Although the Pirates were missing Jason Crump - the Australian having broken his knee cap - they took an early lead at the Brandon Stadium.
But the Bees soon fought back and edged themselves in front after six of the evening's 15 heats.
Indeed, the Pirates peaked in the opening heat when Hans Andersen and Troy Batchelor led home a 5-1 against Oliver Allen and Scott Nicholls.
But Billy Janniro took the second heat and, with the spoils being shared across the next three heats, it was heat six which proved decisive.
It also signalled the start of an even busier evening for Janniro, who stood in for Allen after the latter suffered an injury which left him unable to continue.
The American took the increased workload in his stride, however, following Nicholls home for a 5-1 heat win that placed Coventry 19-17 ahead.
The gap was increased to eight points over the next four heats, with Chris Harris, Martin Smolinski and Nicholls taking further wins for the Bees.
Harris took a fine victory in heat 13 to hand Coventry a 10-point lead, with wins for Edward Kennett and Hans Andersen in the closing heats coming too late to put a significant dent in the Bees' advantage.
