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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Friday, May 23, 2008
By Brian Bailey |
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Pirate rally sends Owls
packing
By
Brian Bailey
©2008 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
NEW ORLEANS — All of a
sudden there is a jambalaya shortage in New Orleans. That’s because
there is no Rice.
Pardon the pun, but the
5th-ranked Owls are two and done in this 2008 Conference USA baseball
tournament.
East Carolina rallied for a
thrilling 4-3 victory. It’s only the second time in school history that the
Pirates have beaten the Owls.
Early on, the Pirates'
prospects for winning looked as gray as the sky above the stadium. ECU
didn’t collect its first hit off Rice starter Ryan Berry until the fourth
inning.
Luckily, the Pirates were able
to stay in the game early on. Starter Justin Bristow didn’t have his best
stuff, but his athleticism saved a run on an attempted squeeze play that
finally gave the Pirates some momentum.
On that attempted squeeze,
Bristow made a great flip to catcher Corey Kemp, who had the plate blocked
beautifully. Rice coach Wayne Graham argued, but it was a stellar play by
both the pitcher and the catcher.
It’s great to see Kyle Roller
hitting the ball well. The Pirates trailed 3-0 when Roller got his team on
the board with a shot to centerfield. It was Roller’s second home run of the
tournament.
The Pirates took the lead with
three big runs in the sixth inning. Corey Kemp got it all started with a
solo home run, his 16th of the year. Stephen Batts singled, and went to
second on Ryan Wood’s sacrifice bunt. Dustin Harrington drove home Batts to
tie the game. Roller got a hit to move Harrington to third, and then
Harrison Eldridge broke his slump by driving in what turned out to be the
game-winning run.
The story of the game, though,
was senior T.J. Hose. Hose was an absolute bulldog on the mound when the
Pirates needed him most.
All Hose did was pitch 4.1
innings of hitless ball in relief of Bristow. Hose had his best outing in
some time. He did walk four batters, but he struck out five to pick up the
victory. He also had to sit through a 50-minute rain delay. He came back in
the game just as tough as when the rain started.
“I think I was effectively
wild,” said Hose, wearing a huge smile after the victory.
Hose said he likes the
reliever role.
“When I got recruited by East
Carolina, they wanted me as a closer," he recalled, "and I’ve just always
had that mentality. I think it’s just carried over and over.
"Actually, before this series
even started I said, ‘Coach, there’s not a guaranteed third game. So put me
in a situation to win, because I just want to get out there and give us the
best chance to win.’ ”
Pirate coach Billy Godwin was
a polar opposite from the first day in the tournament.
“It was huge,” said Godwin. “I
think it was nine in a row against those guys that we’ve lost. We’ve played
some really great games with them, but this was a really great win for our
kids. I just couldn’t be any happier for them.”
Godwin shook up his line-up,
moving Jamie Ray and Brandon Henderson up in the order. Godwin also did some
“shaking up” during the game.
“I think I rattled a few cages
there one inning,” said Godwin. “I just thought we were getting frustrated
on some good pitches instead of sticking in there and sticking our neck out
and against a very good pitcher and battling. You can’t get frustrated. You
have to keep competing. Once that happened, we did a good job of that after
the fourth inning.”
Rice is out. Tulane lost
its opening game. All of a sudden this is any team’s tournament to win.
It could come down to pitching, where Godwin says his staff has some
weapons in reserve.
“I think it will come down to
pitching and we do have a deep staff," he said. "We have guys that have a
lot of experience, I guess, who have pitched. So I do like our chances. We
just have to play it one game at a time and win and advance.”
The Pirates are now 40-18 on
the season. Win number 40 will be remembered for a long time.
BB
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05/23/2008 04:28:47 AM |
