Replay: Texas beaten 13-7 by East Carolina in opener of NCAA super regional

GREENVILLE, N.C. — On Friday, Texas opened its NCAA baseball super regional series versus East Carolina. The Longhorns won the Austin regional last weekend, defeating Air Force in the deciding game, 10-1 on Sunday. As the No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament, Texas travel to take on the Pirates, seeded eighth. The Longhorns last went on the road for a super regional in 2005. That year, Texas beat Ole Miss twice in Oxford and went on to win its most recent national championship.

The affair will take place at Clark-LeClair Stadium, affectionately called "The Jungle" by ECU fans.

GAME COVERAGE:

More:Texas falls into early super regional hole with late collapse in Game 1 at East Carolina

More:Bohls: No relief for Texas baseball team in a super regional blowout loss to East Carolina

According to Texas coach David Pierce, who worked for Rice and Tulane teams that played conference games at the stadium, the atmosphere there will be quite unique.

"I've been there many a times," Pierce said. "I've had players had beer thrown on them. I've had security issues in the bullpen. They really don't care. They call themselves 'The Jungle' and they act like it."

First pitch is slated for 11 a.m. Follow along for live updates:

East Carolina closes out Texas in the opener of its super regional

Texas (45-20) left two runners aboard in the ninth inning as East Carolina (46-19) closed out a 13-7 win in the opening game of its super regional series. The game was played in front of a record crowd of 5,723 at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

Texas will attempt to keep its season alive on Saturday afternoon. East Carolina has not yet announced who it will start. Lucas Gordon (7-1, 2.36 ERA) will start for Texas. 

Texas facing a steep climb after East Carolina blows open the game

A couple minutes after he preserved ECU's 8-7 lead, Alec Makarewicz added to it. The Pirate third baseman led off the bottom of the eighth inning by hitting a solo homer off of UT reliever Tristan Stevens. Makarewic ended the frame's top half with a defensive highlight that stranded the game-trying run at third base.

East Carolina added four additional runs in the inning as Stevens, Aaron Nixon, Lebarron Johnson, Jr., struggled to record three outs. Texas has used seven relievers in a game that has seen ECU produce 13 runs and 15 hits.

Texas scores twice but wastes an opportunity to tie the Pirates

Texas finally chased American Athletic Conference pitcher Carter Spivey from the game with three straight hits to lead off the eighth inning. The third of those hits was a ground-rule double by Silas Ardoin that pulled Texas within two runs.

After ECU moved Zach Agnos from shortstop to the mound, pinch-hitter Jack O'Dowd drove in a run with a groundout. Texas, though, couldn't tie the game. Trey Faltine hit a fly ball to right field but it wasn't deep enough to score Ardoin from third base. A diving grab of a Douglas Hodo III grounder at third base by Alec Makarewicz helped ECU escape the jam.

East Carolina adds to lead as super regional's opener hits the homestretch

East Carolina added some insurance during a seventh inning that featured two pitching changes by Texas. One of ECU's two hits in the bottom of the seventh inning was a Josh Moylan single that plated a run and helped the Pirates build an 8-5 lead. 

Texas claws within two runs but a double play limits the damage

Ahead of the seventh-inning stretch at Clark-LeClair Stadium, Texas chipped away at the Pirate lead. Douglas Hodo III hit an opposite-field home run to pull UT within 7-5. 

After pinch-hitter Eric Kennedy singled and Ivan Melendez walked with one out, East Carolina star Carter Spivey got Murphy Stehly to ground into a double play to escape the jam. Stehly had homered twice against ECU pitching on Friday.

Power returns to the Texas lineup as East Carolina turns to its bullpen

No-hit since the first inning, Texas displayed an offensive pulse in the sixth frame. Ivan Melendez crushed a leadoff home run before Murphy Stehly followed that moonshot with his second homer of the day.

The home run by Melendez was the 31st of his season. That matches the number posted by San Diego's Kris Bryant during the 2013 season. No Division I player has hit more homers during the BBCOR bat era.

After Stehly's home run, East Carolina called Trey Yesavage out of the bullpen. Yesavage could only retire two of the three pitchers he faced, so a second pitching change was made. Carter Spivey, the American Athletic Conference's pitcher of the year, immediately got the Pirates out of the game with a double-play groundout.

