GREENVILLE, N.C. – A pitcher’s duel broke out as advertised Saturday at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium, but No. 14 East Carolina scored nine runs in the final three innings to defeat Memphis 10-3 and clinch its fifth American Athletic Conference series victory of the season. 

The Pirates (37-14, 14-6 AAC) won their sixth-straight decision both overall and in league play while the Tigers (26-24, 8-12 AAC) dropped to 10-12 in true road contests.

ECU unloaded on Memphis’ pitching staff for five home runs, receiving two each from Josh Moylan and Carter Cunningham as the duo combined to drive in six runs. Moylan would finish the day 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI. Joey Berini also tallied multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a run scored. Jonah Sutton paced the visitors with two hits, a run scored and an RBI.

Honored on Senior Day, Carter Spivey (6-2) collected the win on the mound, throwing 3.2 innings and allowing just one run on four hits with two strikeouts. East Carolina starter Trey Yesavage was excellent, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings and surrendering just one hit while striking out five. Tiger ace Dalton Fowler (5-5) was tagged with the loss, yielding four runs on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts in 6.1 frames.  

The bats stayed silent during the early innings before Moylan broke the scoreless deadlock with a solo blast to right field in the bottom of the fifth that gave the Purple and Gold a 1-0 advantage.

The Pirates were able to knock Fowler out of the game in the bottom of the seventh via a Luke Nowak two-run single that scored Jacob Jenkins-Cowart and Moylan who had drawn consecutive walks to lead off the frame. Cunningham delivered the knockout blow with two away later in the inning, drilling the first pitch he saw over the wall in right to leave East Carolina ahead 5-0.

After the Tigers plated a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to temporarily pull within three, the Pirates responded with a five spot of their own in the home half. Moylan and Ryley Johnson both went yard in the form of two-run jacks to make it 9-2 while Cunningham knocked a solo shot into the Jungle in right for good measure. Sutton closed the scoring in the top of the ninth with a homer to left.

Postgame Notes Graphic
  • East Carolina improved to 28-4 inside Clark-LeClair Stadium this season.
  • The Pirates ran their record to 18-0 when hitting at least two home runs, racking up a season second-best five in the contest.
  • Cunningham collected his first career two-home run effort while Moylan now owns the team lead with 11 long balls.
  • ECU notched its sixth-straight win over Memphis and leads the all-time series 45-19.
  • The Pirates saw four of eight leadoff hitters reach base in the game.  

Up Next: East Carolina vies for its fourth AAC series sweep of the campaign in Sunday’s finale. The first pitch has been moved up to 12:30 p.m. to accommodate the Tigers’ travel plans.