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Bailey's
Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
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By Brian Bailey
Sports Anchor of WNCT-TV 9 |
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Area's baseball pipeline as
bountiful as ever
©2003 Bonesville.net
East Carolina baseball recruit Mike Flye understood what was at stake.
And when the winningest coach in North Carolina high school history tells you to go get
them with a fastball, that’s exactly what you do.
Greenville Rose coach
Ronald Vincent got his point across, Flye got the out, and the future Pirate
had locked up the Most Outstanding Player Award in the State 4A playoffs.
The Rampants' 6-4 win at Zebulon's Five County Stadium over
Charlotte Myers Park just added more luster to a rich heritage.
East Carolina has a long tradition of baseball excellence,
and its cross-town neighbor, J.H. Rose High School, also has had an
eye-popping
success rate in baseball under the direction of Vincent.
“It was awesome,” Flye said of the state championship win. “High school baseball is so big in Greenville,
and we really wanted to win this title.”
Next year, Flye brings his right arm to ECU for Randy
Mazey's second season as the Pirates' coach. Mazey will need some arms, and Flye’s will be a valuable one.
There are endless connections between East Carolina and Rose. There have
been several success stories, but there have also been a couple of bumps in
the road between the two programs.
It’s an obvious marriage, though. Rose High School is the perfect feeder
program for the Pirates.
Coach Vincent’s squads are loaded with talent. The Rampants' second team would have finished second or third in the Big East
4A.
It says an awful lot about the Greenville-Pitt County area that Ayden-Grifton went all the way
to the State Finals in 1A before losing. If you are a baseball fan, this is the place to be.
And it’s only going to get better. Several schools feature outstanding young
coaches. South Central is Pitt County’s newest school, and Peanut Langston
is regarded as one of the best around.
The Pirates' feeder programs may expand in Pitt County over the next several years.
Thinking back
My assignment for the upcoming second edition of
Bonesville Magazine is to take a look back at several top ten lists.
The idea is for me to sketch out thumbnails on my top ten favorite
East Carolina athletes, my top ten
favorite coaches/administrators, and my top ten favorite games during my
broadcasting career covering the Pirates.
Many of you have followed ECU as long as I have or longer.
Think about this assignment, because it’s not an easy one.
There are some easy choices. And there are some that are not
so easy. Come to think of it, the task gets very difficult when it comes to
the final paring of each list down to ten.
There have been so many games, so many coaches, so many
memorable Pirates.
It’s really given me a chance to think back, to shake up the cobwebs. It’s
been a lot of fun just to look back.
The problem, though, is that you’re always going to leave something out.
That’s just the nature of the beast. However, I like the challenge of the
assignment, and I hope you’ll like what we come up with later this summer.
If you have a compelling suggestion to help me clarify my
thoughts for a fun by difficult assignment, your
input would be welcomed.
 Send an e-mail message to
Brian Bailey.
Click here to dig into Brian Bailey's Bonesville
archives.
02/23/2007 01:26:12 AM |
