GREENVILLE — East Carolina stopped a 4-game losing streak and avoided an American Conference sweep with a 3-0 win over Rice as Luke Payne, Ethan Rose and Charlie Hoagland combined for a shutout at Clark-LeClair Stadium on Sunday.
The Pirates took the lead on a solo homer to right center by Davin Whitaker in the second inning.
“I got a pitch up in the zone and put a swing on it,” said Whitaker on the ECU radio network. “I let the wind do its thing.”
Payne, a left-hander, got the start and went four innings. He allowed four hits with four walks, three hit batters and four strikeouts.
Rose (3-1) was credited with the win. He pitched two and one-third innings with three hits and two walks.
Hoagland got his first save, going the last two and two-thirds innings. He yielded one hit with two whiffs.
The mound trio stranded 10 runners. Double plays ended bases-loaded threats in the fifth and sixth.
The Pirates expanded the lead in the eighth on a solo homer to right by Nick Parham and an RBI double by Colby Wallace that scored Jack Herring.
Braden Burress and Wallace each went 2-for-4 as ECU outhit the visitors, 7-5.
ECU (30-21-1) improved to 14-10 in the league and controls its fate for the No. 2 seeding in the conference tournament with a league series that starts Thursday at Florida Atlantic.
“Our guys showed up ready to play,” said Pirates coach Cliff Godwin, who credited the support of the ECU fans. “Our guys got a couple of swings off.”
Rice slipped to 31-21, 13-11.
The Pirates host Campbell (36-15) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+). The Camels have five straight 1-run wins in the series.
…a desperately needed dub; who’d have thought before the game that 3 runs (really, 1 run) would win it for them?!
It felt like the pitchers (particularly Payne) were juggling chainsaws the whole game, but thank God for them hanging in there, not to mention the excellent defense behind them, to earn the goose egg.
I like the analogy. For every juggled chainsaw, the defense had an answer. I thought Hoagland pitched like a young man who has grown up a little bit going back to the Duke game. Holding on to second place with this win is huge. The Pirates control their fate, beat FAU and the get tournament 2nd seed.