ECU baseball: Lunsford-Shenkman, Ritchie selected in MLB Draft

Two more East Carolina players were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday, bringing the total to six.

Junior reliever Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman was taken in the 16th round with the 483rd overall pick by the Seattle Mariners. Later, left-handed reliever Erik Ritchie was taken in the 19th round with the 582nd overall pick by the Philadelphia Phillies.

There have now been 28 Pirates drafted under 10th-year coach Cliff Godwin.

The six drafted players are the most in a single season for ECU since seven Pirates were selected in 2019.

Lunsford-Shenkman was among the top relievers in the nation. He garnered recognition as a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, was an NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award finalist, a first-team All-America selection by Baseball America, a second-team All-American by the NCBWA and an All-American Athletic Conference first teamer.

He finished the season with a 3-2 record, 1.55 ERA, five saves and 79 strikeouts against 21 walks in 46.1 innings. Opposing batters hit .218 off of him, and he collected at least five strikeouts in seven different appearances.

He had a career-high eight strikeouts in 4.0 scoreless innings against Charlotte on April 13.

Before an arm injury derailed the second half of his season, Lunsford-Shenkman led the nation in ERA with an even 1.00.

Ritchie was a dependable left-handed reliever that was used often when Godwin played the matchups. Ritchie had a big, bending breaking ball that was tough for opposing hitters to square up and drive.

He pitched in 28 appearances — second most on the team — and also made four starts.

Ritchie finished the 2024 season with a 1-1 record, a 6.67 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 29.2 innings. He also limited opposing hitters to a .200 batting average.

In AAC play, Ritchie racked up 11 strikeouts in 9.1 frames. He posted a season-high five strikeouts on March 24 at UTSA and collected multiple strikeouts in eight of his outings.