Niners Take Two of Three from East Carolina
Senior Adam Willard broke up the no-hit bid with two away in the ninth. |
|
|
March 26, 2005
Greenville, N.C. - The Charlotte 49ers took two of three games from East Carolina this weekend at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Niners won the first two games of the series, including a 9-6 decision in Saturday's first game, before falling 6-0 in the finale.
The Niners fell, 6-0, in the second of two games played Saturday, after ECU officials rescheduled Sunday's game to Saturday night due to impending rain. Pirates starter Ricky Brooks threw a one-hitter as the Niners failed to get anything going offensively.
The no-hitter was finally broken up with two outs in the ninth. Adam Willard hit a hard grounder to shortstop, and backup Dale Mollenhauer couldn't make the diving stop. Only six Niners reached base in the game, including Willard's hit, one walk and four batters who reached on errors in the middle of the diamond. None advanced beyond second base.
East Carolina (14-9, 1-5 C-USA) started the scoring early, when Drew Costanzo was hit by a pitch and scored on a one-out double by Mark Minicozzi in the bottom of the first. The ball fell in front of a charging Chris Lane, but a hustling O'Brien Taylor picked up the ball in center field and threw to third to nab Minicozzi trying to leg out a triple. The next batter flew out to right to end the inning.
The Pirates scored three more runs in the bottom of the third. After Costanzo and Minicozzi drew consecutive one-out walks, a double to left center by Mike Grace plated both runners. Ryan Peisel then singled into right field to score Grace, but Adam Willard's throw home was cut off and Peisel was caught between first and second to get the Niners out of the inning.
|
|
 |
East Carolina also handed the Niners their last shutout, an 8-0 defeat in the opening game of last year's series.
Overall in the weekend's three games, senior Adam Willard led the Niners with four hits in ten at-bats (.400), driving in one run while scoring four. Spencer Steedley hit .333 but drove in a team-best three runs. Twins Chris and Cory Lane each hit a solo home run in Saturday's win, joining Kris Rochelle who cleared the fences in that game.
Sophomore Adam Mills pitched 6.1 innings on Friday night, allowing just two runs and striking out four in a no decision.
Closer Erik Walker picked up a win and a save, closing out both Niner victories. On Friday night, he pitched 2.1 innings, allowing just one hit and one walk. He struck out two to earn his second win of the season. In Saturday's opener, Walker picked up his fifth save by getting out of the ninth unscathed to protect a 9-6 lead.
Charlotte will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. on Wednesday for a non-conference game against ACC foe Wake Forest. The Niners then travel to Saint Louis for a three-game series with the Billikens on NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four weekend in the Gateway City.
