GREENVILLE — East Carolina moved to 2-0 in the 2026 Keith LeClair Classic with a 5-2 win over Troy on Saturday.
“A well-played game by both teams,” said ECU coach Cliff Godwin on the Pirate radio network. ” … We had four 2-out RBIs. Two-out RBIs win championships.”
The Pirates (6-4-1) go for the Classic championship on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. against Western Carolina, LeClair’s alma mater. The Catamounts (7-3) were dealt a 9-3 loss by Rutgers (5-4) in the first game Saturday.
Troy (4-6) plays Rutgers on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Matthew Lashley homered to right for ECU in the third to tie the score at 1.
The Pirates went ahead to stay later in the third on Austin Irby’s 2-out single to the mound that brought in Colby Wallace and Jack Herring.
Gavin Van Kempen and Sean Jenkins were stellar in protecting the lead. Van Kempen, a right-handed transfer from West Virginia, started and went five and one-third innings. He allowed four hits, one run (earned) with no walks and nine strikeouts.
Jenkins went the last three and two-thirds for his first save of the season. The sophomore right-hander yielded two hits, one run (unearned) with no walks and four whiffs.
Wallace had a run-scoring double with two away in the sixth. Davin Whitaker doubled to drive in a run with two down in the seventh.
Troy’s runs came on a homer by Aaron Piasecki in the third and an RBI double by Drew Nelson in the seventh.
Trojans starter Noah Thigpen (0-3) was charged with the loss.
ECU had an 11-6 lead in hits. Whitaker and Wallace had three hits each. Herring and Lashley had two apiece.
The Pirates are playing decent baseball, getting solid pitching and timely hitting. If the BP can find a couple more reliable arms, the Pirates could be in good shape as conference play begins. Most important, the defense seems to have the the talent to keep the Pirates in most games. The poor start to the season will be forgotten by the end of March if the Pirates keep winning.