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Business as usual at 'home away from home'
By Denny O'Brien
©2004 Bonesville.net
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RALEIGH — Remodeled Doak Field felt a lot
like home to East Carolina Wednesday night. Behind the clutch hitting of
Ryan Jones and Ryan Norwood, and the relief pitching of Carter Harrell, the
Pirates took a 6-3 win over rival N.C. State in front of a sellout crowd —
much of which was wearing purple.
It was the 13th-consecutive victory for the
No. 9 Pirates, who ran their record 32-6 overall. The win also kept East
Carolina perfect against the Atlantic Coast Conference at 4-0.
Jones, the Pirates' leading hitter, again
was the offensive hero with a three-run double in the sixth inning that gave
ECU a 4-3 lead that it would not relinquish.
"If it's not him, it's somebody else,"
Pirates coach Randy Mazey said. "We've had clutch hits up and down the
lineup.
"But, yeah, I like seeing him step in there
when the game is on the line. He's hitting with a lot of confidence and we
have a lot of confidence in him."
East Carolina followed that in the seventh
with a mammoth shot from Norwood off Wolfpack ace Vern Sterry, one of seven
State pitchers used in the game. The Pirates also used their bullpen
liberally, with four different hurlers toeing the rubber.
"Pitching depth is one of our strengths,"
Mazey said. "We can go eight or ten guys deep and not have to turn around to
our one or two guy like they did. These mid-week games, when you get into
the bullpen, it favors us."
Lefty P.J. Connelly (2-0) pitched only
two-thirds of an inning, but picked up the win in relief for the Bucs.
Harrell pitched the final four stanzas to pick up the save, giving up only
two hits while striking out five.
Starter Ricky Brooks lasted 2 2/3 innings,
surrendering one hit and walking three.
East Carolina was led at the plate by
Darryl Lawhorn who tallied three hits, while brother Trevor, John Poppert,
and Billy Richardson all chipped in with two apiece.
The Pirates return to action this Friday
against Louisville for a three game Conference USA series in Greenville.
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Bonesville.net. All rights reserved. This material may not be
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02/23/2007 01:56:31 AM
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