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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, February 3, 2008
By Brian Bailey |
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The goal is, and
always will be, Omaha
By
Brian Bailey
©2008 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
It’s a place the Pirates
have never been to
before. It’s Omaha, the
Promised Land for
college baseball teams.
It’s the goal of many,
but the destination for
only a select few.
“There’s not a day that
goes by that we don’t
talk about what our
ultimate goal is,” said
East Carolina coach
Billy Godwin on Friday.
Godwin hosted a brief
press conference for the
media to kick off the
start of practice that
Sunday.
“Our goal will always be
to go to the College
World Series and play
for a national
championship.”
Godwin certainly has a
plan. His
schedule
is top-loaded with home
games featuring quality
opponents. The Pirates
open with eight games at
home including the Keith
LeClair Classic, which
features games against
Oklahoma State, St.
John’s and College of
Charleston. The Pirates
will actually play OSU
twice when the Cowboys
visit.
That opening eight-game
home stand is followed
by a trio of games in
round-robin play at
Georgia Southern. The
Pirates will play the
Eagles, Le Moyne and
Indiana in that weekend
set of games in
Statesboro.
Then it’s back home for
nine more games,
including three with
UCLA and the three-game
Conference USA opening
series with Central
Florida.
Godwin also knows other
factors have to play out
for his club to get a
shot at Omaha.
“Our veterans have to be
veterans,” Godwin
explained. “They have to
come in this year and
put the same type of
numbers that they’ve
been able to put up
before here. Guys like
Stephen Batts, Brandon
Henderson, Drew Schieber,
Ryan Wood and those guys
have to perform.
"Last year we asked our
freshman to come in and
perform, and from a
pitching perspective we
had four guys come in
and win 18 games for us
and that was huge. We’ll
need some of the guys we
recruited to come in and
step that up.”
“Then we have to all tug
on the same side of the
rope," Godwin added.
"The chemistry is good
now. We haven’t gone
through any kind of
adversity yet, which is
usually the case this
time of year. But I
think it’s important
that we all understand
that we are fighting for
the same goal.”
Godwin will announce
which Pirate will wear
the No. 23 jersey to
honor
former coach Keith
LeClair
on February 14th at the
annual “Meet the Pirates
Luncheon.” Drew Schieber
wore the number last
year and could be the
first player to wear the
number in consecutive
years.
“Coach (Godwin) and I
talked about it,” said
Schieber. “If someone
else could have the
chance to wear “23” I’d
be fine with it. It is
such an honor to wear
the number to represent
a man who did so much
for this Pirate program.
I’m all for someone else
getting the chance to
wear the number so they
can experience what I
did last season.
"If my time is up, I’ll
be 110 % behind the guy
that wears “23” this
season.”
Tradition is a big part
of East Carolina
baseball. Games in the
spring aren’t just
athletic contests;
rather, they are more of
a social meeting place
for many, all rallying
for a Pirate victory.
“That’s what really
makes East Carolina
special,” said Godwin.
“It goes back to all of
the former players and
coaches here. Our
players understand how
important baseball is to
this area. We’ve got a
great schedule and our
thinking is that if you
want to be the best, you
have to beat the best.”
The Pirates opened
practice on Sunday with
a scrimmage game. The
squad will conduct
scrimmages each weekend
leading up to the
opening weekend on
February 20th when
Monmouth comes to town
for a three-game series.
If you’re a Pirate
baseball fan, you
certainly know the
drill. It could be 70
degrees or it could feel
like 7 degrees at the
ballpark.
Who needs Punxsutawney
Phil? The start of
Pirate baseball always
means that spring is
just around the corner!
BB
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02/03/2009 03:32:40 AM |
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