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Audio: Brian Bailey
Show |
 The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on
 Mondays
at 6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest this week was
East Carolina head
baseball coach Cliff
Godwin (right):
Replay
show... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Owls streak past ECU |
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PHILADELPHIA — East Carolina
used an active zone defense
and a solid effort from
sophomore forward Caleb
White in a 67-49 American
Athletic Conference win over
Central Florida in Williams
Arena at Minges Coliseum on
Saturday evening. White
scored 21 points and
controlled a career-high
nine rebounds as the Pirates
improved to 10-13 overall
and 3-7 in the AAC. ...
More... |
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Next: ECU at Tulsa |
Wednesday, 7 pm
| TV: ESPNU |
The Season
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BASEBALL |
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Virginia completes sweep |
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GREENVILLE — East Carolina
used an active zone defense
and a solid effort from
sophomore forward Caleb
White in a 67-49 American
Athletic Conference win over
Central Florida in Williams
Arena at Minges Coliseum on
Saturday evening. White
scored 21 points and
controlled a career-high
nine rebounds as the Pirates
improved to 10-13 overall
and 3-7 in the AAC. ...
More... |
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Next: ECU at ODU |
Wednesday, 3 pm |
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BASEBALL |
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Virginia takes
season opener |
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 Virginia's
Nathan Kirby allowed
no runs and three
hits through seven
innings as the
Cavaliers used
unearned runs in the
fourth and fifth
innings for a 3-1
win at East Carolina
on Friday in the
season opener for
both teams.
Kirby, regarded as
one of the top
left-handed major
league prospects in
the college ranks,
struck out five and
walked two. The
Cavaliers are ranked
No. 2 at the outset
of 2015 after
finishing as
runner-up to
Vanderbilt in last
season's College
World Series. ...
Story & pictures... |
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Pictured: Former
East Carolina player
Cliff Godwin looks
on from the third
base coach's box in
the Pirates' season
opener with Virginia
on Friday at Clark-LeClair
Stadium. The game
was Godwin's first
as head coach for
his alma mater.
(Photo by W.A.
Myatt) |
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BASEBALL PREVIEW |
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Pirates recalibrate
for run at Omaha |
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 When
Cliff Godwin first
put on a Pirate
uniform to play
baseball for East
Carolina, Gary
Overton was in his
final year as the
team's head coach
and ball was played
at Harrington Field.
But change was underway. The
next year, Keith LeClair was
hired as the new head coach.
LeClair brought with him a
hunger for “Omaha,” the site
of the NCAA's National
Championship. ...
More
from Woody Peele... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Tyson leads Pirates
past Memphis |
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 GREENVILLE
— Freshman B.J.
Tyson led a
second-half surge by
East Carolina that
produced a 64-53
American Athletic
Conference win over
Memphis before an
appreciative crowd
of 4,519 in Williams
Arena at Minges
Coliseum on Tuesday
night.
Tyson scored 20 of his
game-high 23 points in the
final 20 minutes as the
Pirates overcame a 25-21
deficit at the half. The
left-handed guard hit 10 of
his 14 field goal attempts
as ECU improved to 11-13
overall and 4-7 in league
play. ...
Story & photos... |
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Pictured: B.J. Tyson
displays his
excitement after an
ECU run against
Memphis. The
freshman guard
scored 23 points,
with 20 coming in
the second half as
the Pirates rallied
to even the season
series with the
Tigers. (Photo by
W.A. Myatt.) |
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By
Brian Bailey
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
We're never going to accept losing around here ... It's not okay to lose
... I don't care if they're ranked number two or ranked number one or
who they are ... There are no moral victories when you lose... — Cliff
Godwin
Second-ranked Virginia came to town and swept East Carolina in Cliff
Godwin's debut as the head baseball coach of the Pirates. The Cavaliers
have a nice mix of experience and youth and feature a pitching staff
that will rank among the nation's best all season.
East Carolina didn't have to play a perfect game in order to win, but
key mistakes cost them dearly.
The Pirates dropped two inning-ending pop-ups in the first game of the
series, which led to a run in one case and scored a run in the second
instance. Those kinds of errors are killers in a close game against a
good team.
Saturday's first game of the doubleheader included a disastrous second
inning in which the Pirates gave up five runs on a single hit.
Godwin says there were other miscues as well, but nothing that can't be
corrected.
"We need to get better," said Godwin. "I mean we're going to lift
weights tomorrow and we're going to do infield stuff and I don't care
what the weather is like, because we are going to get better."
Add in the cold temperatures both days against a great pitching staff
and it's one long weekend for the offense.
"I mean, look, [UVa pitcher] Connor Jones is really good," Godwin
explained. "You guys watched the best pitching staff in the country this
weekend and I’m not giving our hitters any excuse for why we didn’t
swing the bats. Connor Jones has major league type stuff. Brandon
Waddell left some pitches up and we had a better approach and got some
better swings off of him."
Confidence is a big key in baseball and Godwin has to wonder where his
team is after the three losses.
"We need to get our stuff together, play better, that was what was
said," he explained. "If you are mentally weak in this game, it’s going
to affect you and you’re not going to play very long because it’s a game
of failures. Hopefully we don’t have any infielders that have that
effect on them."
Godwin knew going in just how difficult the assignment was going to be.
Add in the injury to top pitcher Reid Love, who will also play outfield,
and the suspension of Bryce Harmon and two other players, and the cards
were stacked against this team from the start.
Love was scheduled to throw some to start the week. Harmon is still
listed as day to day.
"The positives are we played one of the best teams in the country and we
competed hard," said Godwin. "They [the Pirates] know we can play with
those guys."
The weather was certainly a factor on the first weekend, and could be
more of a problem this week. ECU is scheduled to play Old Dominion on
Wednesday, but that game is in doubt because of the chance of snow.
The weather isn't expected to get much better until Saturday, meaning
the first day of the LeClair Classic is also a big question mark.
Just how cold was it this weekend?
I talked to Virginia assistant coach and former ECU assistant Kevin
McMullan on Saturday morning before the doubleheader.
"I played ball in Pennsylvania and I was never as cold as I was last
night," McMullan said, referring to the previous night's series opener.
"I don't know if I didn't dress right or what, but I was freezing."
Hopefully both the Pirates' play and the weather will warm up very soon.
BB
View ECU's
2014 basketball schedule
Players
at every position on East
Carolina's defensive unit
completed their eligibility
at the end of the 2014
season, including six
starters. The result was a
wide-ranging list of needs
to cover those losses ...
