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Mustache March's resident sports
journalist, Brian Bailey, gets his mustache trimmed by East
Carolina head baseball coach Cliff Godwin. (Photo by W.A.
Myatt) |
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Eric Tyler has his mustache shaved by
fellow ECU junior Travis Watkins. (Photo by W.A. Myatt) |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
California juco bolsters line |
Almost two months after signing day,
East Carolina has added some talent
to its offensive line. Hartnell
College's Branden Pena, a first-team
Golden Coast All-Conference
performer, has pledged to join the
Pirates for the 2016 season. ...
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BASEBALL |
Pirates hold off
Seahawks |
GREENVILLE —
East Carolina topped
UNC-Wilmington 9-6
on Tuesday night
after leading the
Seahawks 8-1 through
six innings at
Clark-LeClair
Stadium. The Pirates
got a quality start
from Jacob Wolfe
before Joe Ingle
picked up his fifth
save.
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MULTIMEDIA |
Audio: The Brian
Bailey Show |
The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30
p.m. Brian's guests this week
were David Vaughn (Exceptional
Community Baseball League),
Melanie McCullough (ALS
Association Jim Catfish
Hunter
Chapter) and WNCN sports anchor
Todd Gibson:
Replay
show... |
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BASEBALL |
Record-setting Tyler leads series win |
GREENVILLE — Eric Tyler set a school record
with eight RBIs as East Carolina took a 13-0
win over Jacksonville at Clark-LeClair
Stadium on Saturday. Jimmy Boyd started and
pitched seven innings in the Pirates' second
shutout of the season.
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More... |
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Next:
UNC-Wilmington at ECU
| Tuesday, 6:30 pm |
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BASEBALL |
Jacksonville evens series |
GREENVILLE —
Jacksonville took
the second matchup of its three-game
nonconference series at East Carolina 8-6 on
Friday night. The Dolphins (15-7) bounced
back from a 6-3 loss to the Pirates (15-8)
on Thursday night to force a deciding game
in the series at 1 p.m. today.
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BASEBALL |
ECU takes opener with Jacksonville |
GREENVILLE —
East Carolina broke
a tie score at 3 with a pair of runs in the
sixth inning and went on to take a 6-3 win
over Jacksonville on Thursday night in the
opener of a three-game series at
Clark-LeClair Stadium.
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BASEBALL |
Pirates rally past Duke for 8-6
win |
DURHAM —
East Carolina scored
two runs in the seventh and
three more in the eighth to
rally past Duke for an 8-6
nonconference win at Durham
Bulls Athletic Park on Tuesday
night.
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BASEBALL |
Monmouth shuts out Pirates |
GREENVILLE — Monmouth pitchers Ricky
Dennis and Justin Andrews combined for a
one-hit shutout in a 4-0 win at East
Carolina on Sunday to prevent a three-game
sweep in the series by the Pirates.
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More... |
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ECU takes series with Monmouth |
GREENVILLE — East Carolina scored
three runs in the bottom of the eighth
inning for a 5-2 win over Monmouth on
Saturday, giving the Pirates a series win.
ECU (13-6), ranked No. 17 nationally by D1
Baseball, edged the Hawks 4-3 on Friday
night.
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More... |
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Pirates rally past Monmouth |
GREENVILLE — East Carolina scored
three runs in the last two innings to top
Monmouth 4-3 on Friday night. With the score
tied at 3 with one out in the bottom of the
ninth, Parker Lamm singled up the middle for
the Pirates. Charlie Yorgen's double put
Lamm at third. He came home on a wild pitch
for the game-ending run.
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By
Al Myatt
©2016 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
East Carolina baseball
personnel shaved their mustaches on Thursday afternoon at
Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Pirates grew mustaches in March to
support awareness of ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou
Gehrig's disease, the infirmity that took the life of former ECU
baseball coach Keith LeClair in 2006.
Current Pirates coach
Cliff Godwin played for LeClair and LeClair's influence continues to
manifest itself in the program through Godwin. ECU junior infielder
Charlie Yorgen got the fundraising effort going that culminated with
the grooming session prior to the American Athletic Conference
opener with Houston at 6:30 tonight.