East Carolina chases Pete Hansen before loudly greeting Zane Morehouse

Texas coach David Pierce went to his bullpen before the start of the fifth inning. In his shortest start since a designated start last March against Sam Houston State, Pete Hansen allowed seven hits and six runs.

East Carolina quickly introduced itself to UT reliever Zane Morehouse. On the first pitch thrown by the third-year right-hander, East Carolina slugger Bryson Worrell hit his 19th home run of the season.

Although Worrell's homer gave ECU a 7-2 lead, the biggest highlights in the fifth inning were recorded on defense. With one out in the inning's top half, Zach Agnos made a diving play at the shortstop position to rob Douglas Hodo III of a single. Texas ended the inning when right fielder Murphy Stehly caught a foul ball while tumbling over a fence and into the UT bullpen.

Starling shot digs a deeper hole for Texas

A towering two-run homer by Jacob Starling in the fourth inning boosted East Carolina's lead to 5-2. East Carolina then added an RBI single by Zach Agnos.

Two of East Carolina's four hits in the fourth frame were doubles. Texas pitcher Pete Hansen had allowed only two extra-base hits over the 14 1/3 innings he worked in his last two starts against Oklahoma State and Air Force.

During that inning, Texas sent Zane Morehouse (3-1, 5.75 ERA) to start warming up in the bullpen. Meanwhile, Texas hasn't gotten a hit against East Carolina starter C.J. Mayhue since the first inning.

Pitchers C.J. Mayhue and Pete Hansen settling in at Clark-LeClair Stadium

Through three innings, East Carolina pitcher C.J. Mayhue has registered six strikeouts. Two of those were swinging strikeouts by Ivan Melendez, who has a Division I-leading 30 homers and 90 RBIs this season. Before this game, Melendez had struck out only 44 times in 228 at-bats.

More:As Ivan Melendez nears Texas history, Kyle Russell 'looking forward to tossing the baton'

A nice defensive play in left field by Dylan Campbell was the lone highlight in the bottom of the third inning. Texas starter Pete Hansen has retired the last nine batters he has faced.

Texas and East Carolina sail through a scoreless second session

After combining for six hits and five runs in the first inning, Texas and East Carolina had their offenses muted in the second session. The Longhorns led off their half of the second inning with a walk, but a pop-up and two strikeouts ended that threat. Texas shortstop Trey Faltine fielded three outs in the bottom of the second inning as East Carolina was retired in order.

East Carolina quickly responds to UT's first-inning homer

East Carolina countered Stehly's home runs by leading off the first inning with a walk, a bunt single and a base hit to right field. Texas assistant coach Sean Allen visited Pete Hansen on the mound, but the Pirates soon thereafter unloaded the bases on a run-scoring passed ball and Jacob Jenkins-Cowart's two-run single.

East Carolina eventually stranded Jenkins-Cowart on second base but still exited the first inning with a 3-2 lead.

Murphy Stehly's homer gives Texas an early lead

After Texas led off the game with a double by Douglas Hodo III, East Carolina pitcher C.J. Mayhue bounced back with strikeouts of Dylan Campbell and Ivan Melendez. He couldn't get out of the inning unscathed as Murphy Stehly then hammered a 2-0 pitch into "The Jungle" beyond the left field fence.

Stehly's 18 home runs this season are tied with Scott Bryant for seventh place in the UT record books. Bryant hit 18 HRs during the 1989 season.

With two outs in the inning, UT senior Austin Todd also singled and extended his hitting streak to 17 games. That is the third-best hitting streak by a Longhorn this season and the 11th-best run in the program's history.

Texas ace Pete Hansen to be opposed by fellow left-hander C.J. Mayhue

Both team will start pitchers who aren't used to losing. Texas ace Pete Hansen is 11-1 with a 3.08 ERA. C.J. Mayhue has started in 11 of his 29 appearances this season, and he is 5-1 with a 2.82 ERA.

With a left-hander starting for East Carolina, Texas won't have a left-handed bat in its starting lineup. Dylan Campbell, who hit three homers at the Austin Regional, will start in left field instead of Eric Kennedy.