GREENVILLE, N.C. — Playing its first Friday game of the young season, App State put up the first run at No. 17 East Carolina, but the Pirates used a fifth-inning homer to build on a one-run lead and pulled away late in a 13-2 victory at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
App State left-hander
Quinton Martinez is scheduled to start Game 2 of the series today at 2 p.m. In the first two weeks of the season, the Mountaineers (6-3) played Saturday doubleheaders after Friday postponements, sweeping both of them.
Hayden Cross hustled around and scored from second on
Luke Drumheller's RBI single in the third inning, but ECU (7-2) responded with an RBI double with two on, a run-scoring balk and an RBI groundout in a three-run third.
The Mountaineers cut their deficit to 3-2 in the fourth as
Robbie Young walked with two away, Cross singled up the middle,
Alex Leshock was hit by a pitch and
Bailey Welch drew a bases-loaded walk. A comebacker to the mound limited the damage, and the score remained the same until the bottom of the fifth inning.
App State starter
Tyler Tuthill followed a one-out single with a strikeout, but Seth Caddell homered in the next at-bat to produce a 5-2 advantage. The Pirates added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings against the bullpen before breaking the game open with a six-run eighth.
Noah Hall,
Ben Peterson,
Cam Roberts and
AJ Stinson pitched in relief for the Mountaineers. Stinson recorded a strikeout in his first career appearance.
