GREENVILLE, N.C. – The University of Pennsylvania baseball team couldn't get anything going offensively against East Carolina on Friday night at Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium, suffering a 17-3 defeat in seven innings.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn's offense was led by freshman Jay Secretarski, who went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI single.
 
*Junior first baseman Nick Spaventa hit a solo home run in the top of the third inning to bring the Quakers within one run of tying the game (4-3).
 
*Jake Moss (1-1) got the start on the mound and was charged with the loss. Freshmen Luke Pokrovsky (3) and Ben Moulin (2) combined for five strikeouts.
 
*Qwynn Ahearn, Nick Guachione, Ryan Taylor and Nick O'Brien all registered a base knock in the loss.
 
How It Happened
Secretarski got Penn off to a great start in the first frame with a leadoff single to center field. The freshman infielder has logged a hit in all but one game in his first season as a Quaker. East Carolina starter Ethan Norby ended the inning by sitting down the next three batters he faced.
 
Jake Moss earned the start on the hill for Penn, but the Pirates put together a four-run first inning. With one runner on base, Austin Irby drove a single to right field that allowed Matthew Lashley to score from second. Alex Bouche followed suit with a double to left-center field that brought in a run, before Jeff Sabater's two-RBI single made it a 4-0 ballgame.
 
The Red and Blue crossed home plate twice in the second inning, despite creating all of their offense with two outs.

After Norby sent the visitors' first two hitters back to the dugout, Taylor reached first on a walk. O'Brien was due up next and his single to right center advanced Taylor to third. Jack Warner then reached first on a fielding error and Taylor made his way home to put the Quakers on the board. Their second run was batted in by Secretarski with a single up the middle that sent O'Brien home.
 
Moss allowed a single in the bottom of the second inning, but the veteran made quick work of the rest of the Pirates' order.
 
Spaventa made it a one-score game (4-3) with a solo home run to deep-right field in the top of the third. Ahearn, Taylor and O'Brien all reached base as the inning wore on, but Norby managed to escape with a strikeout on Warner.
 
The hosts' bats got red hot in the fourth frame, scoring nine runs on eight hits and two errors. East Carolina's best inning of the day was highlighted by a grand slam from Jack Herring.
 
Joseph Webb took over on the mound for the Pirates in the fifth, throwing a scoreless side with two strikeouts.
 
A two-RBI single by Colby Wallace handed the hosts a 15-3 lead heading into the sixth frame.
 
The Pirates scored two more runs in the sixth, and held Penn scoreless in its final two at-bats, putting the finishing touches on a 17-3 victory.
 
Up Next
The Red and Blue play the second game of the three-game set on Saturday at 4 p.m. The contest can be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
 
For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.