ECU prepares for C-USA tournament

Pirates end regular season with win over UNC-W

Hart Holloman

Issue date: 5/21/08 Section: Sports

Page 1 of 1

Media Credit: Ashley Yaber

The ECU baseball team won three out of four games last week, closing out the regular season with a 39-17 record overall and a 13-11 mark in conference play. The Pirates edged out a tough UNC-W team Tuesday night, then traveled to Memphis for their last series of the season and took two games out of three from the Tigers.

ECU completed the sweep of their season series against UNC-W with a 3-2 win at home last Tuesday. The pitching duel was capped by a flurry of activity in the final two frames and the Pirates came out on top.

Six pitchers in the first seven innings for ECU combined to hold the Seahawks to one run on three hits, while UNC-W pitcher Larry Salefsky allowed one run and scattered six hits in six innings of work.

The Pirates finally broke the deadlock in the eighth when Seahawk relievers walked the bases loaded and Brandon Henderson doubled down the line to score two. UNC-W tried to answer in the ninth but came up just short as Seth Simmons closed out the inning for the win.

After the game coach Billy Godwin was glad to get the result.

"We had to grind that one because they're a good club," said Godwin. "To get this win before we go on the road and after a tough weekend is just huge for our guys. Now we have to get ready and prepare for a good Memphis team."

After a traveling day, the Pirates opened their series with Memphis on Thursday.

Seth Maness came within one out of a complete game shutout while fanning eight in 8.2 innings of work on the bump for the Pirates as they cruised to an 8-1 victory in the series opener.

Harrison Eldridge led the team with three hits while Jamie Ray and Dustin Harrington each added two.

Seven different Pirates scored with Ray being the only one two double his tally.

The Pirates brought their bats to the second game as well. They scored 17 runs in a romp of the C-USA cellar dwellers. Henderson, Harrington and Ryan Wood all had four hits for the Pirates who put up 19 as a team. Harrington and Henderson both knocked in five batters apiece to lead the team. The pitching was solid as starter Justin Bristow went six strong innings and gave up only two runs.

ECU pitchers faced only 34 batters compared to Memphis pitchers who saw 58.

ECU dropped the final game of the series 7-5 as starter T.J. Hose had another short outing giving up three runs in only three innings of work while walking four.

Ray led the team with three hits and Kyle Roller added two and two RBI's, but Pirate batters struck out nine times and left six runners on base in the loss.

"I feel good about this team and what we've done," Godwin said. "I mean sure we'd like to go out and score ten runs every game and give up none, but that just doesn't happen.

"We're putting together our postseason resume and like I told the guys all these games are important."

The Pirates will begin the C-USA tournament this weekend in New Orleans as the No. 5 seed and will take on the Houston Cougars Wednesday at 10 a.m. The Cougars won the regular season series with the Pirates taking two of three in Greenville.

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com

Page 1 of 1