Bunts possessed game-changing power Saturday for the East Carolina baseball team.

The Pirates took their first lead against Marshall on a squeeze play in the bottom of the fourth inning at Clark-LeClair Stadium and grabbed their final lead on Phillip Clark’s run-scoring bunt single in the bottom of the 10th to help ECU notch an 8-7 victory over the Thundering Herd. The Pirates (30-16-1, 12-7-1 Conference USA), who have won three consecutive games, will go for a three-game series sweep today at 1.

“Strategy is only good if it’s executed,” ECU coach Billy Godwin said of the game-winning bunt that Clark pushed past the pitcher down the third baseline to score Zach Wright with two outs. “(Marshall’s third baseman) was playing back, Clark can run, lay it down and see what happens right there. ... I put that play on. There was no squeezing, just a bunt for a hit.”

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