Pirates outlast Elon in
10-inning battle
From electronic and staff reports
©2012 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
After a pitching duel left both teams
scoreless heading into the final inning, East Carolina and Elon matched each
other with two runs apiece in the ninth before the Pirates finally gained
the advantage in the tenth for a 3-2 victory Tuesday night at Latham Park.
Starter Jeff Hoffman put on one of East
Carolina's most impressive mound performances of the season, fanning ten and
keeping base runners to a minimum in his eight-inning stint. The freshman
righthander faced only 29 batters, hog-tying the Phoenix (19-15) on three
hits with one walk and one hit batsman before designated hitter Drew Reynold
took over the pitching duties in the ninth.
Sophomore righthander David Whitehead hurled
six shutout innings for Elon. Whitehead, who surrendered six hits and three
walks and dinged a pair of batters, yielded to junior righthander Jordan
Darnell in the seventh.
Darnell (0-1) kept the shutout going for 2 2/3
innings before the Pirates (23-8-1) came alive with two outs in the ninth.
After senior catcher Zach Wright walked and advanced to third on junior
pinch-hitter/outfielder Bryan Bass's single, sophomore shortstop Jack
Reinheimer banged a double to left center to drive in both runners, setting
the stage for the apparent triumph.
But the 2-0 lead didn't last through the
bottom half of the frame as the Phoenix got to Reynolds for two runs, one
earned. Alex Swim singled, moved to second on an infield out and then scored
when East Carolina centerfielder Ben Fultz dropped designated hitter Joey
Tomko's fly ball after a collision. Blaine Bower, who pinch ran for Tomko,
raced to third on Garrett Koster's single and then stole home on a double
steal with Koster to force extra innings.
Senior second baseman Tim Younger led off the
tenth with a double to left and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by
Reynolds. Junior first baseman John Wooten then lifted a fly ball to center,
giving Younger time to score what would turn out to be the decisive run.
Reynolds (3-0) retired the Phoenix in order in
the bottom of the inning.
East Carolina returns home for a matchup with Old Dominion on Wednesday
at 6 p.m. The Pirates
thumped the Monarchs 10-4 in Norfolk
on Feb. 22.
PAGE UPDATED
04/11/12 05:37 AM.
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