"The way it came about
was, probably in January or early February, I was in the locker room
and Charlie Yorgen looks at me and goes, 'Hey. Coach, you're going
to grow a mustache in March, just like we are, aren't you?' " Godwin
recalled Thursday, "I was like,Chuck, I call him Chuck. I said,
'Chuck, I'm not growing a mustache. The only way I would grow a
mustache was if it was for a good cause.'
"And just walked out and
didn't think anything of it. Sure enough, Charlie comes back to me
in about a week and goes, 'Hey, Coach, I've got something that we
can do so you'll grow a mustache.' He goes, 'I'm going to raise
awareness for ALS research and have
a website.'
"Charlie, being the
bright kid he is, he goes out, 'I can get Coach Godwin to grow a
mustache.' So it's been great. We've raised over $4,000. ... It's a
pretty neat deal and Charlie really is the man behind it. He's done
a great job with it."
[View
the ECU Baseball Mustache March website.]
It wasn't Godwin's first
mustache. He grew one when he was a multi-sport star at Greene
Central and he didn't need a reason back then.
"I had a mustache in
high school," said the ECU coach. "I don't know why I had one in
high school. I thought it was cool I guess. It was much more of a
penciled-in mustache then. Now it's a real one, like a grown man's
mustache."
Tyler producing
A grand slam in the
eighth inning of a 13-0 series-clinching win over Jacksonville on
Saturday gave Eric Tyler a school record eight RBIs. He followed
that up by going 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI in
a 9-6 win over UNC-Wilmington
on Tuesday night.
"He's had two really
good games back to back," Godwin said. "Eric is a guy who just does
things the right way all the time. Couldn't be a better guy who gets
put down in the record books for having eight RBIs in a single game.
"He is an epitome of
what you're looking for as an ECU baseball player on and off the
field. He has really done a good job of just working at it and
staying positive. Before this past weekend, he probably wasn't
having a great couple of weeks. He started out hot and then he kind
of had a little bit of a lull, but that's baseball. He just has a
positive approach and stays positive with it and keeps working hard
and is consistent, He's had a good few days for sure."
Mozingo supplies pop
Pitt Community College
transfer Zack Mozingo has been getting more playing time recently,
starting five games and responding by batting .400.
"Zack is a guy that we
thought before the season could provide some left-handed pop in our
lineup and also help us on the mound," Godwin said. "The mound has
been a little bit more rocky than the plate but he's a guy that can
help us in both areas. He's done a good job with the opportunities
he's been given."
Mozingo, who pitches
right-handed, has made two mound appearances totaling one and
one-third innings with a 6.75 earned run average.
Weekend starters
Godwin planned to start
lefty Evan Kruczynski (3-0, 1.98 ERA) against Houston tonight.
Right-hander Jimmy Boyd
(3-1, 2.41) will get the ball for game two, scheduled for Saturday
at 4 p.m., and southpaw Jacob Wolfe (3-2, 2.06) will go on Sunday at
11 a.m.
Wolfe pitched into the
seventh inning on Tuesday against the Seahawks. He allowed six hits
and a pair of earned runs while striking out five without a walk.
Wolfe has been pitching
on Saturday in the weekend rotation.
"Wolfe is going to
Sunday because he needs to get another day's rest," Godwin said. "It
wouldn't be smart to just pitch him on Saturday because that's where
he's normally pitched. That's why Jimmy is pitching on Saturday and
Wolfe is pitching on Sunday.
"Kruz (Kruczynski) has
been very consistent for us. Kruz is a guy that is a leader of our
pitching staff. He's a competitor. He wants the ball. The only time
he gets himself in trouble is when he's trying to do too much
because he wants the team to win so much. He's a selfless guy who
just wants East Carolina baseball to win.
"The Southeastern
Louisiana game he got a no decision and he pitched into the ninth
and gave up one run. The media was asking him about a tough
no-decision. He goes, 'I don't even look at my win-loss record. I
just worry about what East Carolina's win-loss record is.' That's
just the type of kid he is. He's a great Friday night guy for us.
"Jimmy, who will pitch
on Saturday, has grown up so much from last year — not just from
pitching but also mentality wise. He's just so much more mature.
