TAMPA — South Florida held off East Carolina for a 6-5 series-clinching American Athletic Conference win on Saturday.

The same teams will meet in the fourth game Tuesday in the AAC Tournament in nearby Clearwater.

The Pirates (29-25, 13-14 AAC) were down, 5-1 and did not have a hit through five innings. ECU got on the board in the fifth with a walk and two hit batters to load the bases before Dixon Williams drew a walk.

A throwing error on a double steal by the Bulls (29-23, 16-11 AAC) allowed the hosts to extend their lead to 6-1 in the sixth.

Home runs fueled a comeback bid by the Pirates. Williams had a 2-run homer to right and Austin Irby added a solo shot to right in the seventh to close the gap to 6-4.

Jack Herring homered to right in the ninth.

USF had a big fourth inning when a 2-run blast by Mattew Buffington capped the scoring in a 4-run frame.

Bradley Zayac (1-3) started and took the loss. ECU coach Cliff Godwin was pleased with his effort and that of reliever Nick Moran, who yielded one earned run in four and one-third innings.

“We didn’t do enough to help them,” Godwin said on the Pirate radio network. “Too many errors and not enough tough at-bats. We looked tired.”

The coach said the team will need to be focused for the league tournament with the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament that goes to the champion.

“We won’t be going on the beach or at the pool,” Godwin said. “They need to get off their feet and get rejuvenated.”