Observations and Punditry
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Woody's Ramblings
Thursday, February 21, 2008
By Woody Peele |
Bucs count on depth, power
By Woody Peele
©2007 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
On the eve of opening the 2008 East
Carolina baseball season, Pirate coach Billy Godwin had a chance to look
back over his first two years and compare it to this season.
“The guys are more accustomed to what I
expect and what I want,” he said. “They know how we do things within our
system. Too, I’ve got a lot of players who have been here for us and
have proven themselves to be successful.”
East Carolina will open the year on the
road, playing a three-game series at South Carolina starting Friday at 3
p.m. After a visit to Elon next Wednesday, East Carolina opens its
Clark-LeClair Stadium schedule against Monmouth on Friday, Feb. 29,
starting another three-game weekend series.
“It’s a tough opener,” Godwin said of
challenging the Gamecocks on their home turf, “but I feel good about it.
It’s a tremendous challenge and we have a lot of respect for them.
They’ve been to super regionals eight of the last nine years.
“But we’re going down there with the
attitude of competing from the first pitch to the last.”
Two of Godwin's star players, pitcher T.J.
Hose and centerfielder Harrison Eldridge, concurred.
“We have high expectations,” Hose said.
“We’ll have to take it one game at a time, win on Friday (when Hose
pitches) and go from there.”
“It definitely will be a huge test,”
Eldridge added, “but we’re looking forward to it.”
Godwin believes the Pirates are blessed
with perhaps the best depth they’ve had in years, especially when it
comes to position play.
“One thing we did in preseason was to work
guys in multiple positions,” Godwin said. “Versatility should be a
strength.”
At the plate, the same assessment applies.
“I believe we’re 14 deep offensively,” the
coach said. “We’re going to have four or five guys who deserve to play
(who won’t be in the starting lineup) come Friday, but they’re going to
get their opportunity.”
“We don’t have one or two guys we’re going
to have to count on this year,” Eldridge said. “We have depth beyond
belief and I think the entire lineup is capable of hitting it out of the
park at any time.”
Godwin said that every coach wants talent
and the Pirates have it in players like (catcher) Corey Kemp (.267, 5
HR, 41 RBI), Stephen Batts (.323, 6 HR, 56 RBI); Ryan Wood (.318, 5 HR,
23 RBI); Drew Schieber (.301, 6 HR, 22 RBI); Eldridge (.295, 6 HR, 28
RBI); and Jamie Raye (.306, 2 HR, 22 RBI).
Then, on the mound, Hose (3.97 ERA, 6-5,
70 K) leads the pack. He’s expected to get help from Josh Ruhlman (6.14
ERA, 5-1, 26K), Bailey Daniels (4.53 ERA, 4-1, 61 K).
The Pirates went after a lot of pitchers
in the off-season for a couple of reasons — to bolster the staff’s
starters, the bullpen, and to help with the heavier in-week schedule,
two games instead of one most times.
“If we have any uncertainty, it’s in the
new guys we’ve brought in,” Godwin said. “They’re very talented, but
they have to gain experience and maturity.”
One freshman, Seth Maness, will be given
the ball to start Saturday’s game against the Gamecocks, while Justin
Bristow, a transfer from Auburn who will also see action at third base,
is scheduled for Saturday. Another transfer, from North Carolina, Matt
Cox, could become another starter.
Daniel Holder, a junior college transfer;
and freshmen Sthil Sowers (North Lenoir), Matt Laney, Seth Simmons and
Brad Mincey all should see a lot of action.
While Shane Matthews turned in 15 saves
last season, among the best in the nation, Godwin is looking for a new
closer and some new long relief pitchers. Holder could fit into the
latter job.
“We’ve got a lot of people we can count on
(with experience) in the bull pen,” Hose said. “I don’t know how the
young guys are going to do (in early games), but I think after the first
couple of weeks, they should be fine.”
Hose said he’s been trying to be a leader
on the mound, showing the newcomers things without even having to talk
about it.
“Just by going out there and pitching and
how I go about my business,” he said. “And I go to them with open arms
since I’ve been out there, done that.”
The Pirates enter the season ranked 24th
by Baseball America. Usually coaches dismiss preseason rankings, noting
that it’s where you rank at the end of the season that’s important.
But Godwin is proud that his team is
getting recognition, even while admitting that the Pirates must now go
out and prove they belong there.
“It shows that we’ve been successful and
we have good people back,” he said. “It’s great for our university and
great for our program. But once the first pitch is thrown, it’s not
going to help us one bit. We certainly won’t be able to rest on our
laurels or spend time licking our wounds.”
As to a projected second-place finish in
Conference USA, one of the nation’s toughest baseball leagues, Godwin
feels good about the challenge of pushing two-time champ Rice for the
title.
“Both of us (Rice and ECU) lost guys, but
good programs don’t rebuild, they reload,” he said. “While Rice has
pretty well dominated the league since coming in two years ago, we’ve
competed with them, so I like our chances.
“But right now, they are the carrot and
the rest of the league is chasing them.”
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02/28/2008 12:52:22 AM
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