East Carolina has recovered well from starting the American Athletic Conference schedule by going 1-2 in a series at Houston.
A 9-game winning streak has the Pirates (29-8) up to No. 7 in the D1Baseball rankings.
ECU is 7-2 in the AAC and sits atop the league standings as Houston has slipped to 6-3 with losses at Wichita State and at home against South Florida.
The Pirates start a series on the road against the Shockers on Friday at 7 p.m. Wichita State is 21-15 overall and is tied for third in the AAC at 5-4.
The series at Eck Stadium in Wichita includes matchups on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. All three games are scheduled for ESPN+ and will be on the radio on 94.3 FM.
ECU has an 8-7 lead in the series with Wichita State after taking two of three in Greenville on April 8-10 last season.
The venue
Eck Stadium, home of Tyler Field, has synthetic turf. The dimensions are 335 feet down both left and right field lines and 390 to center.
Winds often blow from right field to left — which helps right-handed hitters more than a heavy left-handed lineup such as ECU’s.
Capacity is listed as 7,851.
Interim coach
Loren Hibbs was named interim coach of the Shockers in December of 2022.
Hibbs is a former Wichita State outfielder and assistant coach.
He was head coach at Charlotte from 1993 to 2019, winning 819 games.
Midweek challenges
At No. 7 nationally, the Pirates are in contention for a top eight seed in the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to successfully defending their AAC regular season title, ECU has a demanding string of midweek contests that will impact seeding. The Pirates will be looking to defend their AAC Tournament championship in Clearwater, FL, on May 23-28.
The Pirates visit N.C. State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. (ESPNU) after returning from Wichita. ECU was 3-5 in midweek matchups before hitting six home runs in a 13-9 win over the Wolfpack on April 4.
A 6-2 win at Charlotte on Wednesday night put the Pirates over .500, at 6-5, in midweek contests.
ECU will host North Carolina on Wednesday, May 3, at 5 p.m. (ESPN+). The Pirates are 2-0 against the Tar Heels, ranked No. 18, at present.
After a trip to Cincinnati, May 5-7, ECU ventures to Old Dominion on May 9 for a 7 p.m. start. No video stream from Norfolk is scheduled.
The Pirates host No. 11 Campbell, which is 2-0 against ECU in 2023 on May 16 (ESPN+, 6 p.m.). The Camels have taken 1-run wins in Buies Creek and Fayetteville.
The Pirates complete the regular season at South Florida, May 18-20, before going to the league tournament in nearby Clearwater.
Then the NCAA brackets are released on the Monday after the AAC Tournament.
Fans thrive on bragging rights from the approaching regional rivalries, which also will impact NCAA seedings.
That is a look down the road for the Pirates, who must focus on the present business in Kansas this weekend.
As ECU alumnus and coach Cliff Godwin says, “it’s always about winning the next pitch.”
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