East Carolina beat UTSA 1-0 on Sunday afternoon in the American Baseball Championship, using a sixth-inning RBI single from Colby Wallace to repeat as tournament champion. Braden Burress scored the only run on the play, and the Pirates closed out a tight game to go back-to-back after last year’s title.

The loss came one day after UTSA beat East Carolina 4-2 in the winner’s bracket, a result that had put the Roadrunners in the driver’s seat for the tournament title. UTSA also held the head-to-head tiebreaker for the tournament 1-seed, which made Sunday’s result a reversal that sent East Carolina home with the trophy and an autobid to the NCAA Tournament.

Ethan Norby was the anchor for East Carolina, striking out eight over 5.2 innings before Brett Antolick worked 1.2 innings and Gavin Marley and Charlie Hoagland handled the late frames. The pitching held after Wallace’s swing, and that was enough in a championship game that never gave either side much room.

East Carolina and UTSA had split the regular-season conference crown, which is what set up the high-stakes rematch in the first place. The selection show was scheduled for Monday at noon, when East Carolina’s place in the NCAA Tournament bracket was due to become official.

For UTSA, the ending was as thin as it gets: one run, one swing, one inning that changed the tournament. For East Carolina, it was the kind of response championship teams make when they are forced to answer immediately and do it with everything on the line.