Pirates' path gets complicated

By Brian Bailey
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Officially, East Carolina didn't lose the American Athletic Conference regular season crown this past weekend, but it certainly felt that way.

South Florida came to town with very little to play for, residing at the bottom of the AAC standings. The Bulls took two out of three from ECU, and now the Pirates have plenty of work to do to keep their slim title hopes alive – and will need plenty of help from the Houston Cougars.

In order to overtake Tulane for the crown, ECU needs a sweep down at Central Florida and for Houston to take two out of three from the Green Wave.

USF clinched the series over ECU with a 6-5 win on Sunday.

"It's really disappointing," said Pirate coach Cliff Godwin. "Not taking anything away from South Florida, but they came in here loose, and we're battling for a league title. We didn't play loose. We've got to handle it better and just play better."

ECU has just four games to play. The Pirates host Campbell for "Senior Night" and then head to Florida to take on UCF.

The Pirates will also spend time in the "Sunshine State" the next week, as Clearwater once again hosts the American Athletic Conference Tournament.

While the Pirates still have a shot at the top seed in the tournament, several teams are nipping at the Diamond Bucs' heels.

ECU is 12-8-1 in American play, while Tulane is 13-6. Connecticut heads to the final weekend at 11-9. Cincinnati is 11-9-1 and Houston is 10-10.

There are thousands of scenarios. East Carolina heads to the last week of the regular season with a chance at first – and a chance at finishing as low as fifth.

Memphis, UCF and USF are all 8-13 and tied for last heading into the final weekend.

The league tournament could be a real classic. Try picking a favorite from this group. We've seen first hand how even this conference has been all year.

Morale boost comes in special way

As disappointing as the loss on Sunday was, the Pirate players stayed late for their annual game with the Exceptional Community Baseball League. Coach Godwin says his players get more out of the day than the special needs players do.

This year there was an added sense of importance for the game.

Earlier in the week 16-year old Sarah Vaughn, whose name graces the special needs field at Elm Street Park, passed away unexpectedly. It was a tough week for many with the league and I think everyone enjoyed the game with the Pirates even more this time out.

Godwin says it always puts things in perspective. Sports provides a great outlet for the game of life. But sometimes life trumps sports, whether we like it or not.

Four games to go in the regular season, and then it's off to the AAC Tournament. The Pirates, despite losing two out of three to USF, still appear as a solid number two seed for a regional, perhaps in Raleigh against North Carolina State.

First up is Campbell at 6:30 this evening, and then the Pirates will look for a long winning streak down in Florida.

BB

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