No. 7 ECU rolls past South Florida 15-2 in series opener

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Bryant Packard belted a pair of home runs and drove in a career-high five, while Chris Holba picked up his nation-leading eighth win as No. 17 ECU defeated American Athletic Conference foe USF 15-2 Friday night at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. With the win the Pirates improve to 26-7 overall (5-2 AAC) and the Bulls drop to 21-13 (5-5 AAC).

How It Happened:

USF jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Garrett Zech’s solo home run to left field in the second inning. ECU responded with four runs in the home half of the frame for a 4-1 advantage. Nick Barber tied the game at one-all with a bases loaded walk, which was followed by Packard’s bases clearing double to right-center. The Pirates plated two more in the third on sac flies by Turner Brown and Spencer Brickhouse that pushed the lead to five, 6-1. Packard struck again with a solo home run in the fourth, while Jake Washer’s RBI double scored Brady Lloyd. The Bulls scored a run in the sixth on Tyler Dietrich’s double, but the Pirates answered with two more runs highlighted by Packard’s second round-tripper of the night which extended the lead to 10-2. ECU capped the scoring with a five-run eighth inning where Chandler Jenkins blasted his first career grand slam (right field) and that was followed by Bryson Worrell’s solo blast (right field), which was his first collegiate homer making it a 15-2 game.

Godwin’s Comments:

“I thought we were locked in the entire night and put together some really good at-bats against a good pitcher. Our guys never got discouraged, especially early on when Turner lined into that double play in the second. We kept our calm, got some guys on base and then Barber walked to score a run and Packard cleared the bases with a double in the inning. I thought Holba pitched great and settled in early. Then we got two good innings from Barnes and one from Covey. I’m going to let the guys enjoy this win for a little bit, but we need to come out ready and focused for game two just like USF will be.”

Pirate Pitchers:

Holba (8-0) picked up his nation and league-leading eighth win allowing two runs (both earned) on nine this with a pair of strikeouts. Zach Barnes (2.0 IP, 2 Hs, 2 Ks) and West Covington (1.0 IP, 1 K) closed out the last three frames.

Bulls Staff:

Shane McClanahan (4-4) lasted just three frames (shortest outing of the year) allowing six runs (all earned) on four hits with five walks and three strikeouts. Connor Eason (2.0 IP, 4 Hs, 2 Rs, 2 BBs, 1 K), Dylan Burns (2.0 IP, 4 Hs, 2 Rs, 2 BBs, 2 Ks) and Ross Korosec (1.0 IP, 5 Hs, 5 Rs, 1 BB, 1 K) each ate up innings out of the bullpen.

ECU Bats:

Packard led the Pirates offensively collecting three hits (two home runs) and driving in five. Washer tied his career-high with three base knocks (two singles, one double) with an RBI and two runs scored. Brickhouse and Andrew Henrickson each added two hits, while seven others had a hit (11 in all for the Pirates). Eleven different players scored at least one run.

Player-of-the-Game:

Packard continue his hot hitting extended his hit streak to 11 games and on-base streak to 16 – both personal bests … With his two home runs on the night, he has five in the last three games … During the streak, he’s batting .523 (23-for-44) with seven home runs, 16 RBI, 15 runs scored and has seven multi-hit games.

Things To Know:

ECU improved to 15-1 when collecting double-digit hits …

The Pirates 15 runs were the most this season, while the 17 hits tied a season-high …

The win was the first for ECU on Friday night in The American this year …

Washer’s hit streak moved to 10 games – a person-best …

Dwanya Williams-Sutton extended his on-base streak to 12 games with his single in the second frame …

Henrickson (8 contests), Washer (9), Brickhouse (11) and Packard (13) all had multi-hit games ...

In ECU’s leadoff spot, Packard and Jenkins combined to drive in nine of the Pirates 15 runs and tallied three home runs …

Nine of the Pirates 15 runs came with two outs …

Up Next:

ECU and USF will return to the diamond Saturday afternoon for game two of the series, which is slated for a 4 p.m. (ET) first pitch.