ECU Drops Series At Tulane, 10-5 | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ECU Sports.



    NEW ORLEANS, La.     Michael Massey scattered two runs over five frames, while Tulane scored runs in seven of eight stanzas to take the rubber-match and the American Athletic Conference series against East Carolina, 10-5, Sunday afternoon at Greer Field inside Turchin Stadium. With the win the Green Wave improved to 26-14-1 overall and 8-4 in league play and the Pirates fell to 24-17 and 8-4.

    Trailing 1-0 after the top of the first, Luis Aviles' two-run homer gave Tulane a 2-1 lead, which they would never relinquish. Ethan Groff reached after being hit by a Jake Hunter pitch and came around to score on Aviles' ninth round tripper of the year.

    Massey improved to 3-2 on the season following his two-run start. Brian Valigosky worked two frames out of the bullpen giving up two runs (both earned) on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts. Closing out the contest for the Green Wave was Zach Devito who gave up one run (earned) on one hit with a pair of walks and a strikeout in two innings.

    Hunter (1-2) suffered the loss allowing three runs (all earned) on two hits with four strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Josh Grosz gave up two runs (both earned) on four hits with a walk and two punch outs. From the fifth on, the Pirates used four pitchers in Garrett Saylor (0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 Rs, 2 BBs), Trey Yesavage (0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB), Danny Beal (1. IP, 4 Hs, 3 Rs, 1 K) and Zach Agnos (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K).

    Agnos wasted little time in pushing across a run for ECU hitting his third home of the season on the game's second pitch with a shot to straight-away center field off the batter's eye.

    The first of two Brady Hebert home runs, a solo shot to left, made it a 3-1 Green Wave lead in the second. Hebert would also have a two-run homer in the seventh giving him three on the season.

    The Pirates pulled within one, 3-2, in the third inning on Jacob Jenkins-Cowart's RBI single. Cam Clonch reached on a Tulane error to start the frame and took second on a passed ball. After Lane Hoover walked putting runners on first and second with one out, Jenkins-Cowart singled up the middle plating Clonch.

    Chase Englehard pushed Tulane's lead back to two in the home half of the third frame. Aviles walked and took third on Jack Linn's single to right field. With two away, Englehard sent a pitch back up the middle scoring Aviles.

    Groff's ninth home run of the year padded the Green Wave's lead in the fourth at 5-2.

    Tulane, who scored at least one run in seven of their eight innings at bat innings, pushed across two runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and two more in the seventh.

    Clonch's fifth home run (solo shot) and Bryson Worrell's RBI single in the seventh cut the Green Wave's lead in half, 8-4. Clonch led off the frame with a shot down the right field line and Worrell's single through the right side plated Lane Hoover.

    Carter Cunningham hit his second round tripper of the series (both pinch hit at-bats) and third of the season to center field in the eighth once again cutting the lead in half, 10-5.

    Offensively the Pirates tallied eight hits with Jenkins-Cowart registering his 16th multi-hit game of the season going 2-for-5. Six other players recorded a hit in Agnos, Clonch, Cunningham, Moylan, Wilcoxen and Worrell.

    ECU returns to action on Tuesday, April 26 when it travels to N.C. State for a 7 p.m. (ET) scheduled first pitch at Doak Field/Dail Park. The midweek contest will be streamed on the ACCN.