By Staff
Staff Reports
GREENVILLE — The East Carolina Pirates will be looking to shake off another loss and gain some momentum before the Conference USA Tournament. James Madison handed ECU its second straight setback with an 11-5 win Tuesday evening at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
ECU closes out the regular season with a three-game home series against Houston. The Pirates and Cougars open the series Thursday at 7 p.m. Friday's game will begin at 8 p.m. and be broadcast on CBS CS, and Saturday's finale will start at 1 p.m.
The Dukes (27-20), on the verge of winning the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title, got a big game from their eight and nine hitters in the lineup. Johnny Bladel and Mike Fabiaschi combined to collect four hits and drive in seven runs.
ECU (30-23, 10-11 C-USA) took a 1-0 lead on Philip Clark's (2-4, RBI) RBI single in the second. It was short lived, as the Dukes took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the third, coming on Brett Garner's two-run single.
James Madison took control with a four-run fourth, going up 6-1. Bladel and Fabiaschi had two-run singles in the inning.
The Dukes led 7-1 before ECU scored twice on a Devin Harris (3-4, HR, 2 RBIs) home run in the bottom of the sixth.
However, a four-run seventh gave the Dukes a commanding 11-3 advantage. Fabiaschi delivered the key hit with another two-run single.
John Wooten's RBI single pulled ECU within 11-4 in the bottom half.
The Pirates scored the final run in the eighth.
Trent Whitehead, a former Washington Pam Pack star, went 2-for-4.