever A.J. Camp came in to leave two runners in scoring position with two strikeouts sandwiched around a foul out.
“We couldn’t get any more runs in, which was really the difference in the game,” said Coach Cliff Godwin on the Pirate radio network of the sixth-inning situation. “Our guys kept fighting.”
Brad Pruett (2-3) started and went four and one-third innings for ECU. Ethan Young held the hosts scoreless over the last three and two-thirds frames.
Andrew Kribbs (3-1) got the win. Taylor recorded his sixth save.
The 49ers host the third game of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
With so many new faces on the roster, and 20 of those faces being red-shirt or true freshmen, repeating last year’s success was going to be a tall order for the Pirates. However, no one expected the drop off in performance exhibited thus far by ECU. Some of the problems for the Pirates stem from injury; to Ryley Johnson, a senior standout who has barely made the field, and two portal-transfer pitchers who were slated to be mainstays for the Pirates. Neither player has made an appearance, and pitching continues to be a big concern. Combine this with defensive errors and many poor at-bats by the Pirates, a sub-thirty win season is staring at the Pirates. There are no easy fixes for the Pirates. Although several young players are contributing, the team as a whole is lacking consistency in almost every phase of the game. The Pirates may well suffer a second in-league sweep at CLT, and could struggle to make the AAC tourney, something unthinkable two months ago. Hopefully, more players will seize the moment, and give the Pirates a chance to finish respectably.