When Cliff Godwin first put on a Pirate uniform to play baseball for East Carolina, Gary Overton was in his final year as the team's head coach and ball was played at Harrington Field.

But change was underway.

The next year, Keith LeClair was hired as the new head coach. LeClair brought with him a hunger for “Omaha,” the site of the NCAA's National Championship.

“When I first got here, the program was in transition,” said Godwin, now in his first year as the Pirates' head coach. “LeClair's vision brought us to the brink of Omaha. [The span of years from] 99-01 was the hey-day when people talked about us being as good as anyone in the country.”

ECU returned to the regionals in 1999, knocking off 17th-ranked LSU before bowing twice to the Tigers. The next year, ECU again went into the postseason, winning its way into the finals before falling to 21st-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette.

In 2001, the Pirates won the regional in three straight games and hosted the Volunteers in the Super Regional at Grainger Stadium in Kinston. Twice, ECU had Tennessee on the ropes, only to see late-inning rallies knock the Pirates' hopes out.

Godwin remembers that time period vividly and wants to return East Carolina to those days of regionals and super-regionals.

“That's where we want to be every year,” he said. “If I didn't think we could do that, I wouldn't be coaching here. I really believe we can be as good as anyone in the country.”

That attitude has been transferred to his players. Veteran catcher Travis Watkins said, “He's instilled a view in us of toughness. We know we're not going to be the most talented team, but we're going to play our best and be competitive."

“This is the most tightly-knitted team I've ever been on,” Watkins added. “Our hitters are a lot more aggressive at the plate than they've been.”

Godwin was asked how he thought his team – which was hit heavily by graduation and the Major League Draft – would do with only a handful of returning starters back.

“I'm not going to put any perimeters on this team,” he said. “Bryce Harmon was freshman all-conference (at first base), and Charlie Yorgen returns at second, also freshman all-conference. Hunter Allen, who hit over .300 last year, will play shortstop.

“Third base will be a new face. Kirk Morgan or Jackson Mims will handle that. Jimmy Boyd will be in left field, Reid Love in center and Jeff Nelson in right.”

Godwin noted that Garrett Brooks and Parker Lamm would also see outfield action.

The pitching staff took a hard knock, too. Gone is a group that went 24-16 a year ago. Topping that is the loss of right-hander David Kirkpatrick, expected to be one of the weekend starters, to a season-ending injury. He potentially has three more years remaining following his rehab.

Godwin, however, doesn't believe that the stable is empty.

“Our pitching staff is kinda thin,” he admitted. “Normally, you want to have 16-17 options, even though you don't pitch that many. Right now we have 13, and three of them are two-way players, Love, Kirk Morgan and Boyd. That makes us a little more thin. But if we can stay healthy, I like the pitching staff we have right now.”

One thing that could help is that the Pirates may have a full left-handed rotation for the weekend with Love, Jacob Wolfe and Kvan Kruczynski.

“Anytime you have a lefthander up there you have a chance,” Godwin said. “They throw strikes and control the running game. I'm excited to see these guys. The wild card is David Lucroy and I'm looking forward to seeing him competing for a weekend spot, too.”

Love, who will miss the opening series against No. 4 Virginia with an injury, went 5-3 with a 3.02 earned run average last year. Wolfe was not involved in a decision in 2014 and had a 2.35 ERA. Kruczynski also went without a decision last year and had an 18.00 ERA but pitched only one inning. Lucroy went 2-6 with a 4.75 ERA.

Still to be determined is how that bullpen will fit together and what their roles will be.

“A lot of teams don't really have a closer, the guy you give the ball to late in every game,” the coach said. “Only a handful of teams have a great closer. We have to depend on a different guy to step up each day.”

Godwin also looks to several newcomers to contribute. They include Joe Ingram, Evan Voliva and Ross Gardner, all likely to see bullpen action.

Jeff Nelson, a junior college transfer, could see outfield play, while Jack Owens is an infielder who is coming off an injury from the fall.

“We're not deep,” the coach said. “You can have 35 on the roster and we have 27, but we do have a lot of options. We did a good job in the fall bouncing guys around for multiple positions. We want them to feel comfortable playing any position."

Offensively, Godwin looks for improved play at the plate.

“We have some guys who will be very offensive,” he said. “We will be a solid offensive club. We'll have a chance to hit some home runs with a bunch of good hitters. It's not going to be like one to five, but one through nine.”

Godwin also looks to the team to be aggressive on the bases.

“But we don't have a lot of team speed,” he said. “Lamm is probably our fastest. We're going to be a team that steals a lot of bases. That's one of the area we're recruiting to.”

When the Pirates are on the field, Godwin looks for the team to be solid.

“It's been impressive so far,” he pointed out. “If we can get a glove on it, we'll catch it. We're solid behind the plate and the outfield is solid, too. I think we'll surprise a lot of people by being solid in all three phases and by that I mean offense, defense and pitching.”

Recruiting this spring will put emphasis on pitching and players who can run.

“Guys who can go out and steal 25-30 bases a year,” Godwin said of that factor. “Also, we want to add more power to compliment our guys coming back. You always want speed and power.”

Not only do the Pirates have a new coach, but also a new league, the American Athletic Conference. But Godwin doesn't make predictions about how his team will do as it seeks a league title. Houston is the preseason favorite.

“I just don't look at stuff like (predictions),” Godwin said. “I just focus on what we can control. I'm excited for our guys. They work hard and they deserve success.”

The kind of success that leads to conference championships, regionals, super-regionals and Omaha.