Pirates Drop Greenville Regional Championship Game
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Evansville advanced to its first Super Regional in program history Monday afternoon, scoring four unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings to pick up a 6-5 win over top seed East Carolina inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
The Pirates end their campaign at 46-17 while the Purple Aces will take a 38-24 record into Knoxville next weekend to face off with No. 1 national seed Tennessee.
Max Hansmann (2-1) secured the win in relief, limiting ECU to one hit over four innings with three walks and a strikeout. Zach Root (6-2) took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits in three frames. Mark Shallenberger went 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI to pace the Evansville offense while Ryley Johnson notched a pair of hits and two runs scored.
Kip Fougerousse provided the first tally of the contest when he clubbed a two-out solo home run over the wall in center. The Purple Aces doubled the lead in the second when Chase Hug scored from second on a throwing error. The Pirates knotted the score at two in the top of the third as Carter Cunningham doubled with one out and Johnson singled through the left side to put two runners in scoring position. Jacob Jenkins-Cowart(Southeast Guilford HS/Greensboro, N.C.) then took a 3-1 pitch right back up the middle for a two-run single and a new ball game.
East Carolina jumped ahead in the top of the fifth with a three spot. Cunningham drew a walk on a full count to lead things off and Johnson followed with a single to left center that pushed Cunningham to third. Jenkins-Cowart then reached on a fielder’s choice that allowed Cunningham to score on a late throw to the plate to make it 3-2. A wild pitch and another fielder’s choice left the Pirates with a 5-2 advantage headed to the sixth frame.
The Purple Aces ended up scoring the last four runs of the afternoon with Shallenberger clubbing a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to account for the final score.
Postgame Notes Graphic
East Carolina reached the regional finals for the fifth-straight season, including four times at Clark-LeClair Stadium while winning three of those regionals (2019, 2021 and 2022).
The Pirates’ senior class collected two NCAA Regional championships (2021 and 2022), four-straight American Athletic Conference regular season titles (2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024), the 2022 AAC Tournament crown and a quartet of 40-win seasons.
East Carolina finished the campaign with a 29-6 record at home.
The Pirates were 2-for-11 (.182) with runners in scoring position as compared to Evansville’s 4-for-10 (.400) mark.
The 46 victories are tied for the fifth most in a single season in program history.
Jenkins-Cowart set the school’s single-season record for RBI, finishing with 79.
2024 NCAA Greenville Regional All-Tournament Team
Catcher: Justin Wilcoxen – East Carolina
First Base: Carter Cunningham – East Carolina
Second Base: Casey Kleiman – VCU
Shortstop: Simon Sherry – Evansville
Third Base: Dixon Williams – East Carolina
Outfield: Mark Shallenberger – Evansville
Outfield: Luke Nowak – East Carolina
Outfield: Ryley Johnson – East Carolina
Designated Hitter: Ryan McCrystal – East Carolina
Pitcher: Trey Yesavage – East Carolina
Pitcher: Kenton Deverman – Evansville
Most Outstanding Player: Kip Fougerousse – Evansville