Diamond Bucs split in rain-shortened LeClair Classic

The Sixth Annual Keith LeClair Classic may have been condensed, but ECU still had enough time to show it can compete with high-caliber teams. As part of a Friday doubleheader, the Pirates overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat St. John's 9-7 before falling to No. 11 Oklahoma State, 7-6.

Trailing 6-4 heading into the eighth, Oklahoma State rallied for three runs and held on for the victory to bounce back from a 14-7 loss to the Pirates on Thursday.

ECU's scheduled contest against College of Charleston, as well as the St. Johns vs. Oklahoma State matchup, was canceled on Sunday.

Head coach Billy Godwin was proud of the way his team competed despite the loss to Oklahoma State.

"This tournament represents so many good things," said Godwin. "I think Coach LeClair stood for coming out with grit and fighting and playing hard and that's exactly what our club has done."

The Pirates put two men on base with two outs in the ninth, but couldn't cash in. After Brandon Henderson singled to center and Kyle Roller was hit by a pitch, Drew Schieber fouled out to right field to end the game.

"We keep responding," Godwin said. "That's a good sign of a good club. I couldn't be any more pleased with that. It just didn't fall our way today."

The Cowboys took the lead in the eighth when Doug Kroll doubled down the left field line, scoring two runs. Godwin chose to pitch around Neil Medchill, who already had two homeruns in the game. Right-hander Bailey Daniels was then sent out to replace lefty Patrick Somers.

"We always pick one or two guys that we don't want to beat us and he was the one guy," Godwin said of Medchill. "We felt better with Daniels against Kroll and that was really all it was."

Henderson led the way for ECU (5-1), going 2-for-4 with three RBI and a homerun. The senior and preseason recipient of Leclair's No. 23, found the perfect way to honor the former ECU skipper, leading a furious comeback in the seventh.

Junior outfielder Jonathan Ratledge, pinch hitting for Devin Harris, scored on a fielder's choice from Stephen Batts after singling to center to cut the Cowboys lead to 4-3. Henderson plated Ryan Wood and Batts with a three-run blast to right-center field, giving the Pirates their first lead of the game, 6-4.

"We're going to compete until the game's over," said Henderson. "We've got a good offense. We're never out of a game."

Sophomore right-hander Seth Maness went toe-to-toe with one of the nation's best pitchers, left-hander Andrew Oliver. Neither stud could silence the opponents' bats however, as Oliver gave up six runs in seven innings of work in his winning effort and Maness gave up five runs in seven. Somers, who relieved Maness in the eighth, received the loss.

Maness gave up six hits, one walk, and struck out eight batters.

"It's good to face them and see what I've really got and see what our team's got," said Maness. "I think we showed it today. We brought our 'A' game and they did, too. Somebody has to lose and somebody has to win."

Oklahoma State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first by way of a Medchill homerun that was just out of reach of center fielder Trent Whitehead.

The Pirates responded with a two-run shot of their own from Wood. Whitehead, who finished with two hits, led the inning off with a double to right field.

"I was just trying to get the guy over," said Wood of the at-bat. "…I just got it up in the air and it happened to go out."

The previous game against St. John's was a more impressive display for the ECU bats. Six different Pirates had multiple hits, including Henderson who went 3-for-5 with three RBI.

Roller scored Whitehead with a sacrifice fly in the sixth to give ECU a 7-6 lead after Whitehead reached base with a single.

Shortstop Dustin Harrington added some insurance to the Pirate lead in the seventh with a solo homerun to left. Whitehead added another run, scoring Trent Ashcraft, on a double to give ECU a 9-6 advantage.

The Red Storm's attempt at a rally ended in the ninth after one run was scored.

"I thought we swung the bats well," Godwin said. "I thought our guys gave a great effort, played hard, and that's all I can ask them to do."

Sophomore Brad Mincey picked up the win in relief of starter Chris Heston, who gave up four earned runs on six hits. Mincey allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts. Daniels entered in the ninth inning to earn his first save of the season. Seth Simmons made his second appearance of the season, giving up two runs.

Oklahoma State defeated College of Charleston 7-6 in Friday morning's opening game of the Classic. College of Charleston bounced back with a win over St. John's, 8-4 in the closing game on Friday night.

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.