GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Wichita State scored five runs in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth to run away from East Carolina 13-1 on Sunday afternoon at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
The Shockers (24-17, 8-7) salvaged the series finale after a pair of 7-1 defeats, holding the Pirates (24-16-1, 9-6) to just four hits on the day.
Wichita State took advantage of wildness from ECU pitching and put together a two-out barrage to build the large margin. The Pirates walked 11 batters, hit three more and threw two wild pitches, while the Shockers piled up 10 two-out RBI.
WSU got on the board with a sacrifice fly from
Kaleb Duncan in the top of the third, giving starter
Johnny Nuanez an early lead. Nuanez kept WSU in control with four scoreless innings, striking out seven while holding the Pirates to just two hits.
The Shockers finally broke the game open in the top of the fifth. With the bases loaded and two outs,
Jayson Jones bounced a two-run single up the middle that extended the lead to 3-0. A wild pitch scored another run, then
Josh Wulfert followed the lead of Jones with a two-run single of his own for a five-run inning and a 6-0 lead.
More two-out magic in the sixth expanded the Wichita State advantage.
Jaden Gustafson yanked a two-run double into the right field corner and
Nolan Ganter knocked him in with an RBI single of his own, increasing the lead to 9-0.
The Shockers put themselves in position for a run-rule victory when a wild pitch scored their 10th run of the day in the top of the eighth, but East Carolina put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth and scored a run of their own on an RBI triple from Davin Whitaker to keep the game going at 10-1.
Owen Washburn and Wulfert tacked on two-out RBI singles in the top of the ninth to produce the final margin.
Amar Tsengeg (2-0) earned the win with 1.1 scoreless innings in relief of Nuanez, and
Brady Owens followed with 1.2 shutout frames before
Brady Pacha recorded the final six outs. Wichita State pitching combined to strike out 12 on the afternoon.
ECU starter Ryan Towers (3-3) took the loss despite allowing no hits and just one unearned run in 3.0 innings.
Ethan Gonzalez set a new program single-game record with three sacrifice bunts for the Shockers. Ganter, Wulfert and
Evan Escobar paced the Shockers with three hits apiece.
Wichita State is back in action on Tuesday night at Oklahoma State. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 pm CT.