Feb. 15, 2003

Greenville, N.C. - The bottom of the eighth inning proved to be the magic frame for East Carolina's baseball team on opening day as the Pirates rallied twice to sweep a doubleheader, 6-4 and 4-2, from visiting Western Carolina on Friday afternoon at Harrington Field.

The Pirates improve t0 2-0 with the wins, while the Cats fall to 1-4.

ECU won both games in dramatic fashion. In game one, East Carolina rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to claim a come-from-behind, 6-4 victory.

A two-out error opened the door for ECU. With runners on first and third and the Pirates trailing 4-3, third baseman Mark Minicozzi hit a ball that was booted by Catamount shortstop Wayne Kilmer, allowing Ryan Jones to race home with the tying run. John Poppert and Brian Cavanaugh then hit back-to-back RBI singles to put the Pirates up by two runs.

The rally made a winner of reliever Matt Bishop, who pitched two scoreless innings to gain his first collegiate win. Greg Bunn, a Freshman All-American in 2002, pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save.

WCU's Brian Barnes (0-2) took the loss as he was responsible for the first two of the three unearned runs in the eighth inning.

Western led for most of the game thanks to a three-run home run by Kilmer in the third inning. The shot to right field gave the Catamounts a 4-1 lead, which held up until the sixth when ECU cut it to one run on a two-run double by Ryan Norwood.

The teams exchanged single runs in the second inning. WCU broke into the scoring column first when Todd Buchanan led off with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly. ECU retaliated in the bottom of the frame when Cavanaugh delivered a two-out, RBI single.

In game two, the Pirates broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the eighth when Darryl Lawhorn and Minicozzi each hit solo home runs.

Both starters settled down after rocky starts. ECU's Will Brinson allowed two runs on three hits in the second inning, including a two-run double by Rod Goldston, then held the Catamounts to just two hits over the next four innings. Brinson, who recorded six strikeouts, was lifted in the seventh in favor of Glenn Tucker (1-0).

Meanwhile, Basner allowed RBI singles to Norwood and Cavanaugh in the first two innings, respectively, but only gave up three hits after that. He went seven complete innings, allowing seven total hits and striking out three. He was replaced by Joe Camac (0-1), who yielded the decisive home runs.

The Pirates and Catamounts will wrap up the series on Saturday at 12 noon. Saturday's game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m. but the start time was changed in anticipation of inclement weather in the Greenville area this weekend.