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BAILEY'S
TAKE ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the
Anchor Desk
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
By Brian
Bailey |
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ECU ironing out
wrinkles in early play
By
Brian Bailey
©2012 Bonesville.net
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East Carolina split its four games last week,
winning at Old Dominion but
falling in two out of three games in the Keith LeClair Classic.
The Pirates
dropped a 6-4 decision to Purdue
on Saturday before
beating Western Carolina 3-1
later that day. On Sunday, ECU
dropped a 2-1 decision to
Maryland to conclude play in the Classic.
The Pirates and Terps played a tense, low-scoring game on a cold
February afternoon at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
The two teams were tied at one in the ninth, when East Carolina
committed a pair of throwing errors that lead to the Terps scoring the
game winning run.
Former Greenville Rose High School star Tanner Merritt, who has really
pitched well in relief so far this season, threw wide of second on what
could have been a double play that would have ended the frame.
Outfielder Jay Cannon followed with an error that set the Terps up with
runners at second and third with one out.
Maryland’s Alfredo Rodriguez made the Pirates pay by giving the Terps
the lead with a base hit off of Pirate closer Drew Reynolds for the 2-1
win.
ECU coach Billy Godwin told reporters afterward that he knows his club
hasn’t hit on all cylinders just yet. He says this squad has to execute
better in key situations.
“We hit some balls pretty good and then scuffled in executing the little
things in the game,” said Godwin. “But it’s early and we aren’t going to
hit panic buttons.”
The Pirates have all week this week to work on some of that executing.
They will certainly work on getting the ball down in bunt situations.
There were a couple of key errors by pitchers this weekend.
Godwin hopes to continue to work out the kinks and have this team
playing its best baseball when play begins in Conference USA.
Lady Pirates stay hot
Give credit to East Carolina women’s basketball coach Heather Macy and
her staff for not throwing in the towel a couple of weeks ago. At that
time, after a 14th straight loss, the ECU women were just 6-17 overall
and 0-10 in Conference USA.
Since then the ECU women have won four of their last five games. The
Lady Pirates slipped by Marshall on the road on Sunday 63-62 in overtime
to improve their record to 10-18 overall and 4-11 in C-USA.
This ECU women’s program has been through so much. Coach Macy and her
staff deserve a big pat on the back for turning this thing around. Teams
want to be playing their best basketball in March, and this team looks
to be doing just that.
The Lady Pirates close out the regular season on Thursday night hosting
Southern Miss at Williams Arena.
The women then head to Memphis for the Conference USA tournament which
begins on March 7th.
Big achievement by
ECU women’s track
Congratulations to the East Carolina women’s indoor track team, which
captured its first-ever Conference USA title on Sunday in Birmingham,
Alabama.
The Pirates beat defending champion Central Florida 123-113½. It’s the
program's first conference championship since ECU won the 2000 Colonial
Athletic Association outdoor title.
Coach Curt Kraft was also honored by C-USA as the league’s coach of the
year.
BB
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02/28/2012 04:22 AM |
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