
Austin Irby homers again, leads East Carolina to Conway Regional final with 11-4 win over Gators
The Pirates (35-26) beat Florida in the regional opener Friday and bounced back from Saturday's 18-7 loss to Coastal Carolina to set up a Sunday night final against the Chanticleers. ECU would have to beat Coastal Carolina twice to go super regionals.
Florida (39-22) saw its bid for a third straight College World Series appearance end.
Irby is 9 for 14 with seven RBIs in three regional games after going 2 for 4 and driving in two runs against the Gators. He singled in a run in the third inning and homered in the fourth to help the Pirates build their lead to 8-1.
Freshman Braden Burress was 3 for 5 with three RBIs and raised his batting average to .401.
Another East Carolina freshman, starter Lance Williams, gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in a season-best five innings, and Jake Hunter worked four scoreless innings.
Pierce Coppola (2-2) was tagged for three runs, two earned, in two innings. Bill Barlow, who replaced Coppola, surrendered three runs without recording an out.
The Gators were 1 for 12 with runners on base.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Naylor leads Guardians against the Diamondbacks after 4-hit outing
Cleveland Guardians (63-60, second in the AL Central) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (60-65, fourth in the NL West) Phoenix; Monday, 9:40 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Gavin Williams (7-4, 3.38 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 127 strikeouts); Diamondbacks: Zac Gallen (9-12, 5.31 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 131 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Diamondbacks -121, Guardians +102; over/under is 9 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Guardians play the Arizona Diamondbacks after Bo Naylor had four hits on Sunday in a 5-4 loss to the Braves. Arizona has a 60-65 record overall and a 30-30 record at home. The Diamondbacks have a 35-19 record in games when they hit at least two home runs. Cleveland has gone 32-29 on the road and 63-60 overall. The Guardians are 43-13 in games when they out-hit their opponents. The matchup Monday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams. TOP PERFORMERS: Ketel Marte has 20 doubles, 23 home runs and 56 RBIs for the Diamondbacks. Corbin Carroll is 12 for 43 with two doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games. Jose Ramirez leads the Guardians with a .291 batting average, and has 23 doubles, two triples, 25 home runs, 49 walks and 64 RBIs. Steven Kwan is 10 for 42 with a home run and an RBI over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Diamondbacks: 6-4, .278 batting average, 4.75 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs Guardians: 5-5, .216 batting average, 4.35 ERA, outscored by eight runs INJURIES: Diamondbacks: Anthony DeSclafani: 15-Day IL (thumb), Kevin Ginkel: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Gabriel Moreno: 60-Day IL (hand), Tommy Henry: 60-Day IL (elbow), Pavin Smith: 10-Day IL (oblique), Ryan Thompson: 15-Day IL (scapular strain), Ildemaro Vargas: 10-Day IL (foot), Christian Montes De Oca: 60-Day IL (elbow), Justin Martinez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cristian Mena: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Corbin Burnes: 60-Day IL (elbow), A.J. Puk: 60-Day IL (elbow), Blake Walston: 60-Day IL (elbow) Guardians: Lane Thomas: 10-Day IL (foot), Will Brennan: 60-Day IL (forearm), Andrew Walters: 60-Day IL (lat), Ben Lively: 60-Day IL (forearm), John Means: 60-Day IL (elbow), Sam Hentges: 60-Day IL (shoulder) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ben Johnson pleased with "big-time throws" from Caleb Williams
Bears head coach Ben Johnson was happy with his quarterback after Sunday night's preseason game against the Bills. Williams completed 6 of 10 passes for 107 yards with a touchdown, no turnovers and no sacks,, and Johnson said after the game that Williams looked the way the Bears wanted him to look in live game action. "Caleb made a couple big-time throws, in my opinion, to keep that drive going, and some explosive plays there, so it was good — it was good to see," Johnson said. Johnson said Williams has had some bad days in training camp but that last week's practices and Sunday night's game were as good as he's been. "I thought the three days of practice we had this week and this game were the most he's stacked up good days in a row," Johnson said. "The challenge is going to be to keep pushing in that direction." The Bears beat the Bills 38-0 and Johnson said that was all about the players' execution. "It really had nothing to do with scheme. It was all about our guys and how they wanted to play the game," Johnson said. Now Johnson will hope that promising performance can carry over to the regular season.

Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pirates start 3-game series with the Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays (73-52, first in the AL East) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (52-73, fifth in the NL Central) Pittsburgh; Monday, 6:40 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Blue Jays: Kevin Gausman (8-9, 3.79 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 138 strikeouts); Pirates: Paul Skenes (7-9, 2.13 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 166 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Pirates -112, Blue Jays -107; over/under is 7 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates host the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday to open a three-game series. Pittsburgh has gone 34-29 at home and 52-73 overall. Pirates pitchers have a collective 4.04 ERA, which ranks eighth in the NL. Toronto is 73-52 overall and 31-31 on the road. The Blue Jays have the best team batting average in MLB play at .269. The matchup Monday is the first meeting this season between the two teams. TOP PERFORMERS: Isiah Kiner-Falefa has a .267 batting average to lead the Pirates, and has 17 doubles, two triples and a home run. Nick Gonzales is 13 for 41 with an RBI over the past 10 games. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ranks second on the Blue Jays with 51 extra base hits (30 doubles and 21 home runs). Daulton Varsho is 13 for 34 with two doubles, five home runs and 14 RBIs over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 3-7, .224 batting average, 5.82 ERA, outscored by 28 runs Blue Jays: 6-4, .287 batting average, 4.30 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 runs INJURIES: Pirates: Oneil Cruz: 7-Day IL (concussion), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Enmanuel Valdez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Lawrence: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tim Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow) Blue Jays: Shane Bieber: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bowden Francis: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Burr: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nick Sandlin: 15-Day IL (elbow), Yimi Garcia: 15-Day IL (ankle), Anthony Santander: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alek Manoah: 60-Day IL (elbow), Angel Bastardo: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.