Cotton mows down 12 in series finale

From electronic and staff reports
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Jharel Cotton fanned 12 and pitched seven innings of four-hit ball to help East Carolina defeat Conference USA foe Tulane 6-3 Sunday afternoon and salvage a 2-1 split in the teams' weekend series.

The Pirates (28-16-1, 10-7-1 C-USA) jumped on Green Wave starter Tyler Mapes (1-3) for five runs in the first two frames to provide Cotton all the cushion he needed. A junior righthander, Cotton was dominant, registering at least one strikeout in each inning — including two KOs in five of the frames. He walked only one in boosting his unbeaten record to 8-0.

Senior catcher Zach Wright's three-run homer to left in the first inning gave East Carolina the upper hand out of the gate. Wright's blast came after senior second baseman Tim Younger and junior outfielder John Wooten reached on singles.

The Pirates chased Mapes with two more scores in the second. Sophomore shortstop Jack Reinheimer singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior outfielder Philip Clark. Reinheimer took third when junior outfielder Chris Gosik reached on a throwing error. A wild pitch then sent Gosik to second and Reinheimer across the plate. After Gosik went to third on a groundout, sophomore designated hitter Drew Reynolds brought him home with a single.

Tulane (29-14, 7-7 C-USA) produced two runs in the third on a walk, a double and a single to pull within 5-2, but that was as close as the Wave would come to making up the gap.

East Carolina recorded its final run in the fifth when Wooten doubled, Wright walked and sophomore first baseman Chase McDonald drove Wooten in with a single.

Freshman righthander Jeff Hoffman came in for Cotton in the eighth and served up a homer to Tulane's Brandon Boudreaux.

Reynolds, a sophomore righthander, took over the mound duties in the ninth, retiring the Green Wave in order and earning his ninth save.

The win rekindled some momentum for the Pirates after back-to-back upset losses. Tulane toppled ECU 4-1 on Friday and 4-2 on Saturday.

East Carolina is off until Friday when it hosts Marshall in the 6 p.m. opener of another C-USA weekend series. The series will continue on Saturday (2 p.m.) and conclude on Sunday (1 p.m.)

PAGE UPDATED 04/29/12 05:35 PM.

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