MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Just three batters into Saturday's game, the Memphis Tigers (21-23, 5-12) trailed 1-0 and weren't able to climb out of the quick deficit in an 8-5 loss to the East Carolina Pirates (29-18, 13-4). The Tigers fell behind 4-0 after 3.5 innings and never got closer than three, as the Pirates earned the series win and set up a sweep opportunity for Sunday's series finale. Both teams struggled with RISP, as East Carolina went just 1-18 while the Tigers went 2-9.
Memphis: 5, East Carolina: 8
WP: Trey Yesavage (1-0)
LP: Dalton Fowler (2-3)
SV: Ben Terwilliger (1)
How it happened:
- After Friday's series opener didn't see either team tally a hit until the ninth inning or a run until the 13th frame, Saturday's matinee saw each team pick up a hit in the opening inning
- SS Zach Agnos led off the game with a double and scored two batters later on an RBI groundout by CF Bryson Worrell, as East Carolina led 1-0 after half an inning
- A single and walk opened up the Pirate's second trip to the plate, and both runners eventually scored, as 3B Alec Makarewicz drew a bases loaded walk and LF Lane Hoover made it 3-0 East Carolina with an RBI groundout
- After a leadoff walk led to a run for the Pirates in the top of the fourth, Memphis finally struck against RHP Ryder Giles (ND), as DH Jacob Compton led off with a single, moved to third on a single by LF Ian Bibiloni, and scored on a passed ball, which made it 4-1, though Memphis left two in scoring position in the inning
- The Tigers used a leadoff single from CF Zach Wilson and an eventual sacrifice fly from Compton to trim the deficit to 4-2 in the fifth, which is where the score stayed until the seventh inning
- In his second inning of relief work, RHP Blake Wimberley looked like he had gotten through the seventh frame unscathed, but multiple defensive mishaps led to three East Carolina runs
- 3B Logan Kohler dropped a pop-up that would have been the third out of the inning and put a zero on the board, but it allowed a run to score, RF Blake Daniels misread a shallow fly ball to RF off the bat of 1B Josh Moylan that went in as an RBI double, while a throwing error by 2B Austin Baskin plated a third unearned in the inning and made it 7-2 East Carolina
- Memphis countered in the home half of the seventh, as Wilson and Kohler connected on back-to-back one-out singles, while SS Ben Brooks plated both with a double over the third base bag, though Memphis stranded him at third base and trailed 7-4 after seven innings
- Both sides struck for a run in the eighth, as Worrell gave the Pirates an insurance run on a safety squeeze, while C Brennan DuBose plated Daniels with a two-out RBI single that made it 8-5 Pirates, the eventual final
Notables:
- Wilson tallied his first three-hit game of the season, his 11th multi-hit game of the year
- Kohler (2-4) and Brooks (2-5) each notched their 14th multi-hit games of the season, tied for the second most on the team
- With his 1-3 day at the plate, Bibiloni has reached base in 18 straight games, while Wilson's three hits extended his on-base streak to 16 games
Up Next:
- Memphis and East Carolina will meet in the series finale Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.