By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Jack Herring stroked three extra-base hits, including a solo homer, in leading the second-seeded East Carolina Pirates to a 4-3 victory Friday over the No. 3 Rice Owls at the American Baseball Championship.

Playing its first game on the third day of the tournament, at Clearwater, Fla., East Carolina used pitchers Ryan Towers, Joseph Webb and Ethan Norby to stifle the Owls on six hits.

Towers earned the victory by working five and two thirds innings and giving up two runs, with only one earned. Norby pitched the final two and a third innings for his first save of the season.

Rice scratched out a run in the ninth after Norby walked the first two batters of the inning.

Norby, a first-team, all-conference pick, later struck out Paul Smith with the tying run at third to end the game.

For the Owls, who fell to 1-1 in the tournament, starter Ethan Sanders took the loss. The Pirates scored twice in the third and fourth innings off Sanders to take control of the game.

In the third, Herring ripped a solo home run. Grady Lenahan and Herring socked RBI doubles in the fourth.

American Baseball Championship
At Clearwater, Fla.

Wednesday

Game 1 – No. 7 Wichita State beats No. 6 FAU, 3-2
Game 2 – No. 5 Memphis beats No. 8 Charlotte, 13-9

Thursday

Game 3 – No. 3 Rice beats No. 7 Wichita State, 5-4
Game 4 – No. 5 Memphis beats No. 4 UAB, 7-3

Friday

Game 5 – No. 2 East Carolina beats No. 3 Rice, 4-3
Game 6 – No. 1 UTSA vs. No. 5 Memphis, 47 minutes afterward
Game 7 – No. 4 UAB vs. No. 3 Rice, 3:30 p.m.
Game 8 – No. 7 Wichita State vs. Game 6 loser, 47 minutes afterward

Saturday

Game 9 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 a.m.
Game 10 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 47 minutes afterward
Game 11 – Game 10 winner vs. Game 9 loser, 47 minutes afterward

Sunday

Game 12 – Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 11 a.m.