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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
By Brian Bailey |
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ECU tackles tough
slate head-on
By
Brian Bailey
©2010 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Baseball fans have been
treated to some great
baseball at Clark-LeClair
Stadium to start the
season.
East Carolina took two
out of three from South
Carolina this weekend,
after dropping two of
three to Virginia last
weekend.
The Gamecocks were
ranked 10th last week,
while Virginia was
ranked as high as No. 1.
East Carolina’s
comeback on Saturday
was the catalyst for
Sunday’s victory.
On Saturday, the Pirates
rallied for two in the
bottom of the ninth with
two out and slipped by
the Gamecocks 4-3. ECU
then took the series
with Sunday’s
4-2 win.
The difference this
weekend was the
performance of Brad
Mincey. Mincey scattered
a trio of hits over
seven innings in picking
up his first win of the
season.
“I actually had better
stuff last week,” said
Mincey. “I did a better
job of staying in
control this time,
though.”
Mincey allowed just an
unearned run while
facing 27 batters in
seven frames of work.
“I challenged Brad last
night,” said Coach Billy
Godwin after the
victory. “We were in the
same situation last week
and I told Brad that he
needed to lead the
charge today. He
certainly did that.”
The Pirates will need
Mincey all season.
Godwin was glad to see
his Sunday starter have
a more “mature” outing.
“I told him he pitched
more like a freshman
last week (in the loss
to Virginia),” Godwin
said. “This time he
pitched like the veteran
that he is, like the guy
who has gotten some big
wins for the Pirates.”
East Carolina plated
three early runs that
seemed to give Mincey
and the rest of the team
plenty of confidence.
“I think it was huge,”
said Godwin about
jumping out early in the
game. “As a pitcher it
kind of sets you at
ease, you can get ahead
early in the count and
really attack the zone.”
The Pirate bullpen was
outstanding for the
entire weekend. The
entire staff allowed
just 11 runs, six of
them earned runs, in the
weekend series. Last
weekend the staff gave
up 19 runs against
Virginia in the three
games.
Much had been made about
how difficult this early
season schedule was on
paper. Godwin says the
schedule played out like
he thought it would,
with two Top 10 caliber
teams visiting Clark-LeClair
Stadium. The teams
played at a high level
in both weekend series.
“Our program has been in
the national spotlight
for the last two weeks,”
said Godwin. “That’s
what we intended to do.
That’s what our kids
deserve. These kinds of
games can galvanize you
if things don’t go your
way. But I’m really
proud of the effort
through the first two
weekends.”
If there is a negative
to the start of the
year, it’s the play of
NCAA Regional hero Devin
Harris. Harris had a
chance to leave for
professional baseball,
but returned and will
provide some big
offensive punch this
season. He’s off to a
slow start, though,
offensively and
defensively.
Coach Godwin moved
Harris down in the
lineup a couple of times
over the weekend. He
says patience will prove
beneficial.
“You just have to love
him,” said Godwin.
“Baseball is a humbling
game. It’s just not that
easy. He’s going to do
great things for us,
there is no doubt in my
mind. We are just going
to keep working. I know
one thing about Devin
Harris and that’s that
he is going to continue
to work. He’s going to
be in there busting his
tail to make sure he
gets better.”
Coaches love the saying
that a season is a
marathon and not a
sprint. The Pirates
start the year at 4-3,
with six of the seven
games coming against Top
10 competition.
Next up for the Pirates,
it’s the Keith LeClair
Classic. East Carolina
opens that event with a
matchup against Illinois
on Friday afternoon.
West Virginia and
Western Carolina, the
late Keith LeClair’s
alma mater, are also in
the tournament field.
BB
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03/02/2010 03:42 AM |
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