East Carolina falls to Virginia in NCAA Tournament Charlottesville regional game
Virginia and East Carolina combined to score 29 runs in winning their respective first games of the NCAA Tournament’s Charlottesville regional Friday.
On Saturday, they’d each have gladly accepted any semblance of that offensive output from their lineups. Instead, the winners’ bracket battle was a pitchers’ duel, and the Cavaliers scraped one more run across the plate than the Pirates to advance to Sunday night’s regional final.
Ethan Anderson sent a single into right field to score Ethan O’Donnell with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to lift Virginia to a 2-1 win over the Pirates. Nick Parker scattered five hits and allowed just one run in seven innings of work to earn the win for the Cavaliers. Jake Berry came on in the eighth to close things out.
The ECU pitching contingent didn’t exactly perform poorly. Garrett Saylor started and largely held the Cavaliers at bay, allowing one run on six hits through 4 1/3 innings. He issued no walks and struck out one. Danny Beal followed and allowed the second run in two complete innings of work. Carter Spivey and Landon Ginn closed out the game for the Pirates.
ECU drops into the losers’ bracket and will face Oklahoma again Sunday at noon. Virginia will await the winner of that game in a 6 p.m. regional final game.
Saturday’s grind of a game on offense was very different for both teams after Friday’s fireworks. East Carolina scored 14 runs on 15 hits in a big win over Oklahoma on Friday. Virginia posted a 15-1 win over Army in the other opener.
The Cavaliers got the scoring started in the bottom of the third. Jake Gelof doubled to left center with one out, and Kyle Teel followed with a single to send Gelof home. Casey Saucke also singled in the inning, but the Pirates escaped allowing just the one run despite three hits.
ECU got that run back in the top of the sixth. Carter Cunningham led off with a single to center, moved to second two batters later when Cam Clonch was hit by a pitch, and scored two pitches after that on a Ryley Johnson single to right.
