CLEARWATER, Fla. (Interstat) — East Carolina erupted for 13 runs on 13 hits to overpower Wichita State 13-3 in an American Athletic Conference game Saturday at Spectrum Field. The Pirates improved to 35-22, while the Shockers dropped to 28-29.

East Carolina struck early. Braden Burress drove in a run with a bunt single in the first inning, and a wild pitch in the second pushed across another. Michael Kalinich singled home a run in the third, followed by a two-run double from Irby. Colby Wallace’s three-run double in the fourth extended the lead to 8-3. Wichita State answered in the fifth with a two-run single by Nolan Ganter, but East Carolina continued to pull away. Barron’s two-run single in the sixth, Kalinich’s RBI single in the seventh and Grady Lenahan’s two-run homer in the eighth completed the scoring.

Thomas Paxton, Joseph Webb and other Pirates pitchers held Wichita State to three hits. Wyatt Foley, Brady Owens and Ethan Rogers took the mound for the Shockers. The teams split their regular-season series, with East Carolina winning two of three in April before Saturday’s rout.