GREENVILLE, N.C. – Mason Feole allowed one run over seven innings with six strikeouts, while Willy Yahn tallied a pair of hits helping Connecticut to a 5-1 win and an American Athletic Conference series sweep over No. 16 East Carolina Sunday afternoon at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. With the win the Huskies improve to 16-9 on the season and 3-0 in league play, while the Pirates dropped to 18-11 overall and 0-3 in conference action.
Feole (4-0) picked up the win scattering five hits over his seven frames surrendering one run (unearned) with a walk. Ryan Radue notched his first save of the year giving up three hits over 1.1 innings. Sam Nepiarsky allowed a walk and struck out two in two-thirds of an inning of relief.
Jake Agnos (1-1) suffered the loss allowing four runs (all unearned) on two hits with a pair of walks and four strikeouts in his fourth start of the season. The Pirates used four hurlers out of the bullpen in Matt Bridges (1.0 IP, 1 K), Jacob Wolfe (1.0 IP, 1 R), Davis Kirkpatrick (1.0 IP, 1 K) and Ryan Ross (2.0 IP, 2 Ks).
Yahn led the Huskies with two hits while driving in a run and scoring one. Conor Moriarty, Anthony Prato and Zac Susi each added a base knock, while Prato and Susi both scored a run.
Nick Barber and T.J. Riles led ECU with a pair of hits, while four others had one. Barber scored the Pirates lone run which came on Wes Phillips’ sac fly in the seventh inning. The Pirates leadoff hitters were 0-9 on the day and ECU managed just one extra base hit (Brickhouse double).
How It Happened:
Connecticut scored a pair of runs in the third inning on two ECU errors taking an early 2-0 lead. Alex LeFevre reached on a throwing error by Barber at short to start the frame. Keith Krueger moved him to second and Prato drove him in with an RBI single to center. With the bases loaded and two outs, Tyler Gnesda popped a pitch up to first base and Spencer Brickhouse was unable to make the catch allowing Prato to score before Brickhouse threw Susi out at the plate.
The Huskies plated two more runs in fifth on another Pirate defensive miscue for a 4-0 advantage. Yahn an Suci laced consecutive singles to start the frame and chased Agnos from the contest. After Bridges got two quick outs, Moriarty reached on a three-base error, a line drive to Luke Bolka, allowing both Yahn and Susi to score.
Yahn’s RBI single in the sixth gave the Huskies a 5-0 lead. LeFevre got things going with a walk, took second on Krueger’s sac bunt and scored on Yahn’s base hit to right field.
ECU finally got on the board in the home half of the seventh cutting the lead to 5-1. Barber singled to right center and took third on Riles’ infield single where on the play, Feole kicked the ball down the right field line putting runners at second and third with one out. Phillips lifted a 2-2 offering from Feole to right field plating Barber.
The Pirates left nine of their 10 runners on base from the fifth inning on including three in the bottom of the ninth. On the weekend, ECU managed 27 hits (three for extra bases) and left 32 runners stranded.
Up Next:
ECU will hit the road for four games next week playing at No. 7 North Carolina (April 4) and at No. 20 Houston (April 7-9) and will return home on Tuesday, April 11 playing host to in-state rival UNC Wilmington.
