GREENVILLE, N.C. – Junior left-hander Marty Coyne pitched eight innings on Saturday, allowing only four hits as the University of Pennsylvania baseball team knocked off East Carolina 1-0 on Saturday afternoon at Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
 
Coyne claimed his first victory of the 2026 season and sophomore reliever Connor Darling earned his second save as the Quakers improved to 3-9, while the Pirates fell to 11-8-1.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Coyne (1-2) had a great outing on the bump for the Quakers, throwing a career-high eight innings while allowing just four hits with four strikeouts and no batters walked.

*Darling picked up where Coyne left off in the ninth, pitching a scoreless final inning to take home his second save of the season.

*Junior Gavin Collins tallied the game-winning RBI in the top of the ninth with a double down the left-field line that sent fellow classmate Gavin Degnan home. Collins finished his outing with two hits in four appearances at the dish.

*Senior co-captain Jarrett Pokrovsky was the other Quaker to log two hits on Saturday, with singles in the first and sixth innings.

*Jay Secretarski (1), Qwynn Ahearn (1) and Degnan (1) all recorded a base knock for Penn.

How It Happened
Gavin Van Kempen began the day on the hill for East Carolina, and after surrendering a hit to Pokrovsky he struck out Ahearn to send the Pirates to the plate. The senior threw a career-high 14 strikeouts in the loss.

Coyne wasted no time getting into a groove, retiring the hosts 1-2-3 in the first inning.
 
Van Kempen went back to work in the second frame, notching two strikeouts before Collins registered a base hit to center field. The Pirates headed back to the plate when Ernie Echevarria struck out looking. Coyne dowsed any momentum Van Kempen gave the hosts with another 1-2-3 inning, featuring his first strikeout of the afternoon.
 
Penn let up its first hit of the day in the third frame, but Coyne recovered well to force Walker Barron and Braden Burress into a groundout and a foul out to conclude the inning.
 
Both pitchers allowed a hit in the fourth, however neither side could capitalize on the opportunities.
 
The pitching duel carried on into the fifth inning, when Van Kempen struck out the side in order. Jack Herring then lined out to center field for the Pirates before Coyne struck out Alex Bouche and Jeff Sabater to keep the outing scoreless.
 
East Carolina notched two hits in the bottom of the seventh, but Coyne's composure shone through by getting Carlos Jacome to hit into a fielder's choice, which retired Herring on his advancement to second base.
 
Penn's magic moment came in the top of the ninth inning facing two outs. Degnan was up against a full count prior to ripping a double to left-center field, which sent Ryan Taylor to the dish. The second baseman ended up grounding out to third base, leaving Collins with work to do.

The Bristol, Ind. native got ahead in the count (2-1) on Pirates' reliever Sean Jenkins and that was all he needed. Collins went on to give the Red and Blue the only lead of the day with a double down the left-field line, sending the winning run home.

Darling took over on the mound for Coyne during the hosts' final at-bats. Two Pirates reached base after being hit by a pitch, but Darling fought back. The sophomore put away the next three hitters he faced to secure Penn's third win of the season and first on the road.
 
Up Next
The Quakers return to action at 1 p.m. on Sunday for the series finale against East Carolina. Fans can watch the action 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.