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Bailey's
Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk
Wednesday, April 3, 2002
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By Brian Bailey
Sports Anchor of WNCT-TV 9 |
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Houston series a league litmus test for Pirates
©2002 Bonesville.net
East Carolina’s
Diamond Pirates won their sixth straight game on Tuesday night, shutting out
Elon, and now look forward to what should be a very special weekend of
baseball.
First, though, it’s
tonight's return game against Campbell. The Camels gave East Carolina a fit
last week in a game that ECU used to gain a bit of confidence after that
three-game sweep by Texas Christian.
Then, it’s
fifth-ranked Houston and East Carolina in a big Conference USA showdown at
Harrington Field.
This is the series
that will be quite telling as to whether the Pirates truly are contenders.
The Cougars stand atop the Conference USA standings at 7-2.
Houston is led by
Jesse Crain. Crain is this week’s top pitcher in the league and is currently
on a run of 22 1/3 innings without giving up an earned run. Crain picked up
a key win this past weekend over Southern Miss.
Earlier this year,
Crain was honored as the C-USA hitter of the week. He is one of the top
players that we will see this year at Harrington Field.
“Crain is an
outstanding player,” said Pirate assistant coach Kevin McMullen. “This is an
outstanding team and this should be a great baseball series in Greenville.
We are looking forward to playing in front of a great crowd and we hope that
the home field will make a difference.”
It should be a great
atmosphere for baseball, perhaps the best the Pirates have seen since last
season's NCAA appearances in both Wilson and Kinston.
Terps take title in
tourney marked by unlikely outcomes
So how many of you
had Indiana and Maryland playing for the national championship in your pool?
How many of you had
these two in your Final Four? How about your Final 32?
That’s the magic of
the NCAA tournament. That’s why CBS paid all of those millions of dollars to
televise the games.
That’s why dreams do
come true.
Sure, Maryland had
the top story, winning the national championship. UNC Wilmington had a great
story, too, upsetting Southern Cal. The Seahawks were beaten by Indiana in
the second round.
The Hoosiers had an
even bigger story play out. This team played the part of the movie by the
same name this March. Indiana was the biggest of underdogs against the likes
of Duke, Oklahoma and Maryland.
Fear the turtle,
because Maryland ended the great run.
Maybe East Carolina
will be making a story of its own in an upcoming NCAA tournament. The move
to C-USA will continue to pay dividends.
I’ve written many
times about just how the conference will help Pirate basketball.
 This
wasn’t a banner tournament for the league. But Conference USA will get
better, and continue to lead on a national level.
East Carolina will
be a part of that rise, with dreams of making its own story in the NCAA
tournament.
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Brian Bailey.
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archives.
02/23/2007 01:21:43 AM
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