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Bailey's
Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk
Friday, March 25, 2005
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By Brian Bailey |
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Pirates bounce back from
lost weekend
�2005 Bonesville.net
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Randy Mazey feared that a
letdown was coming on Wednesday night as UNC Wilmington paid a visit.
His team had just returned
from three tough losses to 3rd-ranked Tulane. Games one and three were
especially tough to take.
Mazey knew that if his team
wasn�t in the right frame of mind, the Seahawks would come to town and take
home a win.
It rained all day, and Mazey
worried that maybe his club would be flat and ripe for a fourth straight
loss.
On the other hand, considering
the weather, he thought the game might be postponed.
In the end, the only rain
Wednesday night was the Pirate hitters reigning supreme against the Seahawks
pitching staff.
Mazey�s club rolled out to a
12-1 lead and then held off UNCW by the final of 12-8.
The game wasn�t nearly as
close as the score indicated.
Mazey watched the Seahawks
make a nice comeback against his bullpen, but his patience with the
relievers will pay off down the road. Pitchers have to gain experience, and
this paper-thin staff needs all of the innings it can muster.
Scott Andrews picked up the
win for the Pirates, his second of the season. Andrews tossed 5 1/3 innings,
allowing one run on just two hits while striking out six and walking one.
Ricky Brooks relieved Andrews,
pitching 1 2/3 innings and allowing no hits while striking out one.
Andrews and Brooks were
impressive.
Chris Powell and Brett Braxton
each pitched an inning to finish the game, with Powell giving up a pair of
runs and Braxton allowing five Seahawk tallies.
�Andrews is pretty much the
Seahawk killer,� Coach Mazey explained after the win. �He really did a nice
job. We�ll need more efforts like this during the season. The midweek
starter is a key spot, especially with our schedule.�
Much was said earlier this
year about Clark-LeClair Stadium playing much bigger now. The park is
bigger, but the Pirate bats still banged out 16 hits on Wednesday night.
Mike Grace hit a three-run
homer and Harrison Eldridge added a two-run shot in the victory.
Eldridge and Billy Richardson
were the offensive stars for ECU. Eldridge hit 3-for-4 with two RBI's and
two runs, while Richardson also went 3-for-4 with two RBI's and three runs.
Grace, Brian Cavanaugh and
Dale Mollenhauer all had two hits in the victory.
A day that started out
worrisome for Mazey transitioned into a beautiful night for baseball in an
absolutely gorgeous setting at Clark-LeClair. The crowd was awesome, with
3,444 making it out for the midweek clash of rivals.
With the win, the Pirates
improved to 13-7 on the year. ECU is 0-3 in Conference USA, but it hopes to
pull back to the .500 mark in the league with a sweep of Charlotte this
weekend.
The Pirates' three-game set
with the 49ers will be the first C-USA series at Clark-LeClair Stadium. ECU
will square off with the 49ers on Friday at 7 o�clock, Saturday at 6 p.m.,
and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Break out the brooms and get
ready for some baseball.
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02/23/2007 01:31:38 AM |
