This is a good time for ECU to gel, on both sides of the ball. They’re arguably the team to beat in Clearwater, and I’m confident will play like it, but I would think that even only another win or two at this point would get them over the hump for an at large bid in the national tournament.

The pitching situation is more dire than I'd realized, though Coach not replacing Webb in the 9th despite giving up a gaggle of hits to jeopardize (then lose) their thin lead was a hint! I guess I can't blame them for the Campbell cancellation; I'm a little surprised that the latter cooperated, but it must've worked for them too. ...REALLY need the bats to come alive and help the pitching this weekend. The Sunday dub was remarkable; it goes without saying that they cannot expect to rely on shutouts. Go Pirates.

Is the block on the 247 articles beyond your control? Have they resorted to requiring a subscription for any level of access? Thank you for providing a go-to website for all things Pirate!

I like the analogy. For every juggled chainsaw, the defense had an answer. I thought Hoagland pitched like a young man who has grown up a little bit going back to the Duke game. Holding on to second place with this win is huge. The Pirates control their fate, beat FAU and the get tournament 2nd seed.

…a desperately needed dub; who’d have thought before the game that 3 runs (really, 1 run) would win it for them?! It felt like the pitchers (particularly Payne) were juggling chainsaws the whole game, but thank God for them hanging in there, not to mention the excellent defense behind them, to earn the goose egg.

Bottom of the ninth, down 5-3, and two batters don’t take the bat off their shoulders. Sadly, that is an appropriate summation of the Pirates offense for 2026. How can you allow the plate umpire to determine your fate. Yes, Norby made a couple of waist-high mistakes. He knows his fastball doesn’t have the horsepower to make a living “up in the zone.” And, anyone who’s ever toed the rubber knows what can happen to a hanging curve. Certainly, nobody questions his competitiveness. His ‘hbp’ count has been his biggest problem, and it came back to bite him on Saturday. Still, with decent offensive support, the Pirates could have picked up the ‘W’. With all of the highs and lows experienced by the Pirates this year, a win on Sunday will keep the Pirates in second place going into the last conference series. We will find out just how much guts these Pirates have. It won’t be easy, as the pitching will be a question mark for all nine innings. If ECU doesn’t come to the plate on every at-bat with the mindset of getting a hit first, and a walk second, not much is going to change. That doesn’t mean guess what’s coming. Focus on every pitch, and don’t let the umpire decide the outcome!

The Rice fly ball hit to left field after the Irby error was definitely misplayed, and became another missed 3rd out, which was only mentioned by the color guy in passing. Of course, they were already down by then, so in retrospect, it didn’t matter. Yes, clearly CG felt he had no option, given how long he left Webb in, but that Irby error was the real killer, as they were still tied at the time. This is a very bad time for a losing streak; hopefully it stops today.

While the Irby error started the dam break of runs, the table was set for Rice when Webb was left on the mound when it was clear the Owls bats had caught up to him. This isn’t a dig at anyone. I doubt whether AK or CG felt there was another go-to guy to bring in. The injuries to the Pirates pitching once again bites ECU. Does anyone doubt whether Sean King would have been on the mound in the ninth? Some how, the Pirates have to survive this gut punch, and come out hot on Saturday. The Pirates are still in second place in the AC, and with a win today, will remain in second going into the last week against FAU. Forget about Sunday, and next week. Your backs are against the wall today.

"Griffis is in his sixth and final year of eligibility. Williams is a redshirt junior." Obviously, all things being equal (or nearly equal), this give the latter the default advantage. ...though in this madcap era of the portal, much what used to be obvious is less so. Hopefully I won't hear of anything more asinine for the rest of this month than a 24-team CFP.

I agree. The powerful want more power.

Would an expanded playoff help or hurt the American conference? I am concerned the Power 4 conferences will just try to make it even more difficult for the American conference to get multiple teams in the playoffs.

Maybe Cliffs best coaching yet. Injuries, young talent. Hes one of best coaches in the country. His love for Keith Leclaire and ECU has kept him here. He’s had many $$$$ chances. He’s a better teacher than coach. The men that go through his program are qualified to be my son in law!

It’s very simple, the Pirates have too many problems to finish the season strong. Pitching injuries have haunted the Pirates season, and aren’t going away. Occasional defensive lapses place more pressure on the fragile pitching. Throw in the sporadic performance of ECU batters and you have an almost insurmountable hill to climb. At a time in the season where teams must put the pedal to the metal, the Pirates have trouble merely keeping the engine running. Last year’s magic at the AC Tourney will have to be repeated if the Pirates are to make the NCAA baseball tournament. I don’t see that happening. I hope I’m wrong.

It’s hard to figure out this year’s diamond Pirates. The offense which showed up on Friday stayed in the dugout yesterday. The number of non-quality trips to the plate by several Pirates is hard to explain. Give credit to the Memphis pitching, which suffered through one inning of poor defense, and otherwise tamed the Pirates. The Tigers earned their runs with timely hitting when it counted. While the Pirates can still win the series today, which is important, Saturday’s loss will hurt the postseason résumé. The Pirates simply were not that competitive at the plate.

Aggressive hitting, combined with solid pitching, powered the Pirates to an impressive win over Memphis. ECU remembered how to use the bats, and didn’t waste any time jumping on the Memphis starter right from the get-go. Moreover, the Pirates kept adding runs along the way which gave ECU pitching the chance to shorten the game. RT did his part on the mound once again, as did C-Wall to close it out. Pirate bullpen is now in as good of shape as it could be for Sat/Sun. Hopefully, the bats will stay active, and Norby will bring his A-game on Saturday.