Pirates claim AAC Tournament
By
Al Myatt
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
CLEARWATER, FL — East Carolina scored
five runs with two out in the fifth inning and went on to win the
American Athletic Conference Tournament 9-1 over Houston at Bright House
Field on Sunday.
Left-hander Nick Durazo (5-0) held
the AAC regular season winners to one hit and no runs over the final
five innings after starter David Lucroy experienced cramps in his right
forearm.
Durazo struck out five and didn't
allow a walk.
The Pirates improved to 40-20 and
will learn their circumstances for the NCAA Tournament at an
announcement gathering at BW3's sports bar inside Arlington Square in
Greenville at noon today.
Bryce Harman's single with two down
in the fifth started ECU's decisive frame. Designated hitter Luke Bolka
followed with a home run well over the fence in left for a 3-1 Pirates
lead.
A single by Hunter Allen, who
received the event's Most Outstanding Player award, kept the inning
going. Charlie Yorgen singled and Reid Love was hit by a pitch to load
the bases.
Eric Tyler walked to force in a run.
Luke Lowery's single to right field scored two runs for a 6-1 ECU lead.
Allen singled to left field in the
ninth with one out and Love singled to center with two away. An error on
a hot grounder to third by Tyler allowed Allen to score and put the
Pirates ahead, 7-1.
Garrett Brooks entered the game to
run for Tyler and two runs came home on a single to left by Lowery on a
full count pitch as ECU extended its margin to 9-1.
Yorgen was hit by a pitch with one
out in the first inning and Love singled. A double steal preceded a
grounder to the right side by Tyler that put ECU on top, 1-0.
A sacrifice fly on a foul ball to
left by Justin Montemayor allowed the Cougars (42-18) to tie the score
at 1 in the bottom of the second before Lucroy stranded two runners in
scoring position.
Lucroy allowed four hits and one
earned run while walking two and recording one strikeout.
The Pirates claimed their first
league tournament title since beating Houston 4-0 in the Conference USA
championship at Grainger Stadium in Kinston on May 26, 2002. Former ECU
coach Keith LeClair, stricken with ALS, watched that game from a vehicle
parked down the right field line.
ECU played its first season in the
AAC in 2015.
Current ECU skipper Cliff Godwin, the
AAC Coach of the Year, played for LeClair and has worn his No. 23 jersey
this season in his first year as coach at his alma mater.
"They've been ready to go all day,"
Godwin said during an in-game interview Sunday on ESPNU. "They know
they're playing for a championship ring and to get to 40 wins. Those
were two of our goals."
Houston had taken two of three from
ECU in a series May 8-10 that allowed the Cougars to claim the AAC
regular season title. Houston
sandwiched decisive 10-1 and
11-1
wins around
a 4-1 Pirates victory pitched by
Love that weekend.
ECU has won eight straight since that
last loss in Houston.
Seth Romero pitched his first
complete game for the Cougars in the earlier seven-inning triumph on the
10-run mercy rule. Romero started Sunday but was pulled during ECU's
fifth-inning surge.
Godwin planned to use Bolka in that
May 10 matchup. Bolka's home run was his second in 27 at-bats for the
Pirates this season.
"I was going to start him the last
time we faced Romero in Houston but he dove for a ball in the outfield
and jammed his shoulder," the ECU coach said. "He's got power for us and
he's got a quick bat. We just sent him out there and hoped he'd run into
one. We looked like geniuses when that worked out."
Freshman reliever Joe Ingle, who
picked up his eighth save in
a 4-2 win over Connecticut on Saturday, was named to
the AAC All-Tournament team along with teammates Allen, Love and Lowery.
PAGE UPDATED
05/30/15 07:52 PM.
Copyright © Bonesville.net. All rights rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any fashion. Information from
Bonesville staff members, East Carolina University, Conference USA
and other sources was used in composing and/or compiling the articles
and data on this site. This site is editorially independent and is not
affiliated with East Carolina University or Conference USA. View
Bonesville.net's
privacy policy. For advertising or
other information, e-mail
[email protected].
*You are viewing an
alpha version of Bonesville Mobile. You may view this trial version
of Bonesville Mobile at no charge. After alpha and beta testing are
completed, a subscription version of Bonesville Mobile will be
available at a nominal price. Bonesville Mobile incorporates minimal
and non-obtrusive advertising. |