Baseball set to face Columbia in first round

ECU baseball to face Columbia in Coral Gables Regional first round.

After being selected as the two-seed in the Coral Gables Regional Monday afternoon, the East Carolina baseball team will face Columbia Friday in the first round of the double-elimination regional.

ECU is riding an eight-game win streak entering the regional, including a 9-1 win over Houston in the American Athletic Conference championship game. The Pirates broke into Baseball America’s top-25 this week and currently sit at No. 23 in the nation after their championship performance.

Columbia is entering its third straight regional after winning the Ivy League championship series over Dartmouth. The Lions are 31-15 and split their opening series of the season with Houston. Columbia also earned quality wins over St. John’s and UNC Greensboro.

Columbia became the first Ivy team to garner a No. 3 seed in a regional last year and earned the same seed this year.

The Lions are led by senior outfielder Joey Falcone. Falcone holds the team-high in nearly every offensive category. He is hitting .347 with 11 home runs and 52 RBIs and is slugging and impressive .676.

Falcone does have some protection around him with four Lion seniors hitting over .300. Outfielder Gus Craig provides pop in the middle of the lineup for Columbia. Craig is hitting .331 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs.

Jordan Serena has been a strong leadoff man for the Lions with a .314 average and 21 stolen bases in 27 attempts. David Vandercook is another tough out with the second highest on base percentage on the team at .426. He is hitting .312 on the season with six home runs and 34 RBIs.

George Thanopoulos has been the top-of-the-rotation starter for Columbia this season. The junior made 12 starts and logged a 3.65 ERA with a 5-5 record. He has been the pace-maker for the pitching staff with a team-leading 69 innings pitched and will likely be the starter against the Pirates Friday afternoon.

ECU Head Coach Cliff Godwin will have a tough decision to make with his rotation. Reid Love has proved more than capable all season with a 7-3 record and a 2.84 ERA in 21 appearances. Love also threw in the second round of the AAC tournament and threw eight innings against Central Florida and kept the Pirates in the game before the Pirates won in extras.

Sophomore Evan Kruczynski is Godwin’s other option as Friday’s starter. Kruczynski was the Friday starter for most of the season before hitting a rough patch at the end of the season. The southpaw recorded a team-high eight wins and threw 94 innings in his 15 starts. He had the third-lowest starter ERA at 3.06.

Kruczynski may be the better option for the Friday start as Columbia is not the most serviceable opponent and saving Love to potentially face Miami (Fla.) will make a better pitching matchup in the second round.

ECU will turn to the top of the lineup to provide the spark as it has the past few weeks. Hunter Allen was named the Most Outstanding Player in the AAC tournament as the Pirate’s leadoff hitter and shortstop. Charlie Yorgen recorded a walk off hit against Central Florida and has been a mainstay as the two-hitter this season.

The middle of the lineup will provide the power when necessary. Travis Watkins belted a home run for ECU in the conference tournament. Luke Lowery recorded two RBIs in the win over Houston and leads the team with 49 RBIs.

Love, a John Olerud Award semifinalist, has been swinging a hot bat of late and will be critical in the middle of the Pirates’ lineup through the rest of the postseason at the plate as much as on the mound.

ECU will face off with the Lions Friday at 1 p.m. in Coral Gables, Fla., in the first round of the regional. The regional also includes host team and No. 6 Miami (Fla.) and Florida International who will face the Hurricanes in round one.