ECU takes series from Tulane on long day of baseball

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Tulane and East Carolina finished one game on Saturday, then played two more. When all was said and done, the host Pirates came away with two wins and the series victory.

The 12th-ranked Pirates came back to take the first game 11-10, got blanked by Tulane 8-0 in the second, and clinched the series victory with an 8-6 triumph in the nightcap.

ECU improved to 31-13 overall and 9-6 in the American Athletic Conference, while the Green Wave fell to 13-31 and 6-9 in the league.

The schedule adjustment was made necessary due to inclement weather in Sunday’s forecast for Greenville.

The game recaps are below.

Game 1: East Carolina 11, Tulane 10
Tulane led 10-6 through seven and a half innings, but the home team came back with two in the eighth and three in the ninth to pull out the victory.

ECU reliever Landon Ginn (3-0) went the final three innings to get the win, allowing one run on one hit with one strikeout and one walk.

Tulane reliever Chandler Welch (2-5) got the loss and was responsible for the game-winning run.

ECU designated hitter Jacob Jenkins-Cowart knocked in four runs and went 3-for-4. Second baseman Jacob Starling also had three hits and center fielder Lane Hoover walked and scored four times.

The Green Wave’s star of the game was, far and away, center fielder Teo Banks, who homered three times. He had two-run blasts in the fifth and sixth innings to go with a solo shot in the eighth.

Third baseman Simon Baumgardt added a solo homer in the fifth. He finished with three hits, as did right fielder Jake LaPrairie. Left fielder Brady Hebert, Tulane’s leadoff hitter, doubled twice.

The Green Wave’s quartet of pitchers struck out 10 batters but also issued eight walks and three wild pitches.

Game 2: Tulane 8, East Carolina 0
The Pirates were no match for Tulane starter Ricky Castro (3-5) in the first full game of the day. The Naperville, Illinois native dominated the home team with a complete game shutout, yielding just three hits and two walks with five strikeouts, in an 8-0 win for the Green Wave.

Pirates’ starter Josh Grosz (4-2) suffered the defeat, giving up five runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks in three and two-thirds innings.

Baumgardt homered again in this game, a two-run shot that went over the wall in left field in the third inning. That came after a three-run homer by catcher Brennan Lambert opened the game.

Banks added an RBI double in the sixth, followed by a run-scoring triple off the bat of first baseman Brady Marget. Baumgardt tacked on a sacrifice fly for the game’s final margin.

Game 3: East Carolina 8, Tulane 6
ECU broke open what had been a tight, one-run affair with six tallies in the bottom of the sixth inning and that proved to be enough as the hosts finished off an 8-6 win.

Pirates’ reliever Jake Hunter (3-1) was credited with the win, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits in three and two-thirds innings with five strikeouts and one walk. Danny Beal recorded his third save, as he got Baumgardt swinging for the game’s final out.

Tulane reliever Cristian Sanchez (0-5) surrendered three runs on three hits. He recorded one out.

ECU hit three home runs in this one, a solo shot by Starling, a two-run blast by Josh Moylan and a solo blast by Jenkins-Cowart.

Tulane’s Baumgardt homered for the third time in the series in the sixth inning and Marget had a two-run bolt in the seventh. The latter had three RBI and Banks scored twice.

ECU’s pitching corps struck out 12 and walked four, while Tulane recorded seven strikeouts against eight walks.

Tulane’s Baumgardt now leads the team with 12 home runs, two more than Banks.

The Green Wave travels to Southern Miss for a Tuesday contest in Hattiesburg.