Greenville, NC — Adversity was the keyword of #9 ECU’s 12-7 victory over Campbell and the Pirates, ranked ninth overall in the nation, knew how to handle it like any top tier program would. After taking an early lead, and then falling 7-3 after a wild top of the 6th, the Pirates bounced back to close out the game with a dominating performance.
The ability to produce runs was the key for the Pirates to pull out this mid-week matchup. The Pirates’ offense fired first after a single from Bryant Packard, who is now on a 29 game hitting streak and a two-run blast by Dwanya Williams-Sutton to put two runs on the board. It wasn’t until the fourth that Campbell answered, however, ECU responded immediately by extending the lead 3-1. The third run was a perfectly executed squeeze play, which turned out to be common tactic amongst both ball clubs.
Some might call the 6th inning the inning from hell as both teams put six runs up on the board in back-to-back fashion. After multiple bases-loaded situations, each team was able to take advantage of the mistakes thrown on the mound. However, it was the Pirates who regained control with a 9-7 lead entering the seventh.
ECU was able to attach on a few insurance runs throughout the game, and it was Evan Volvia on the mound who shut down the Camels. Volvia, who was honored with Player of the Game along with Williams-Sutton, hadn’t been on the mound in 14 months due to an injury. After his first outing back, Volvia is now 1-0 in the season.
Despite seven pitching changes, the Pirates’ hot offensive line up was able to surge. Leading the pack offensively was Packard who went 3 for 5 and Williams-Sutton with a 4-4 performance.
ECU extends their winning streak to four after defeating the Camels and will look to continue to streak as they face off against the Huskies in an American Athletic Conference showdown this upcoming weekend. Campbell is back in action as they take on Radford to close out their Big South Conference play.
