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 Football Schedule
• ECU 2022-23 Hoops Schedule
• ECU 2023 Baseball Schedule

— Recruiting Thumbnails —
Football: 2023 • Hoops: 2023-24

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Pirates gain momentum

April 19, 2022 By Al Myatt Leave a Comment

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

East Carolina has looked like the team many envisioned in 2022 in winning its last four games — and eight of its last 10.

Pirates coach Cliff Godwin focused on the last four victories on Monday morning.

“We had a great week,” said the Pirates coach. “We’ve been on the road all week, … Big win at Elon, 7-1, and then go into (Central Florida)… Obviously they were doing well in the conference (5-1) and our guys did a really good job. Got behind twice on Thursday night, 2-0, and 6-2, and responded and played really well all weekend and our pitching was really good.

Cliff Godwin (Twitter.com/ECUBaseball)

“We used four pitchers in the first two games, with Ryder (Giles) and (Garrett) Saylor in game one, and then Kuch (Jake Kuchmaner) and Danny (Beal) in game two, and then our bullpen was fresh on Saturday and Jake Hunter gave us a quality start.

“We knew he wouldn’t go more than three innings and (Josh) Grosz was solid, (Trey) Yesavage was good. And then we got Wyatt (Lunsford-Shenkman) chipping in there for the ninth inning. So really well-played baseball all week.”

A 10-run inning fourth inning Thursday set the tone for the UCF series after the Pirates had fallen behind, 6-2.

“They just did a really good job,” Godwin said. “They responded. There was no panic in the dugout. The starting pitcher that we were facing, Connor Staine, had a zero ERA going into Thursday’s game and our guys put together a lot of tough at-bats and made them work and came up with some big hits and they just really played well.”

ECU won 12-7, 10-0 and 10-1 at UCF.

“Well, the scores looked like total domination,” Godwin said. “I don’t know what inning, would have to go back and look, I mean, we were up four, nothing for a while on Friday and then ended up, … And then Saturday, I think it was 0-0 into the fifth inning. And we put up eight-spot in the fifth inning. So that was a big deal. …. So I just thought our guys just played really good baseball. They played together, they pulled for one another. Guys that pitched, just passed the ball along to the next guy. Offensively, we chained very tough at-bats together, up and down the lineup.”

Adjustment with Giles

Ryder Giles has gone from starting shortstop to starting pitcher this season. Giles is 4-0 with a 0.89 earned run average.

“Well, it’s, of course, not how we planned it going into the season, but Ryder just continually does a good job,” Godwin said. “And you want to put your best foot forward on a Friday night. And he just pounds the strike zone, makes his pitches. For the offense on the other side, he makes them have to earn everything that they get and he’s totally composed.

“He’s tough, but the thing I’m most proud about Ryder is just the selflessness he’s shown to go, ‘Hey coach, I just want to win baseball games. So whatever you need from me for the team.’ And right now we need him to pitch on a weekend so that doesn’t allow him to play as much just position player-wise because his arm, it takes him a lot longer to recover when he’s going out there throwing 80, 90 pitches compared to throwing in relief and throwing 20 pitches. So he’s been great and (Jake) Agnos has played great at short.

“Just really appreciate those guys being selfless and doing whatever the team needs.”

Kuch apparently alright

Kuchmaner had pitched five and one-third scoreless innings when he came out of Friday’s game with an arm issue. The senior lefty had allowed two hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

“You go five innings in this day and age of baseball and not give up any runs,” Godwin said. “And we had some long offensive innings in there and it was warm. So it’s not like he got cold, but I don’t know. … I don’t think it’s serious. Will he be able to pitch this weekend? That’s to be seen, but I don’t think it’s going to be a season-ending injury if that’s what people are saying out there.

“I think it’s muscle stuff. … We feel pretty confident that it’s just muscle soreness. It’s not anything major.”

Bats get busy

The Pirates had 41 hits in the UCF series.

“It just amazes me, people just think that hitting is so easy,” Godwin said. “Nothing’s changed.

“Our guys just have continued to work hard and stay the course. And it’s amazing with so much information out there on social media and just people talking, nothing’s changed. Our guys have shown up and gone to work every single day and done what they’re supposed to do. And now their hard work’s paying off.

“And when we weren’t playing well, it didn’t help by… they’re 18- and 22-year olds. And when they read the stuff and it’s not good, then they start believing it. No matter how much I try to direct them to, ‘Hey man, don’t listen to that stuff. Because if you believe it, when it’s good, you’re going to believe it when it’s bad.’ Our guys are a good offensive unit. As I’ve said, I thought we’re going to be good offensively this year.

“We did not start off well, but I would say if you go up and pull our conference stats up, our guys have done a really good job in conference to swing the bat and score runs.

