Koslowski double lifts Dolphins over ECU

From electronic and staff reports
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Jacksonville junior righthander Chris Anderson got just enough help from his offense to prevail in a pitchers' duel against East Carolina sophomore righty Jeff Hoffman Friday evening at John Sessions Stadium.

Freshman outfielder Nathan Koslowski's bases loaded double in the seventh inning was the key blow in the Dolphins' 3-2 victory in the opener of the teams' weekend series.

Koslowski's two-bagger drove in two runs, breaking a 1-1 tie and establishing a working margin the Pirates (9-8) failed to overcome.

Anderson retreated to the showers with two outs in the top of the eighth after ECU junior shortstop Jack Reinheimer's single drove in freshman outfielder Garrett Brooks to cut the lead to 3-2. Brooks had reached on a walk and advanced all the way to third when senior second baseman Bryan Bass followed with a single that led to an outfielder's throwing error.

Junior southpaw Will Flor took Anderson's place on the mound and struck out junior first baseman Drew Reynolds to end the threat.

Junior righthander Adam Maxon relieved Flor to start the ninth. After a pair of walks put runners on first and second with one out, Maxon got the final outs on fly balls.

The outcome took away some luster from a solid pitching performance by Hoffman. After allowing a run in the first inning on a wild pitch, Hoffman kept Jacksonville (6-12) bottled up until Koslowski's decisive seventh inning drive to deep centerfield.

Hoffman, who fell to 2-2, struck out five and was charged with three runs on five hits and five walks in seven innings. Sophomore righty Dylan Dickens finished up the pitching chores, blanking the Dolphins in the eighth on no hits and one base on balls.

Anderson, who improved to 3-1, fanned five and surrendered two runs on seven hits and two walks in 7 2/3 innings.

The Pirates answered Jacksonville's first inning score with a run of their own one inning later. The tie was produced when junior outfielder Ben Fultz doubled, moved to third on a wild pitch and came home on Brooks' bunt single.

ECU outhit the Dolphins 7-5. Bass and Reinheimer each had two singles for the Pirates, while senior second baseman Jake Huxtable had a pair of singles for Jacksonville.

The loss was ECU's third in a row.

The Pirates will try to even up the series Saturday when the teams face off at 2 p.m.

PAGE UPDATED 03/16/13 02:41 AM.

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