East Carolina is scheduled to open the 2025 baseball season on Friday with a doubleheader against George Mason at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

Games against the Patriots originally were set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but the series was compacted due to the weather forecast.

Sophomore left-hander Ethan Norby is scheduled to throw the first pitch of the season at noon on Friday.

Norby appeared in 20 games during a 46-17 season in 2024 for ECU with 10 starts. He compiled a 4-0 record with a 3.79 earned run average. Norby logged 63 strikeouts with 25 walks in 59 and one-third innings.

Norby is a program legacy, the younger brother of former second baseman Connor Norby, who made his major league debut with Baltimore last season and was subsequently traded to Miami, where former Pirate, Clayton McCullough, is the new manager of the Marlins. Norby had nine home runs in 45 MLB games last season.

Freshmen righties

The second game will begin 45 minutes after the completion of the first game with freshman right-hander Bradley Zayac tabbed to toe the rubber for the Pirates. Zayac was twice a second team all-state selection in Virginia for Grassfield High School in Chesapeake.

Another freshman right-hander, Sean Jenkins, will go for ECU on Saturday at 2 p.m. He was all-state as a senior at Fred T. Foard in Hickory. He had 260 strikeouts in 129 innings in the prep ranks.

The youth of the pitching rotation for the first weekend is the combined result of some injuries and a roster that features 27 new players.

Pirates picked in AAC

The Pirates have been picked to win their sixth straight regular season championship in the American Athletic Conference but are not in D1 Baseball’s season-opening national rankings, probably due to the degree of personnel transition from the hosts of the 2024 Greenville regional.

ECU still has 16 returning players, including returning position players Ryley Johnson and Dixon Williams. Johnson was errorless in 142 chances in center field last season while hitting .339 with four home runs and 33 RBIs, He had team highs in stolen bases (23) and walks (46).

Williams hit .308 last year with nine home runs and 43 RBIs. A junior from D.H. Conley, Williams has been practicing more at second base in the preseason than at third, where he played primarily as a sophomore. His versatility gives Coach Cliff Godwin a number of defensive placement possibilities.

Cliff approaching school record

Godwin has a 397-186-1 record as he enters his 11th season as head coach at his alma mater. Only Gary Overton of the Pirate radio broadcast team has more wins at ECU, going 427-237-1 from 1985 to 1987.

Godwin will know more about his team after the George Mason series and games the following week with Campbell and North Carolina.

George Mason

George Mason is coming off a 21-32 season in which the Patriots were 7-17 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. ECU leads the series, 47-30, and is 9-0 against GMU since 2000.

The Patriots feature James Quinn-Irons, who hit .302 in 2024 with 13 homers and 43 RBIs.

GMU had a .283 team batting average last year but had an overall ERA of 7.14.

Graduate right-hander Sam Lavin is the scheduled starter in game one for the visitors. He was 8-2 with a 3.14 ERA for St. Olaf last season as the Oles went 30-14 overall and 17-3 in the Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Looking at non-league lineup

Warren Nolan rated ECU’s nonconference strength of schedule as No. 7 nationally last year.

Here’s a ranking of the Pirates’ 2025 opponents outside the AAC.

1, UNC (Feb. 21, Greenville; Feb. 22, Durham; Feb. 23, Chapel Hill) … DI Baseball has the Tar Heels No. 6 in the preseason. ECU took the series, 2-1, in 2024.

2, Duke (March 25, Durham) … Returnees Kyle Johnson and Ben Miller had home runs for the No. 9 Blue Devils in a 5-2 win in Greenville last season. Duke starts 2025 at No. 11.

3, N.C. State (April 8, Greenville; April 22, Raleigh) … Coach Elliot Avent enters his 29th season with the Wolfpack with 10 freshmen, 10 transfers and a No. 13 national ranking.

4, Indiana State (March 1, Greenville) … The Sycamores are coming off a 44-15 season and have made the NCAA Tournament four of the last five season — but lost 32 players.

5, UNC Wilmington (March 18, Fayetteville; April 1, Wilmington; April 15, Greenville) … The Seahawks received votes in national preseason polls after going 0-2 against ECU in 2024.

6, Coastal Carolina (March 7-9, Greenville) … The Chanticleers will get a quick read on their potential with early matchups at home against Kansas State and Washington.

7, Virginia Tech (March 2, Greenville) … First baseman Garrett Michel is back after a wrist injury limited him to nine games in 2024. He hit .345 in making Freshman All American in 2023.

8, Virginia Commonwealth (March 11-12, Richmond) … The Rams and Richmond were tied for first in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll.

9, Campbell (Feb. 18, Buies Creek; May 13, Greenville) … The Camels will be looking to extend a streak of four straight 1-run wins over the Pirates under new coach Chris Marx.

10, Old Dominion (Feb. 25, Greenville) … The Monarchs start the 2025 season at Georgia Tech after going 31-26 last season with a split against the Pirates.

11, Elon (April 2, Greenville; April 29, Elon) … The Phoenix start the season at No. 1 Texas A&M, which is coached by Elon alumnus and former assistant coach Jim Schlossnagle.

12, William & Mary (March 14-15, Greenville) … The Tribe has a new coach, Rob McCoy, a 16-year veteran at Niagara, who takes over a 32-26 program.

13, Kent State (Feb. 28, Greenville) … The Flashes will be ECU’s opening opponent in the Keith LeClair Classic. After going 27-27, Ken State is picked second in the Mid-American Conference.

14, George Mason (Feb. 14 (2), Feb. 15, Greenville) … The Patriots were pitching poor during a losing season in 2024, but are hoping transfers will bolster the mound corps.

15, Gardner Webb (Fayetteville, March 4) … Coming off a 22-31 campaign, the Bulldogs are 0-2 against ECU in games in 2010 and 2013.

Early domination

ECU has swept its last two season-opening series with Rider (2024) and George Washington (2023).

The Pirates were stunned to start the 2022 campaign as Bryant posted three wins against their hosts.

ECU recovered to go 46-21 in 2022, winning AAC regular season and tournament championships before taking visiting Texas to a third game in an NCAA Super Regional.