Except for a COVID season when everything was canceled in 2020, East Carolina has not missed the NCAA Tournament since 2017.

Only regular season champion Texas-San Antonio appears assured of an NCAA berth as the American Athletic Conference tournament gets underway Tuesday in Clearwater, FL.

That leaves the seven teams other than the Roadrunners to scrap for the automatic bid that goes to the winner of the league event at BayCare Ballpark, including the Pirates.

Coming off a 1-2 series loss at South Florida, ECU faces the Bulls again in the first round Tuesday in the fourth game of the day. USF (29-23, 16-11 AAC) is the No, 3 seed while the Pirates (29-25, 13-14 AAC) are seeded sixth.

“It’s been eight years since we’ve been in this position,” said ECU coach Cliff Godwin, who hoarded his pitching last weekend. “Our guys will fight this week, and we’ll be playing South Florida, so we’ll be very familiar with each other.”

The Pirates won the previous five AAC regular season titles.

Second team selections absent

ECU leads the overall series with the Bulls, 33-19.

Neither team went full strength to close the regular season. Godwin kept sophomore left-hander Ethan Norby (6-5, 3.65 earned run average) under wraps and Bulls first baseman Sebastian Grieco did not play.

Norby and Grieco (.281, 14 HRs, 47 RBIs) were All-AAC second team selections in balloting by the conference coaches released Monday.

Norby has been announced as the starter for Tuesday and will be opposed by lefty Corey Braun (8-2, 3.11 ERA).

No Dixon Williams?

Colby Wallace was ECU’s only first team selection for All-AAC as a utility player. Wallace is hitting .271 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs. He has 13 mound appearances and three saves.

Braden Burress was a second team selection in the outfield and was a unanimous choice on the All-Freshman team. He is hitting a team-high .388.

First baseman Austin Irby (.277, 7 HRs, 37 RBIs) was an All-Freshman team choice.

Conspicuously missing from recognition was junior Dixon Williams, who is hitting .294 with team highs in home runs (11) and RBIs (42), great numbers in terms of power production in traditional terms for a second baseman.

Coach of Year

Pat Hallmark of UTSA was unanimous in the voting for Coach of the Year, an honor Godwin has won four times.

The Roadrunners have made a marked improvement, going from 32-24 overall and 17-10 in the league in 2024 to 42-11 and 23-4 this year.

Former Indiana State player and coach Mitch Hannahs has engineered a nice turnaround in his first year at USF. The Bulls were 26-29 overall last season and 11-16 in the AAC.

Burly with Cards

Former AAC Scholar Athlete of the Year Alec Burleson played in the NCAA Tournament in 2018 and 2019 for the Pirates.

He was a second-round pick by St. Louis in 2020 after seeing action at ECU as an outfielder, first baseman, designated hitter and pitcher.

Burleson made his debut for the Cardinals in 2022.

He went 2-for-2 with a double for St. Louis while playing right field in a 11-4 win over visiting Philadelphia on Monday night. Burleson is hitting .285.

Potential off day

The ECU-USF winner won’t play again until Thursday when they will face the Tuesday winner between Wichita State and Charlotte at approximately 5 p.m.

The loser between the Pirates and Bulls will come back for an elimination game on Wednesday at roughly 5 p.m. against the Shockers-49ers loser.

Winning, obviously, preserves pitching.

Seeking consistency

ECU has played well enough at times, but its range of performance has varied.

Home runs in the late innings by Williams, Irby and Jack Herring in a 6-5 loss on Saturday might provide a semblance of momentum.

In effect, the NCAA Tournament starts Tuesday for the Pirates.

“We’re going to need to learn how to play consistent baseball for us to have a chance,” Godwin said. “Anything can happen in a tournament, and we’ll see what happens.”