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News Nuggets, 09.26.06
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

ECU diamond slate loaded with home games

A school-record 38 home games at Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium, including a pair of home tournaments, highlight the 2007 baseball schedule announced Monday by East Carolina baseball coach Billy Godwin through a university athletic media relations release.

The Pirates will play 28 games against 11 different teams that participated in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. Among those foes are three College World Series participants — Cal State Fullerton (March 9-11), Rice (April 6-8) and North Carolina (April 24 and May 9).

East Carolina will open the season Friday, Feb. 9, when it hosts Liberty for a three-game series. The Pirates will get their first road test early in the season when they travel to California to face UCLA for a three-game series beginning Feb. 16. The Bruins are an early favorite to be one of the eight teams in the 2007 College World Series.

Closing out the month of February, ECU will host the first of two consecutive tournaments when it welcomes St. John's, Washington and Duke to the East Carolina Invitational.

The Keith LeClair Classic, which honors ECU hall of famer and former head coach Keith LeClair, highlights the Pirates' March schedule. Pepperdine, N.C. State and Western Carolina join the Pirates for the annual tournament the weekend of March 2-4.

Also making appearances during a 21-game ECU home stand will be Campbell , N.C. A&T, Cal State-Fullerton, Radford, Michigan, High Point, UNC-Wilmington and the Pirates' first Conference USA opponent of the season, Memphis.

ECU will make the first of four C-USA road trips in the closing days of March when it heads to New Orleans to square off against Tulane. The Pirates will follow up that series with expeditions in April and May to play league members Marshall, Houston and UAB.

Coming to Greenville for conference play will be 2003 national champion Rice (Apr. 6-8), Southern Miss (Apr. 27-29) and Central Florida (May 11-13).

Rounding out the non-conference schedule, ECU will host Savannah State and will play home-and-home series with in-state rivals North Carolina, N.C. State and UNC-Wilmington.

"We are excited about putting together one of the most competitive regular season schedules that East Carolina has played in recent years," said Goldwin. "Included in our 38 home games are seven games with teams that were in Omaha in 2006. Our goal at East Carolina is to play teams that will give us the best opportunity to compete in post-season play. Both our Conference USA and non-conference schedule certainly gives us that opportunity."

The 2007 C-USA Championship Tournament, hosted by Tulane, will be conducted in New Orleans May 23-27.

The Pirates return 17 lettermen from a team that finished sixth in C-USA last season and had an overall record of 33-26.

Rice's Lloyd collapses at workout, dies

Rice is mourning the loss of Dale Lloyd, a 19-year-old freshman football player who died Monday morning at Memorial Hermann hospital in the Texas Medical Center.

According to a release on the Conference USA website, Lloyd collapsed on the field at Rice Stadium at approximately 5 p.m. Sunday during a light workout. He was treated immediately by EMS and transported to Memorial Hermann's emergency room via a Houston Fire Department ambulance.

Lloyd was pronounced dead at 8:49 a.m. today. The cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dale's family during this extremely difficult time," said Rice president David W. Leebron. "We are providing counselors for the university community, including the team and coaches, as we cope with this painful loss."

Lloyd, a 2006 graduate of Lamar High School, was a resident of Lovett College and a defensive back for the Owls. He played in one game, the opener against Houston. He was a two-sport star at Lamar, earning all-district honors in baseball as well as football. Lloyd was elected to Who's Who Among American High School Students and volunteered with the Mayor's Youth Council.

"The Rice Owl family has suffered a devastating loss," Rice head coach Todd Graham said. "Dale was a tremendous person with the heart of a champion. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, our players and coaches and the Rice family. We ask our fans to keep his family and our players, coaches and staff in their prayers."

Lloyd is survived by his parents, Dale and Abitibi Lloyd of Houston, and two brothers.

Golden Knights-Golden Eagles collision on TV

A very important Conference USA East Division battle takes place tonight in Orlando as Central Florida hosts Southern Mississippi (7:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN 2).

Last year, the Golden Knights suffered their only regular season C-USA loss at the hands of the Golden Eagles.

The game will feature the nation's leading freshman runner, Damion Fletcher of Southern Miss.

C-USA announces football players of week

Conference USA players of the week in football are Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb on offense, Tulsa end Moton Hopkins on defense and Houston punter Justin Laird for special teams.

Kolb earns his second C-USA offensive player of the week honor this season after leading the Cougars to a 34-25 win over Oklahoma State to improve Houston's record to 4-0. He completed 21-of-28 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Kolb also rushed 11 times for 42 yards. He completed passes to nine different receivers.

Hopkins was second on the Tulsa team in tackles with seven stops, including four solos, but had perhaps the biggest defensive play in the game when he blocked the potential game-tying conversion kick in overtime to preserve a 24-23 victory over Navy. Nick Graham dove from the kickers' left side and nicked the ball, but it was Hopkins making sure the ball did not make it through the uprights as he put a hand on the ball.

Laird's only two punts came in a driving rainstorm late in the fourth quarter of UH's win over Oklahoma State. He averaged 46 yards on the two kicks, including a 49-yard boot on his final one, which UH forced a fumble on to seal the victory.

East Carolina gets tie in women's soccer

The East Carolina women's soccer team settled for a scoreless tie after two overtimes on Sunday afternoon against Francis Marion, according to a university athletic media relations release.

ECU (5-4-1) was out-shot 13-11 throughout the contest but managed three shots on net against FMU (4-3-3) during the two overtime periods. FMU did not get a shot on net in overtime. The Patriots have now had three scoreless ties in a row.

"Francis Marion is a very hard working team and they wanted it more then us," said head coach Rob Donnenwirth. "They deserved to win."

The Pirates will continue their four-game road trip against Memphis and UAB Sept. 29 and Oct. 1, respectively. Currently, ECU is 1-0-1 on the trip and 4-2-1 away from Bunting Field.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from electronic services and other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:51 PM