Officially, East Carolina was the visiting team for last Tuesday’s top 11 showdown against Duke. But you never would have known it by the atmosphere at Durham’s Jack Coombs Field. Among the announced crowd of 1,015, a majority of those in attendance were wearing purple or gold and pulling for the Pirates. While that may… [ Continue Reading ]
Recent News & Features
Baseball
Holba helps ECU top Tigers
MEMPHIS — Sophomore right-hander Chris Holba of East Carolina improved to 9-0 as the Pirates won the opening game of their American Athletic Conference series at Memphis, 5-1, on Friday night. Holba started and went seven and one-third innings. He allowed seven hits and one run (earned) while walking one and striking out four. Davis… [ Continue Reading ]
View from the East on Football
Results needed from defensive hires
East Carolina ranked 129th and last in the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2017 in total defense, allowing 541.7 yards per game, and scoring defense, yielding 45.0 points per contest. Coach Scottie Montgomery addressed factors that led to those deficiencies by hiring ECU alumnus David Blackwell as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Blackwell was involved in… [ Continue Reading ]
View from the East on Baseball
Godwin involved on both ends of streak
Duke has not beaten East Carolina in baseball since 1998, a streak of 17 wins for the Pirates that was extended Tuesday night with a 9-2 victory for ECU at Jack Coombs Field in Durham. Pirates coach Cliff Godwin has contributed to the success against the Blue Devils as a player going back to the… [ Continue Reading ]
Baseball
Pirates bounce back at Duke
DURHAM — Coming off a series loss at home to South Florida, No. 12 East Carolina found an abundance of offense in a 9-2 win over No. 9 Duke at Jack Coombs Field on Tuesday night. The Pirates had 15 hits with Jake Washer going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Dwanya Williams-Sutton went 3-for-5 with an… [ Continue Reading ]
From the Anchor Desk
Pirates pivot to Duke after first series loss
National rankings make for great fan talk. Those same rankings put a target on your back. South Florida came to Greenville this weekend and set sights on a series win over a top ten program on the road. The Bulls were blown out in game one. USF rallied to take the next two games and… [ Continue Reading ]
Insights from Brett
Pirates enter key stretch in drive to postseason
The East Carolina baseball team put the first two men on base in the bottom of the second Friday against South Florida’s Shane McClanahan, a left-hander who throws in the mid-90s and is projected as a high first round Major League draft pick come June. Already trailing by a run and knowing that scoring might… [ Continue Reading ]
Baseball
Bulls edge ECU, 5-4
GREENVILLE — South Florida topped East Carolina 5-4 on Sunday to win the American Athletic Conference series with the Pirates two games to one. The Bulls took a 2-0 lead in the first inning against ECU starter Trey Benton (4-5) on a two-run double by Chris Chatfield. Brady Lloyd’s two-out double led to a three-run… [ Continue Reading ]
Baseball
USF evens series with decisive win
GREENVILLE — South Florida evened its American Athletic Conference series at East Carolina on Saturday with a 13-1 win at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Peter Strzelecki (6-2) pitched a complete game as the Bulls improved to 22-13 overall and 6-5 in the AAC. Tyler Smith (5-1) was dealt his first loss of the season for the Pirates… [ Continue Reading ]
The Bradsher Beat
FGCU star foresees culture shock for ECU hoops
Christian Terrell has a message for any current or prospective East Carolina basketball player who might be tempted to play fast and loose with team or university rules or bolt to another program when things get difficult: A program run by Joe Dooley might not be the right fit for you. Terrell, who averaged 12… [ Continue Reading ]
Baseball
Pirates power past USF, 15-2
GREENVILLE — East Carolina collected 17 hits on Friday night and won the opening game of an American Athletic Conference series with South Florida, 15-2, at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Garrett Zech gave the Bulls a 1-0 lead with a home run in the top of the second but the Pirates got the tying run on a… [ Continue Reading ]
Hart-to-heart led to hire of Dooley
Special adviser to the chancellor Dave Hart found a basketball coach tailor-made for East Carolina, one that had already proven himself as a Pirate, albeit before the turn of the millennium. Hart took the personal approach in narrowing the field of candidates and ultimately selecting Joe Dooley. “The interviews we had in our home in… [ Continue Reading ]
Baseball
Packard starts ECU on 3-0 win at Elon
Bryant Packard homered to center on the first pitch of the game as No. 7 East Carolina took a 3-0 win at Elon on Wednesday night. Jake Agnos (3-2), Davis Kirkpatrick, Ryan Ross and Alec Burleson (fourth save) combined for a two-hit shutout. Packard went 3-for-5 with two runs. He doubled with two out in… [ Continue Reading ]