ECU completed the series sweep over Maryland with a 3-0 win on Sunday behind a historic performance out of Jake Kuchmaner.
- Jake Kuchmaner, history: There’s really nothing else to talk about here. Kuchmaner threw the first perfect game in ECU baseball history on Sunday. Can anyone hit Jake Kuchmaner? Kuchmaner just recently went 8.2 innings of no-hit baseball before falling just short of the no-hitter. Kuchmaner was just determined to be perfect this season apparently. ECU had not seen a no-hitter since Ricky Brooks threw one on April 24 of 2005 against Memphis. Kuchmaner has given up just nine hits in 30.1 innings this season in total. Kuchmaner, combined with Agnos’ and Smith’s great starting pitching efforts on Friday and Saturday (one run allowed all weekend), gave the bullpen relief this weekend.
- Thank you, Thomas Francisco: On Saturday ECU needed just two runs and this time it was three. ECU had just two hits through the first five innings and it looked like Kuchmaner would have to be perfect at the least. Then ECU got on the board for two runs in the sixth inning. Spencer Brickhouse led off with a double and one batter later advanced to third on a Turner Brown single. That is when Francisco doubled to score both Brickhouse from third and Brown all the way from first. The Pirates got an insurance run in the ninth inning when Seth Caddell launched a solo home run to push it to 3-0 but by that time, all eyes were on Kuchmaner.
- Sweep sweep sweep: The sweep over Maryland is the Pirates’ third weekend sweep of the season. The opening series against Radford went ECU’s way 3-0 and so did last weekend’s series against Marist. A consistent performer at the plate for the series? That would be brown, who went 6-for-10 (.600) for the series. Not good for ECU? The Pirates were 2-for-14 with runners on base during Sunday’s game.
- Surging on the road: ECU began the season 1-3 on the road. The three-game sweep at Maryland puts the Pirates over .500 on the road at 4-3. ECU is 11-3 at Clark-LeClair so far, so the road play was what was lagging behind. ECU also gets a three-game win streak with just UNCW in between them and AAC conference play.
ECU is now 15-6 and on a winning streak after the sweep. The Pirates host UNCW at Clark-LeClair on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. before opening conference play with a home series against UCF.