“We just needed to get the right nine guys out there and figure out which guys need to play. And of course have to move Ryder to the rotation. We just had to maneuver some pieces around. We just had to figure out what pieces fit in the right spots.”

Worrell steps up

ECU center fielder Bryson Worrell is the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week after hitting .438 (7-for-16) in four games with two home runs, five RBIs and four runs.

“Bryson has done a great job,” Godwin said. “He’s worked really hard. He’s stayed a lot more composed this year when things haven’t been going well for him. He puts a ton of pressure on the defense because he can run, he can hit, he can bunt, he gets on first base. Of course, he can steal bases, plays a great center field, and yeah, he’s been swinging the bat great lately.

“I think it’s just him going up there and you know, getting the pitch he’s looking for and getting his swing off, and I mean, he played great this weekend.”

Seahawks visit tonight

The Pirates (22-15) host UNC-Wilmington (21-13) tonight at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+).

ECU took a 3-1 road win over the Seahawks on March 22 with a pair of unearned runs in the eighth inning.

“It’s always very tough,” Godwin said of the regional matchup. “Look, UNCW’s a very, very good program. It’s a rivalry game. They want to beat us really bad and we are going to do our best to go out there and compete at the highest level. So hopefully we have a packed house since we’ve been on the road for a week and the fans come out and support our guys for sure. So it’ll be a good matchup.”

Trip to Tulane

The Pirates return to the road for a series at Tulane that starts Friday at 3 p.m. (ESPN+). ECU is atop the AAC standings with a 7-2 record while the Green Wave is tied for second with Cincinnati at 6-3.

ECU is 11-7 in away games this season.

“It’s always challenging going on the road,” Godwin said. “I mean, none of our games this year have been easy and none of them the rest of the year will be easy. So we’ll have our work cut out for us. Coach (Travis) Jewett does a great job at Tulane and they’re very good.”

ECU 2022 BASEBALL SCHEDULE
PIRATES GAIN MOMENTUM
ECU FACES UPHILL BATTLE IN HUNT FOR TIGHT ENDS
PIRATES COMPLETE SWEEP OF UCF
ECU BLANKS KNIGHTS, 10-0, TO TAKE SERIES
BIG INNING LIFTS ECU OVER KNIGHTS
MOYLAN LEADS PIRATES PAST ELON, 7-1
OFFENSE COMES BACK IN PURPLE-GOLD GAME
PURPLE-GOLD SPRING GAME PHOTO GALLERY
POST-GAME AUDIO: COACHES & PLAYERS

Related

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Filed Under: Baseball, News & Features

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Recent News & Features

ECU Recruiting News
More help is on the way to ECU secondary

Basketball News
Porter leads Shockers past Pirates

VIEW FROM THE EAST: FAU
The new American

Basketball News
Pirates rally past Tulsa to snap losing streak

ECU Recruiting News
Portal delivers blue chipper RaRa Dillworth

VIEW FROM THE EAST: CHARLOTTE
The new American

Basketball News
Owls pull away from ECU in second half

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review (UPDATED)
Pirates tap transfer portal for more talent

Basketball News
Small matter costly in ECU loss

VIEW FROM THE EAST
The new American

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

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
More help is on the way to ECU secondary

ECU Recruiting News
Portal delivers blue chipper RaRa Dillworth

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review (UPDATED)
Pirates tap transfer portal for more talent

AAC Early Signing Review
New members dive into AAC recruiting wars

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review
First wave of recruits just the beginning

ECU Recruiting News
Brown finds way to ECU through portal

ECU Recruiting News
Transfer safety McDaniel destined for ECU

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates land coveted Spartanburg quarterback

ECU Recruiting News
Swift ECU recruit ‘in a class of his own’

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates win out for Georgia prep linebacker

ECU Recruiting News
Linebacker with pedigree charts path to ECU

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates find a gem in Palmetto State receiver

ECU Recruiting News
Official visit swayed North Mecklenburg star

ECU Recruiting News
Physical Georgia receiver poses tough matchup

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates project lineman Durant as center

ECU Recruiting News
ECU spotted potential in Conley lineman

ECU Recruiting News
ECU lands fleet-footed Georgia defensive back

ECU Recruiting News
‘Football town’ helps draw Short to Pirates

ECU Recruiting News
ECU targets edge rushers

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

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, January 30, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Sunday, January 29, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, January 28, 2023

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
Monday, January 30, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Sunday, January 29, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, January 28, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Friday, January 27, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Thursday, January 26, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Wednesday, January 25, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, January 23, 2023

More Web Roundups

Copyright © 2023 Bonesville.net · Website by Seaport Webworks. · Log in · Privacy Policy