ECU Takes Game One 5-3 over UCF
ORLANDO, Fla. – Evan Kruczynski allowed three runs in 8.1 innings, while Luke Bolka belted his third home run of the season helping East Carolina to a 5-3 series opening win over UCF at Jay Bergman Field Thursday afternoon in American Athletic Conference play. With the win the Pirates improve to 32-19-1 overall and 13-8-1 in league action, while the Knights drop to 25-29 and 8-14.
Kruczynski (6-1) gave up his three runs (all earned) on 11 hits with a walk and three strikeouts in his 12th quality start of the season. Joe Ingle notched his league-leading 12th save working two-thirds of an inning allowing two hits and striking out one.
Robby Howell (7-3) suffered the loss surrendering four runs (two earned) on six hits with a pair of walks and six strikeouts. Harrison Hukari was touched for one run (earned) on six hits with a walk and a strikeout. Thaddeus Ward recorded the final two outs of the game in relief.
Dwanya Williams-Sutton led the Pirates 12-hit attack going 3-for-5 with a run scored. Turner Brown and Charlie Yorgen each added a pair of hits, while Bolka belted a solo shot to left field in the fourth inning. Eight of ECU’s starting nine collected at least one hit and Bryce Harman extended his hit streak to six games with a single up the middle in the eighth.
UCF tallied 13 hits getting two apiece from Brennan Bozeman, Ryan Crile, Austin Griffin, Logan Heiser and Eli Putnam. Heiser smacked his fourth home run (two-run) in the ninth inning, while Putnam drove in a run in the fifth frame.
How It Happened:ECU broke a scoreless tie pushing across a pair of runs in the third inning for an early 2-0 lead. Parker Lamm reached on a throwing error by Kam Gellinger at third to get things going in the road half of the third. Yorgen followed with a single to right field putting runners at first and second. Two batters later Brown drew his second walk of the contest to load the bases for Watkins, who reached on a fielder’s choice to first where Lamm was thrown out at the plate. Eric Tyler stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases juiced and reached on a fielding error by Crile at second that allowed Yorgen and Brown to score.
Bolka’s home run in the fourth added to ECU’s lead for a 3-0 advantage.
Watkins’ RBI fielder’s choice in the fifth frame pushed the Pirates lead to 4-0. Williams-Sutton lead off the inning with a double down the left field line and took third on Brown’s sac bunt. Watkins sent a shot to Bozeman at short, which he then fired home looking for the second out of the stanza. But Williams-Sutton slid around the tag scoring his 26th run of the season.
UCF answered with a run in the home half of the fifth pulling within three, 4-1. Consecutive one-out singles by Luke Hamblin and Bozeman along with a Hamblin stolen base put runners on the corners for Putnam, who sent a long fly ball to center scoring Hamblin.
Brown’s RBI single to short in the seventh added an insurance run for the Pirates making it a 5-1 ball game. Lamm led off with a single to left and took second on a Hukari wild pitch. Yorgen’s sac bunt to third moved Lamm to third before Brown plated him with an infield base knock.
The Knights pulled within two, 5-3, on Heiser’s two-run homer in the ninth. Crile doubled down the left field line with one out and he came around to score on Heiser’s blast. After Ingle entered the game, the right-hander fanned Hamblin for the second. But singles by Bozeman and Putnam put runners on first and second before Ingle got Matt Diorio to fly out to center to end the game.
Up Next: ECU and UCF will play game two of the three-game series Friday, May 20 at Jay Bergman Field. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. (ET).
