Pirates reward big crowd with big win

Staff report
©2016 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

Post-game audio: Cliff Godwin, Turner Brown, Zack Mozingo...

GREENVILLE — The last time East Carolina hosted a regional rival from the ACC, the game didn't go nearly as well as the Pirates' 15-3 win over N.C. State on Tuesday night.

On March 15 when North Carolina played at Clark-LeClair Stadium, ECU absorbed a 17-4 loss before a crowd of 5,213.

"The biggest thing for me is I'm just glad that in front of a ton of fans after the way we played against Carolina that our guys responded and played well in front of a packed house," said Pirates coach Cliff Godwin. "I'm just happy the Pirate Nation could see us play well tonight."

A throng of 4,734 saw Zack Mozingo hit a grand slam to put ECU ahead 7-0 in the bottom of the fourth.

The Pirates kept the power and the pressure on in improving to 24-12. Bryce Harman went 3-for-3 with a double, a home run and four RBIs.

Travis Watkins went 3-for-5 and scored four runs. Turner Brown went 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs. Charlie Yorgen was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Eric Tyler finished 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.

ECU outhit the Wolfpack, 14-6. State was charged with four errors while the Pirates were error free.

Senior left-hander Nick Durazo (1-0) started and got the win, pitching three and one-third innings. He allowed just one hit in holding the Wolfpack (26-11) scoreless, although he walked four and hit a batter while striking out two.

"He was effectively wild," Godwin said.

Matt Bridges followed Durazo to the mound and provided a turning point in the fourth inning in Godwin's analysis after inheriting a pair of runners with one away. Bridges got a strikeout and a ground out to get the Pirates out of trouble.

Bridges went two and two-thirds innings. He yielded four hits, two earned runs and had two strikeouts without a walk.

Chris Holba pitched the last three innings for his first save. State managed one hit and an earned run against the freshman. Holba issued two walks and recorded one strikeout.

Godwin was pleased with the efficiency of the pitchers against NCSU, which is sixth nationally in the NCAA's ratings index. ECU is No. 29.

The performance should leave some pitchers available for a 6 p.m. game at High Point tonight.

PAGE UPDATED 04/20/16 02:16 AM.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any fashion.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 editor@bonesville.net.