ECU baseball wins again, topples ODU 10-3

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Jake Kuchmaner recorded his first collegiate win, while Connor Litton’s three hits paced No. 18 ECU’s offense in a 10-3 win over Old Dominion Wednesday afternoon at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. With the win the Pirates improve to 7-1 and the Monarchs drop to 3-5 on the season.

How It Happened:

ECU struck for three runs in the first inning taking an early 3-0 advantage. Alec Burleson reached on an infield single deep in the hole at short scoring Turner Brown for the game’s first run. Spencer Brickhouse reached on a fielder’s choice that pushed across Bryant Packard and Dwanya Williams-Sutton’s RBI base hit through the left side scored Brickhouse to cap off the first frame. After ODU scratched across a run in the second on Matt Schwarz’ fielder’s choice, the Pirates plated a pair in the second stanza on Packard’s two-run homer and added another in the third on Seth Caddell’s RBI ground out that gave ECU a 6-1 lead after three frames. The Monarchs scored twice in the fifth cutting the lead in half, 6-3, when Jimbo Reemsnyder singled to center plating Will Morgan and DJ Lardge. But Chandler Jenkins’ three-run homer in the seventh and Burleson’s RBI fielder’s choice in the eighth pushed the lead to seven, 10-3.

Coach Godwin’s Take:

“I thought it was big for (Jake Kuchmaner) to be a freshman and get out there and get his first start. We got him some run support in the first and that allowed him to relax early. He filled the strike zone and I thought he pitched great for us today. I think our guys feel good right now, but we have to still be on edge especially with three quality opponents coming in this weekend for the LeClair Classic. I was worried about coming off the high we were on Sunday into practice Tuesday and I thought we had a great day of work. The guys really got after it in practice and today the intensity was there, which is what I want to see each time we come out and play.”

Pirate Pitchers:

Kuchmaner (1-0) picked up his first collegiate win tossing four-plus innings surrendering three runs (all earned) on four hits with a walk and two punch outs. From that point on, the Pirates bullpen tossed a shutout using six pitchers over the final four frames getting outings from Matt Bridges (1.0 IP, 1 H), Ryan Ross (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1K), Davis Kirkpatrick (1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB), West Covington (0.2 IP, 1 H), Austin Covers (0.1 IP) and Cam Colmore (0.2 IP).

Monarchs Staff:

Morgan Maguire (1-1) took the loss after allowing six runs (five earned) on five hits with a pair of walks and one strikeout. On a staff night, ODU would get outings from Trey Fisher (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB), Hunter Gregory (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K), Corey Klak (1.0 IP, 1 K), Jason Hartline (1.0 IP, 2 Hs, 3 Rs, 1 K) and Erik Stock (1.0 IP, 2 Hs, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K) to close out the contest.

ECU’s Bats:

The Pirates continued their offensive attack on the young season pounding out 11 hits. Litton, who reached base four times, led the way with three while Brady Lloyd and Packard each added two. Jenkins’ three RBI was tops on the club after belting his first home run as a Pirate, while Packard drove in two on his first long ball of the season. Burleson plated two on the day and was one of seven players to score a run. The trio of Litton, Lloyd and Packard all touched home twice in the contest.

Player of the Game:

Litton posted his fourth-straight multi-hit game going 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. The junior had an RBI single in the first, walked in the third, doubled in the fifth, singled again in the seventh before striking out in his final at-bat of the day.

Things of Note:

ECU improved to 5-0 when posting double-digit hits in a game …

Lloyd extended his current hit streak to six games with his single to right-center in the fourth frame … He registered his third multi-hit game of the season after going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored …

Packard pushed his on-base streak to 12 games with his double in the first inning, which goes back to the 2017 season … He tallied his third multi-hit and second multi-RBI game of the season as well, which came on his two-run homer in the second stanza …

In seven games, Litton has recorded at least one hit in six of those contests and has a team-best five multi-hit games … Over the last four games he has tallied nine hits and has multiple base knocks in five of his last six contests …

Brickhouse extended his current on-base streak to 24-straight games with a two-out walk in the eighth inning … The streak dates back to last April (Tulane series) …

The Pirates leadoff hitters batted .625 (5-for-8) on the day, while they advanced runners at a 65.2 clip (15-for-23) …

ECU had three two-out RBI pushing its season total to 23 through eight games …

With runners on third and less than two outs, ECU batted .714 (5-for-7) in the game …

Up Next:

ECU continues its six-game home stand this weekend when it hosts the 15th Annual LeClair Classic starting Friday, March 2nd … The Pirates will square off against Pepperdine (March 2/4:30 p.m.), No. 28 Missouri State (March 3/4:30 p.m.) and Saint Joseph’s (March 5/3:30 p.m.).