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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, June 2, 2008
By Brian Bailey |
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LeClair's dream one
step closer to reality
By
Brian Bailey
�2009 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
GREENVILLE �
East Carolina�s hopes
for Omaha and that first
ever trip to the College
World Series
were down to the final
three outs.
Devin Harris first kept
those hopes alive with a
game-tying three-run
home run. Harris then
moved those hopes into
overdrive with an RBI
single in the 10th to
win the Greenville
regional.
�I was just looking for
a good pitch to hit,�
said Harris after he was
mobbed by his teammates.
�I hit both times with
runners in scoring
position and I knew it
would be key if I could
get a hit and luckily I
came up big.�
East Carolina had to
rally from six runs down
to beat South Carolina.
Ryan Wood finally got
the Pirates on the board
with a two-run home run
in the 5th.
The Pirates continued to
peck away at the big
lead and trailed 7-6
into the 8th.
That�s when South
Carolina�s Jackie
Bradley, Jr., hit a two-run home run that looked
like it would send the
Gamecocks to Chapel Hill
next weekend.
Instead, Devin Harris
started his 1-2 heroic
punch with his three-run
home run into the jungle
in left field to tie the
game at 9-9.
The Pirates held South
Carolina scoreless in
the tenth, and then
Harris went to work
again, driving home a
lumbering Kyle Roller
with the game winner.
Roller slid in headfirst
and then pandemonium
struck Clark-LeClair
Stadium.
�It�s a shame when two
teams battle like that
that somebody has to
lose,� said coach Billy
Godwin after the win.
�On the flip side of
that I�m very proud of
our players and what
they�ve accomplished. It
was just an outstanding
effort. They never quit.
We played five games in
three days and to come
back and win three in a
row was absolutely
outstanding. I couldn�t
be any prouder of these
guys.�
The Pirates are now
headed to their first
Super Regional since
2004 when ECU faced
South Carolina in
Columbia. The Pirates
and Tar Heels will open
the Super Regional on
Saturday at noon at Boshamer Stadium.
Devin Harris had a look
in his eye when the
subject of playing North
Carolina came up.
�Carolina�s next,� said
Harris. �It�s going to
be exciting. They�re a
big rival so it�s going
to be fun.�
I don�t know how much
more �fun� the Pirate
faithful can take. The
fourth largest crowd in
Clark-LeClair Stadium
history (5,047) held its
collective breath on
every pitch in the final
innings.
Fans held up signs with
the number �23,� jumping
up and down in the
celebration after
Harris�s game-winning
hit. The gesture was a
tribute to former ECU
coach Keith LeClair, who
wore that jersey number.
The stadium named to
honor LeClair, who we lost to
Lou Gehrig's Disease,
has never seen a prouder
moment. Keith LeClair
had to be beaming with
pride from above. His
wife Lynn
and the LeClair children came to
town to help open the
regional, and you had
better believe that
Keith was waving Kyle
Roller home along with
the rest of the crowd at
Clark-LeClair.
The Pirates are two wins
away from fulfilling LeClair�s dream of going
to Omaha.
It certainly won�t be
easy against North
Carolina. The Pirates
and Tar Heels fought to
a 1-1 draw in the
regular season, so this
should be a great
series.
Chapel Hill is on the
way to Omaha, in more
ways then one!
BB
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06/05/2009 01:06:43 AM |
