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 2021 Football Recruiting Class | ECU 2021-22 Hoops Recruiting Class

From the Anchor Desk
Pirates aim for AAC tourney and beyond

May 21, 2019 By Brian Bailey Leave a Comment

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

East Carolina wrapped up its record-setting regular season on a down note, falling to Memphis 10-9 on Saturday at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

While the final game didn’t go the Pirates’ way, most of the rest of the season most certainly did. The Pirates set a new American Athletic Conference regular season record by going 20-4 in league play.

“Lots of people have asked me to reflect on what that means,” said ECU coach Cliff Godwin on Saturday. “I’m proud of everyone within our program. That was one of our goals, to win the regular season title. It certainly wasn’t our only goal and we’ve got a lot of work to still do.”

ECU coach Cliff Godwin takes in a close-up view of practice in Clearwater, FL, on Monday, May 20, 2019, as the Pirates prepared for their Tuesday opener with Wichita State. Godwin was  named American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year on Monday. (Submitted still frame)

That work starts in Clearwater, Florida, as the Pirates look to defend their 2018 American Tournament title from a year ago.

There’s also NCAA seeding to play for this week. ECU began the week with an RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) of 5. That RPI can still fluctuate a little in tournament play, but teams won’t get extra points for road wins because of the neutral sites. Also, the way the standings played out, the Pirates have better RPI teams in their half of the bracket, which consists of Tuesday’s opponent Wichita State along with Houston and Connecticut.

ECU assistant coach Jeff Palumbo watches Monday’s practice from behind the screen. (Submitted still frame)

Monday in Clearwater featured a short round of infield for each team at Spectrum Field, and then batting practice at one of the side fields. It’s all part of the Philadelphia Phillies spring training home. The main stadium is also home of the Clearwater Threshers of the Florida State League in minor league baseball.

Although most of the seats will be empty throughout the week, this is a great venue for the teams. It’s a reward for a long season. The trick is to win and then get a day off. Win again and take another day off. That’s the ECU plan for sure.

Monday also featured a day of awards in the league.

East Carolina’s Jake Agnos was named as the American’s Pitcher of the Year.

“It’s an awesome accomplishment. A lot of hard work went into it. I’m so grateful to be a part of this team, ” said Agnos. “I certainly couldn’t have done it without these guys around me. I’m excited, but that’s not why I came to East Carolina University. We’re not done yet. We’ve got a long season left. We have much bigger goals then that.”

Godwin, in his 5th season, was named as the AAC Coach of the Year.

“It’s really not about me,” said Godwin. “This is a total team effort and I’m very proud of what we have accomplished so far. We have reached a goal or two, but we’ve got a long way to go. We just want to get one percent better every time we go out.”

Six Pirates made the first team all-conference squad: Agnos and Jake Kuchmaner on the mound, Jake Washer behind the plate, Spencer Brickhouse as the DH and Alec Burleson and Bryant Packard in the outfield. Brickhouse and Burleson also made the second team, Burley as a utility player and Brickhouse as the first baseman.

Jake Agnos was named AAC Pitcher of the Year on Monday. (Submitted still frame)

As far as the tournament goes for East Carolina it will be a true balancing act.

On the one hand, Cliff Godwin preaches championships. He’d love to add a third tournament title to his resume this week. The Pirates are the top seed and the favorites in this event.

On the other hand this team will be hosting a regional next weekend in Greenville. Coach Godwin wants his team playing its best baseball. He also wants this team to be healthy with fresh legs, fired up for the stretch run. That carrot of a national seed is also dangling in front of the Pirates. There is no easy way to get to Omaha, but playing at home in the NCAA Super Regionals certainly helps!

The key to both winning this tournament and being fresh next weekend will be on the mound. Alec Burleson will start game one on Tuesday against Wichita State. Jake Agnos will start in game two. Burley needs a big game with minimal bullpen help. Even if he leaves the game early, winning is the critical component because that means a day off on Wednesday.

Thankfully the weather looks good for this week. That certainly wasn’t the case last year when teams were forced to play game after game to try and get the event in, which they did.

The ECU postseason is off and running in Clearwater. Here’s hoping for a nice run this week, an even better run next week, and a Clark-LeClair NCAA Super Regional in two weeks.

Hang on, because this could be a lot of fun.

ECU 2019 BASEBALL SCHEDULE
PIRATES AIM FOR AAC TOURNEY TITLE AND BEYOND
ROAD TO OMAHA GOES THROUGH CLEARWATER
MEMPHIS AVOIDS SWEEP BY ECU
PIRATES TAKE SERIES WITH MEMPHIS
CAN PIRATES REPEAT HISTORY?
ECU ERUPTS FOR 19-10 WIN
PIRATES SQUEEZE CAMPBELL
AMERICAN CHAMPS GET FITTING WELCOME HOME
PIRATES INCHING CLOSER TO PRIME NCAA SEED
Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Filed Under: News & Features, Photos

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Replay the Brian Bailey Show

Replay the Brian Bailey Show

The Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate Radio 1250 and 930 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. Brian's topic on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, was the high school basketball playoffs. His guests were Kinston coach Perry Tyndall, Farmville Central coach Larry Williford, J.H. Rose coach James Rankins and D.H. Conley girls coach Shawn Moore. ... Replay show

ECU Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2020-21 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2021 Baseball Schedule
Tweets by bonesville

Recent News & Features

AUDIO FEATURE
Joe Dooley presser

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Dooley walks dogs as Tigers loom

Basketball News
Dooley sidelined by virus

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Pirates turn page to 2021

AUDIO FEATURE
Joe Dooley presser

Basketball News
ECU hoops in limbo for the time being

Basketball News
Pirates, Bearcats on hold

Basketball News
Bulls use run to top Pirates, 69-63

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Pirates eye USF after tough time at Tulane

Basketball News
Wave evens season series

More News & Features

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 DAILY WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, January 23, 2021

GREG VACEK'S DAILY WEB ROUNDUP
Friday, January 22, 2021

GREG VACEK'S DAILY WEB ROUNDUP
Thursday, January 21, 2021

GREG VACEK'S DAILY WEB ROUNDUP
Tuesday, January 19, 2021

GREG VACEK'S DAILY WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, January 18, 2021

GREG VACEK'S DAILY WEB ROUNDUP
Sunday, January 17, 2021

GREG VACEK'S DAILY WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, January 16, 2021

More Web Roundups

Copyright © 2021 Bonesville.net · Website by Seaport Webworks. · Log in · Privacy Policy