By
Denny O'Brien
©2009 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
CHAPEL HILL — It’s not
like today won’t be familiar territory for East Carolina. Heck, the
Pirates were in a considerably worse position six days ago.
After
losing 12-2 to South Carolina
last Saturday, ECU was tasked with winning three elimination games in
two days. The Pirates were running low on good starting pitching and the
bullpen was growing razor thin.
By comparison, rebounding
from
a 10-1 loss to North Carolina
and facing potentially two must-win games doesn’t seem that imposing.
“I just reminded my
players that a week ago at this time we were in the same situation,”
Pirates coach Billy Godwin said after Saturday's super regional opener
at Boshamer Stadium. “We’ve got experience playing in elimination games
and that’s where we’re at. We’re in an elimination game. We’ll have to
come out and play well tomorrow.
"I’ve got a lot of faith
in these guys and their character. They’ll come out and play as hard as
they possibly can.”
And you have to figure
they’ll have more success considering North Carolina ace Alex White
won’t be on the mound. Perhaps the most telling statistic yesterday can
be found in the
box score of the starting
pitchers, which was about as one-sided as you’ll find in college
baseball.
In five-plus innings of
work, the Pirates’ Seth Maness failed to record a strikeout, while White
fanned a career high 12 for the Heels.
ECU’s inability to put the
ball in play during key situations early proved costly. Meanwhile the
Tar Heels showed on several occasions the difference the aluminum bat
can make just by making contact.
On a day that showcased a
match-up of statistical titans — ECU’s loaded lineup against North
Carolina's powerful arms — it was the Tar Heels’ excuse-me hitting that
provided the offensive fireworks. The Tar Heels dinked and dunked their
way for seven hits and seven runs in the sixth inning, eventually
chasing Maness from the game.
The seven-run explosion
was highlighted by a bunt, bleeder, and a bloop. There was even a key
error by second baseman Ryan Wood that plated a run.
“It’s frustrating, of
course,” Maness said. “But you really can’t harp on just one pitch. If
you do that, you’re just going to start making bad pitches.
“You really have got to
have a short-term memory and just go after the next guy, try to put it
behind you. When they do (bloop) a couple of them in a row, it is
frustrating. But that’s part of the game.”
Just like quick recoveries
have become a part of East Carolina’s season. The Pirates did it
in improbable fashion in the
NCAA Regional last week, just like they did on numerous other occasions
throughout the year.
It won’t be easy this
time. Of course it never is. Adam Warren is scheduled to start for
Carolina, and it’s no stretch to suggest that he’d be the ace on most
pitching staffs around the country.
But this East Carolina
team has faced its share of challenges, and passed them with flying
colors. The Pirates just can’t afford to whiff 14 times tomorrow and
waste early-game opportunities like they did Saturday.
“We had plenty of
opportunities today,” senior first baseman Brandon Henderson said.
“Whether it’s with one out or two outs, we’ve got to come up big.”
“They had their
opportunities and they got some big hits. A few balls fell in for them
and we couldn’t get many to fall in. But the beauty is we’re not done
yet.”