East Carolina University finally got over the hump against the University of Houston on Friday in grand fashion behind a freshman arm as it won 12-1 in seven innings to advance to the American Athletic Conference championship game in Clearwater, Florida.
ECU (42-16) had its back against the wall and its only way to the AAC championship game was to defeat a team it had not beaten in over two years. Houston (36-23) had won nine straight games against ECU going back to 2016, but had no answers for the Pirates on this day. Houston now awaits regionals, while ECU advances to play UConn Saturday at 10 a.