Bonesville: The Authoritative Independent Voice of East Carolina

News & Features from ECU, the AAC and Beyond

  • Home
  • News & Features
  • Recruiting
  • Photos
  • Audio
  • Roundup
  • Comments
  • Legacy Archives

• ECU 2022 Baseball Schedule
• ECU 2022 Football Schedule
• ECU 2021-22 Hoops Schedule
• Recruiting: Football • Hoops

From the Anchor Desk
Lost Weekend in Oxford

February 21, 2017 By Brian Bailey Leave a Comment

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Three blown leads and three closes losses left a bad taste in East Carolina coach Cliff Godwin’s mouth this past weekend.

Godwin’s homecoming to Oxford,  where he was an assistant coach for three seasons at Ole Miss, didn’t go like he had hoped it would.

The perennial SEC power rode the momentum of great, rowdy crowds for three days to a series sweep of the Pirates.

“It was a great atmosphere,” said Godwin in his office on Monday morning. “A great weekend but obviously not the results we were looking for. We competed our butts off. I can’t fault them for the way they competed. They fought hard until the last out yesterday. If you look at the weekend you look at five pitches. If we do things differently on the offensive side or defensive side we’re 3-0 instead of 0-3.”

Godwin maintained that the tough start doesn’t handicap his team going forward. He says his club will certainly bounce back and the sting of the defeats will pay dividends down the road.

“I wouldn’t say we’re in a hole,” he explained. “I just think we had some tough losses this weekend and we’ll be a lot better for it down the road. We’re not going to play a better team in an atmosphere like that for a long time. It was a postseason environment. If you watched the game the crowd was electric. When they got momentum going it was as hard to communicate with our players as it was at Texas Tech. We were the most prepared team that I have ever coached, but it just didn’t work out.”

A record crowd of 12,117 was on hand for Friday night’s opener.

The 33,070 fans in attendance for the series also shattered the former record.

The homecoming was nice for Godwin, but he said he was glad it was over. He’s not sure if he wants to do it again.

“It was emotional,” said Godwin. “I recruited a lot of those guys. We had the bases loaded and Dallas Woolfolk comes in. I recruited that kid. He comes in and throws 95 miles per hour with a slider and he strikes out the side. It’s tough because I love those kids because their families chose Ole Miss and a big part of it was because we recruited them. I’m glad it’s over.”

The series got off to a great start. Dwanya Williams-Sutton led off the game with a solo home run. It was an 11-pitch at-bat, with the 11th pitch exiting the ballpark off of Williams-Sutton’s bat.

“I’ve been coaching for a long time and I have never seen an at-bat like that,” said Godwin. “Even if he hadn’t hit the home run I told him that it was as impressive at-bat that I’ve been a part of as a coach. To start the season off with a home run it was great. It gave us some momentum for a half inning. If we could have gotten that shut down inning in the bottom of the first things could have been a little different.”

Unfortunately that seemed to be the theme all weekend long. Every time the Pirates would get ahead, Ole Miss would trump the effort by either tying or taking the lead.

That was never more evident than in game three, where the Pirates scored four runs in the top of the 6th to take a 6-2 lead. The Rebels countered with a five-run frame that gave them the lead for good, and ultimately the series sweep.

Oddly, the team’s strength in its NCAA Super Regional run last year let the Pirates down in the opening series.

Relievers Sam Lanier and Matt Bridges were lights out a year ago. Lanier took the loss in game two, giving up three earned runs on five hits in an inning of work.

Bridges got only one batter out on Sunday, giving up four earned runs on two hits and a walk.

“The margin of error is razor thin in the game of baseball when two great teams are playing each other,” Godwin concluded. “You’re talking about one pitch, one play in a crucial situation. We want our players to understand how crucial the little things are. If we continue to get better at those things then the rest will take care of itself.”