You're talking about a guy who was very inconsistent. He had good
stuff last year but very inconsistent for us on the mound. He's a
guy now who's pitching on the weekends and he's done a great job.
He's pitched great in every outing he's been out there and he's
given us a chance to win. That's all you can ask for."
"Wolfe is a returning
weekend guy from a conference championship team. He's pitched great
as well. He's only had one rocky start against Jacksonville last
week. That was so uncharacteristic of him and he didn't have many
pitches so I wanted to get him back on the mound as quick as
possible against a good UNC-Wilmington team. He pitched like a
weekend guy against UNCW. They have one of the best offenses that
we'll face and he kept them in check for six and one-third.
"Those three guys have
been the difference as a pitching staff. They're the reason we have
won so many games to this point because of their consistency on the
mound."
Ingle in closing role
Joe Ingle got his fifth
save in ECU's 17-8 start against UNCW.
"Joe is a guy who I
think is an adrenaline junkie," Godwin said. "I think that if you
put him in a situation that is not a close situation, he's not going
to pitch great, but you put him in a situation where his back is up
against the wall then he's going to pitch better. I tell him all the
time, 'You don't always have to make it interesting,' but normally
it's interesting. Like Thursday night against Jacksonville, we're
going to face their best hitter who has eight home runs. He's going
to be the tying run at the plate and Joe's going to get him out. He
walked a guy to get to that point.
"He's a guy who loves
it, who loves to be out there in that situation and we're very
fortunate to have a guy at the back end like him."
Middle relievers
getting experience
Making the adjustment to
the college level has been part of the experience for much of ECU's
bullpen.
"We've got some young
guys," Godwin said. "I've talked about this a lot and I think people
really need to understand this. Our pre-conference schedule has been
as tough a schedule as anybody in the country. You look through it
and you're trying to get freshmen out there to get innings. When
they make a mistake against a good team, it's going to hurt.
"It's not like we've
played any bad teams where they could go out there and hang a slider
and the umpire calls it a strike and they didn't swing at it.
"I like where we are
right now. I think Sam Lanier has done a good job. I think Matt
Bridges has done a good job. They pitched well in relief against
Jacksonville in the game that Wolfe didn't go very long. Chris Holba
is coming along. Nick Durazo has not been his best yet but he's a
guy who was standing on the mound in the conference championship
game (2015) though.
"We're looking for those
guys to kind of step up, keep doing what they're doing and focus on
getting better. They're going to be the guys who are going to be
handling those roles right now."
Conference schedule
gets going
A 7-2 loss to No. 1
Texas A&M on Tuesday night put Houston at 16-8 coming into the
series in Greenville.
D1Baseball.com
has the Pirates ranked No. 19 nationally
and the Cougars at No. 23.
ECU topped Houston 9-1
in the championship game of the AAC Tournament last year in
Clearwater, FL. The Pirates were the No. 2 seed for the league
championship and the Cougars were the top seed.
The AAC was rated third
among conferences in RPI in 2015.
"The American is one of
the best conferences in the country," Godwin said. "We have Houston,
who in my opinion is as talented on the mound as any team in the
country. I mean their Friday and Saturday guys, (Andrew) Lantrip and
(Seth) Romero, could pitch for anybody in the country. Anybody from
Florida to Texas A&M to LSU would love to have those guys pitching
on Friday and Saturday. Todd Whitting (Houston coach) does a great
job. They've consistently been good since he's been there. We'll
have our hands full this weekend when they come into town."
Lantrip, a junior
right-hander, is 4-2 with a 1.69 ERA. Romero, a sophomore lefty, is
4-0 with a 0.58 ERA.
Importance of fan
support
Godwin talked about the
value of fan support for the Houston series.
"It's huge," he said.
"Any time that we can have a hostile environment, it's like having
the 10th man in baseball. Like the (Seattle) Seahawks talk about the
12th man, it's the 10th man for us. That environment that we had the
North Carolina game (5,213 on hand) was electric. The closer we can
get to those crowds, the better chance we have to win.
"I hope the fans
understand that the louder they are, the more into the game they
are, the better our kids play. They feed off that. We need Pirate
Nation to come out, tailgate and have a good time. We need the
students to come out and have a good time and make it a very tough
home field advantage for Houston."