East Carolina University fought back each time the University of Houston went ahead in Thursday’s semifinal game, but eventually ran out of responses as Houston pulled away for a 5-3 win to force an elimination game on Friday in Clearwater, Florida.
ECU (41-16) head coach Cliff Godwin has mentioned this season the importance of rebound innings, where ECU scores after giving up runs to the other team. ECU met the challenge often today, as it gave up two runs to Houston (36-22) in the second inning, but got one back in the top of the third. It gave up another run in the bottom of the third, but got it right back by scoring its own in the fourth.