No. 7 East Carolina sweeps Memphis after 8-3 win

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Chris Kahler produced a sparkling relief effort out of the bullpen and No. 7 East Carolina scored eight unanswered runs in the middle to late innings to down Memphis 8-3 and complete the road series sweep Sunday afternoon at FedExPark.

The Pirates (35-8, 14-4 AAC) exit the weekend with a two-game lead atop the American Athletic Conference standings as UTSA lost the first two games of its series with Rice before salvaging the finale Sunday afternoon.

Dixon Williams went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI to help pace the East Carolina offense while Carter Cunningham notched two runs scored and three RBI thanks in part to a two-home run effort. Daunte Stuart racked up three hits to lead the home side.

Jake Hunter (3-2) earned the win, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings with a walk and four strikeouts. Kahler was stellar in relief, limiting the Tigers to just one earned run over the final four frames and striking out three. Caden Robinson (1-4) was tagged with the loss after allowing three earned runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 5.0 frames of work.

Memphis capitalized on a fielding error to begin the bottom of the first as Jake Curtis reached on the miscue and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly. The Tigers added another in the home half of the second via a Fernandes one-out RBI single and threatened further in the third, loading the bases with no outs. However, Hunter entered the game and left all three runners on with a pair of strikeouts and a ground ball to third.

ECU got on the board in the top of the fourth, slicing the deficit to one when Williams clubbed a two-out solo home run over the left field wall. The Pirates then surged into the lead in the fifth as Ryley Johnson reached on an infield single and Cunningham unloaded on a full count offering and launched it well out of the park to make it a 3-2 contest. Cunningham did it again in the seventh, taking one over the left field fence and into the East Carolina bullpen for a solo shot and a 4-2 Pirate upper hand.

With Kahler working on the mound, ECU scored five runs over the final three innings while Memphis turned in a consolation solo homer in the bottom of the ninth to account for the final score.

Up Next: East Carolina returns home next weekend for an American Athletic Conference series versus South Florida.

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