East Carolina University’s baseball team took care of business on Opening Day with a 8-3 victory over Western Carolina University to start the season.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Trey Benton earned the win with a solid performance in his season debut. Benton threw 71 pitches over five innings, allowing just six hits and one earned run while striking out seven and walking none.
“The biggest thing for me today was my fastball command,” Benton said. “My breaking pitches and my changeups weren’t as crisp today but it was my fastball that was there today.”
It started off a little ugly for the Pirates as junior second baseman Brady Lloyd botched a routine ground ball on the first play of the game, leading to a run scored on a double by Catamount first baseman Andrew Bullock, giving WCU an early 1-0 lead.