Pirates Down Clemson, 5-4

March 16, 1999

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Senior left-hander Brooks Jernigan went 6.2 innings allowing four runs and the Pirate offense rallied for four in the fourth inning as East Carolina University defeated Clemson 5-4 here Tuesday in college baseball action.

Jernigan came out shaky in the first, walking leadoff batter Brian Ellis who then scored on Kurt Bultmann’s single. Bultmann then came around as Jason Harris hit his fourth home run of the season to give Clemson (10-7) an early 3-0 lead.

But after that Jernigan settled down and held the Tigers without another hit until the sixth inning as he went 6.2 innings giving up four runs – only three earned – and five walks while striking out six on the day. ECU (15-5) closed the gap in the third as Steve Salargo hit a two-out single and took second as John Williamson followed with a single of his own. Freshman Chad Tracy then drove Salargo across with a single to center and cut the lead to two, 3-1. The Pirates continued to fight back as they scored four in the fourth to take a 5-3 lead. Bryant Ward hit a two-out double and scored on Lee Delfino’s single to right. Then, with the bases loaded, Williamson then hit a fly ball to the track in left that should have been caught for the final out of the inning. But the Tiger’s Brian Holstad dropped the easy out and three Pirates came around to score.

Clemson got one back, however, as Patrick Boyd reached on an error in the sixth and moved to second on Henri Stanley’s walk before a single by Bradley LeCroy brought him around.

That closed the Pirates’ lead to 5-4 but from there Pirate reliever Kevyn Fulcher would have his way as he came in in the seventh and went 2.1 innings while allowing just one hit and no runs while walking two. Fulcher, who recorded his first two strikeouts of the year in the eighth and ninth inning, picked up his fourth save of the year along the way. For the Pirates, Jason Howard was 3-4 at the plate while Salargo was 2-3 with a pair of runs. Khalil Greene led the Tigers with a 2-5 performance while Harris was 1-2 with a run and two RBI. Brian Adams took the loss for the Tigers going 3.2 innings while allowing seven hits and four runs – two earned – with two walks and one strikeout. ECU and Clemson will meet again on Wednesday, March 17 at 2 p.m. at Harrington Field.