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Bailey's
Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk
Wednesday, June 5, 2002
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By Brian Bailey
Sports Anchor of WNCT-TV 9 |
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Coach has scripted ECU program to
reach Omaha
�2002 Bonesville.net
Rosenblatt in the sequel?
The Hollywood producers would have had a different
script.
In Hollywood, the Pirates would have upset Clemson,
would have hosted and won a Super Regional, and would have gotten their
ailing coach to the College World Series.
But this year�s team fell short of advancing to the
next-to-last stop before reaching Rosenblatt Stadium, the Mecca of college
baseball.
One day soon, though, East Carolina will make it to
Omaha � the destination to which its leader has firmly committed the
program.
The Pirates have an outstanding baseball tradition,
but the word �Omaha� really didn�t come into play until Keith LeClair�s
arrival at ECU.
LeClair has made it the Pirates' goal each and every
year. They came very close last year, falling to Tennessee in the Super
Regional.
This year�s team was expected to draw its ambitions
in a bit and rebuild. But, as the season unfolded, the 2002 Pirates, too,
had a shot at Omaha.
LeClair�s efforts will one day be rewarded. East
Carolina will make it to Omaha. That�s not a prediction, just something that
I really believe. I have seen it in LeClair�s eyes, and I know that the
future is solid for ECU baseball.
No. 23 takes
on new meaning
<<<<< Top of Page >>>>>
I had a very nice visit with Coach LeClair just
before he left for Clemson and the regionals.
We talked baseball for about a half an hour. He
communicated by using an alphabet board, pointing to the letters as I
spelled out the words. He knew my educational limits and started slowly with
me. His wife Lynn joked that I must have done well, because he would stomp
his foot if the visitor didn�t understand after a couple of tries.
We talked about the regionals, which one was the most
difficult and that kind of thing.
I joked that at least the Pirates were in an easy
regional, and the coach rolled his eyes, laughing a bit at my sarcasm.
He told me that Jack Leggett and the Tigers weren�t
happy about the match-up. The coach indicated that he thought Wake Forest
would have been a better fit for the Pirates.
He asked me about my coaching this summer. He had
kidded me last year about getting thrown out of a girl�s fastpitch softball
game. I told him that I was calmer this year, taking the �Keith LeClair�
approach to umpires.
Lynn LeClair then told me that I should have seen
Keith in his younger days, coaching at Western Carolina. The coach had a
sheepish grin on his face when Lynn told me about LeClair�s run-ins with the
men in blue while at Western Carolina.
It was a great visit with the LeClair�s. They are
such strong people.
The disease can take away much, but it can�t touch
his spirit. Keith LeClair is a brave man. He is the bravest of fighters in a
battle for his life. He is an inspiration to us all.
I always thought of the number 23 with Michael
Jordan. Keith LeClair, though, is a true hero, and now I�ll always link 23
with the Pirate Coach!
I thoroughly enjoyed the visit. I came away convinced
that if anyone could beat this horrible disease, it was Keith LeClair.
Congratulations to the entire Pirate baseball family
on a remarkable season! It was a total team effort, from Kevin McMullan and
Tommy Eason, to the new line-up, to ECU's 'put-your-heart-into-it' fans, to
the awesome run in the Conference USA tournament.
Coach LeClair, you�ll remain in our prayers as we
take a break from baseball, and get set for next year�s run at Omaha and the
College World Series.
 Send an e-mail message to
Brian Bailey.
Click here to dig into Brian Bailey's Bonesville
archives.
02/23/2007 01:22:33 AM
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