That series is over but the ECU baseball season is just beginning. The Pirates travel to Campbell on Wednesday before hosting LaSalle this weekend in a three-game series at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

Hopefully these early losses will sting for a while for this ECU baseball team. There should be a chip on the Pirates’ shoulders all season long courtesy of a lost weekend at Ole Miss.

BB

VIEW ECU’S 2017 BASEBALL SCHEDULE

Related

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Filed Under: News & Features

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent News & Features

Baseball News
Worrell’s slam lifts ECU

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Man with deep roots notes Pirates’ progress

Baseball News
Pirates walk off in 10th for sweep

Baseball News
Pirates continue roll

Baseball News
Pirates overtake Houston for 12th straight win

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Pirates grind to success

Baseball News
ECU edges Campbell, 7-6

Baseball News
Pirates clinch AAC crown

Baseball News
ECU captures series, boosts conference lead

Baseball News
Pirates take series opener with Bulls

More News & Features

ECU Schedules

  • ECU 2021 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2020-21 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2021 Baseball Schedule

ECU Recruiting

  • Football Recruiting Class of 2021
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2020
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2019
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2018
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2017
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2021-22
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2020-21
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2019-20
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2018-19
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2017-18
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2016-17
Tweets by bonesville

Past Football Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2019 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2018 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2017 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2016 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2015 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2014 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2013 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2012 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2011 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2010 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2009 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2008 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2007 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2006 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2005 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2004 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2003 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2002 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2001 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2000 Football Schedule
  • Historical Schedules

Past Basketball Schedules

  • ECU 2019-20 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2018-19 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2017-18 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2016-17 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2000-2015 Basketball Archives

Past Baseball Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2019 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2018 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2017 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2016 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2015 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2001-2014 Baseball Archives

Recruiting Class Profiles

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates aim high for interior line talent

ECU Recruiting News
Well stocked Pirates enter fray for O-linemen

ECU Recruiting News
ECU faces uphill battle in hunt for tight ends

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates cast wide net for wide receivers

ECU Recruiting News
Loaded Pirates still courting running backs

ECU Recruiting News
ECU targets quarterbacks of the future

AAC Football Recruiting News
Transfer portal reshaping AAC football programs

Class of 2022 Defensive Report Card
ECU’s former weak link becoming big strength (updated)

Class of 2022 Offensive Report Card
Help is on the way for blocking corps (update 3)

American Athletic Conference Recruiting
Bearcats lead AAC’s early signing push

Class of 2022 In-depth Analysis
Surprises, depth highlight early recruiting haul

VIEW FROM THE EAST
‘What a difference a year makes’

Football Recruiting Report
Prolific receiver Webb may enroll early

Football Recruiting Report
Another gifted running back headed to ECU

Football Recruiting Report
ECU wins pledge from hotly recruited RB Gunn

Football Recruiting Report
Coveted lineman Sacra may enroll early

Football Recruiting Report
Pirates lure a star from DB factory

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Harrell on quest for unanimous effort

Football Recruiting Report
West Craven star Mims sticking close to home

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Pirates ready for preseason camp

Football Recruiting Report
Lineman built his future during COVID layoff

Football Recruiting Report
Norcross star on track for early enrollment

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Pirates pulling from portal

Football Recruiting Report
Big man Allen tapping into ‘nasty side’

Football Recruiting Report
ECU gets one of NC’s top D-line prospects

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Wednesday, May 25, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, May 23, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Sunday, May 22, 2022

Writer Archives

  • Bonesville Staff
  • Brian Bailey
  • Sammy Batten
  • Bethany Bradsher
  • Brett Friedlander
  • Al Myatt
  • NFF
  • Greg Vacek
  • Danny Whitford

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Wednesday, May 25, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, May 23, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Sunday, May 22, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, May 21, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Friday, May 20, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Thursday, May 19, 2022

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Wednesday, May 18, 2022

More Web Roundups

Copyright © 2022 Bonesville.net · Website by Seaport Webworks. · Log in · Privacy Policy