ECU Sets 2017 Baseball Banquet For January 28
December 20, 2016 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina baseball fans will get a chance to meet the 2017 Pirates up close and personal on Saturday, Jan. 28 as ECU will host its 2017 Pirate Baseball Banquet inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
Former Pirate great and 2012 ECU Hall of Fame inductee John Williamson will serve as the keynote speaker, while WNCT-TV Sports Director Brian Bailey will emcee the event. A two-time first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) player, Williamson is the only player in the storied history of Pirate baseball with 40 home runs, 50 doubles, 100 walks, 200 runs and 200 RBI. He is ECU's all-time leader in at-bats (901), doubles (72), games started (236) and total bases (509) while ranking second in games played (238), hits (294) and runs (213).
During his rookie season of 1998, Williamson became the first Pirate to receive Freshman All-America honors by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. He helped the Pirates earn three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths from 1999-2001 and led them to their first Super Regional appearance in 2001. Williamson was a member of a pair of CAA regular season and tournament championship teams.
Joining Williamson as a guest for the annual banquet will be former Pirate hurler and current Major Leaguer Shawn Armstrong, who will do a sit down question and answer session with Bailey. Armstrong, who made his Major League debut on Aug. 8, 2015 with the Cleveland Indians, has appeared in 18 career games for the Tribe allowing five runs (all earned) on 14 hits with 18 strikeouts in 18.2 innings while posting a 2.41 ERA. Since being selected in the 18th round by Cleveland in 2011, Armstrong is a four-time mid-season All-Star selection (2012, 2014-16) and earned organizational All-Star accolades in 2016.
A two-time letterwinner for ECU, Armstrong appeared in 43 games (11 starts) posting a 4-3 record with a 4.45 ERA. As a red-shirt sophomore in 2011, he helped the Pirates to a 41-21 overall record and a No. 2 seed in the Charlottesville Regional. During that campaign, he appeared in 19 games (six starts) sporting a 3-1 record with a 4.63 ERA.
"We are excited to kick off our 2017 season with a special night for the Pirate Nation," ECU Head Coach Cliff Godwin said. "This will be a fun evening for our fans to come out and support our team. There's no better way to get the season started than with John Williamson, a Pirate Hall of Famer, and Shawn Armstrong, former Pirate and Cleveland Indian leading the charge!"
The 2017 Pirates will be introduced during the program and fans will have a chance to hear from Coach Godwin as well as captains Evan Kruczynski, Eric Tyler and Travis Watkins.
During his two years at the helm of the program, Godwin has guided ECU to a pair of NCAA Regional berths, a Super Regional appearance, an American Athletic Conference Tournament title and a 78-44-1 (.638) overall record. Three players have earned All-America honors, five were named to the Charlottesville All-Regional Team, six took home all-conference honors (five first-teamers), seven were selected as American Player-of-the-Week, while a pair were drafted by Major League Baseball teams.
Off the field, his teams have excelled in the classroom by registering a 3.05 or higher in three of four semesters, including a program-best 3.42 in the fall of 2015 and a 3.20 in the spring of 2016. For the 2015-16 academic year, the Pirates recorded a 3.31 cumulative GPA, which ranked as the highest male team cumulative GPA at ECU during that span. Godwin's club earned The American Academic and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Excellence Awards for the first time in program history.
In the community, the Pirates have volunteered nearly 2,000 hours working with programs in the Pitt County area as the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, Team IMPACT, Riley's Army, Cypress Glenn Retirement Community Flood Relief, Red Cross, First Born Community Development Center and the James, ACES for Autism, Make-A-Wish Foundation and the James and Connie Maynard Children's Hospital.
Pirate fans, coaches, players and ECU dignitaries will enjoy a sit-down dinner provided by McCall's that includes: grilled chicken, pork tenderloin, roasted new potatoes, vegetable medley, rolls, salad, chef's dessert, iced tea, lemonade and water.
Capacity for this year's event is limited to 800 people with ticket prices set for adults ($40), ECU Baseball Alumni ($25) and children under 12 ($20). Fans also have the ability to purchase tables at the price of $700, which consists of eight seats for family and friends to go along with two players. Each table that is sold will receive a team autographed baseball jersey and two general admission season ticket vouchers for 2017.
Every person in attendance will also get a team poster and one ticket voucher to the 2017 season opener against La Salle, which is set for 4 p.m. on Feb. 24 at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Schedule of Events
5 P.M. – Doors open and silent auction begins (items include two tickets to the 2017 Virginia Tech and 2017 BYU home football games as well as ECU baseball alumni memorabilia)
5-6 P.M. – Autograph session with coaches, players and as well as John Williamson and Shawn Armstrong
6-8 P.M. – Program and dinner
6:50 P.M. – Silent auction ends
Tickets for the banquet officially go on sale Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 12 noon and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20 (or until sold out). Fans can reserve their seats by ordering through the Online Ticket Center (http://bit.ly/2i5SKUW) or by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at (252) 737-4500.
Prior to dinner, the Pirates will hold an official practice session and intra-squad scrimmage at Clark-LeClair Stadium, which is free to ECU fans.
Season tickets are officially on sale with packages starting as low as $120. Pirate fans have seven different options to choose from and can purchase their 2017 season tickets online (http://bit.ly/2gynKJ0) or contacting the ECU Athletic Ticket Office.
Ticket Options (tax included)
Chair Back – $200
Chair Back Upgrade – $400
Regular Reserved Bench – $200
Faculty/Staff Reserved Bench – $160
Senior Citizen Reserved Bench – $120
Young Grad Reserved Bench – $120
Economy Plan (Section 201/201 & Jungle) – $120
Former Pirate great and 2012 ECU Hall of Fame inductee John Williamson will serve as the keynote speaker, while WNCT-TV Sports Director Brian Bailey will emcee the event. A two-time first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) player, Williamson is the only player in the storied history of Pirate baseball with 40 home runs, 50 doubles, 100 walks, 200 runs and 200 RBI. He is ECU's all-time leader in at-bats (901), doubles (72), games started (236) and total bases (509) while ranking second in games played (238), hits (294) and runs (213).
During his rookie season of 1998, Williamson became the first Pirate to receive Freshman All-America honors by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. He helped the Pirates earn three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths from 1999-2001 and led them to their first Super Regional appearance in 2001. Williamson was a member of a pair of CAA regular season and tournament championship teams.
Joining Williamson as a guest for the annual banquet will be former Pirate hurler and current Major Leaguer Shawn Armstrong, who will do a sit down question and answer session with Bailey. Armstrong, who made his Major League debut on Aug. 8, 2015 with the Cleveland Indians, has appeared in 18 career games for the Tribe allowing five runs (all earned) on 14 hits with 18 strikeouts in 18.2 innings while posting a 2.41 ERA. Since being selected in the 18th round by Cleveland in 2011, Armstrong is a four-time mid-season All-Star selection (2012, 2014-16) and earned organizational All-Star accolades in 2016.
A two-time letterwinner for ECU, Armstrong appeared in 43 games (11 starts) posting a 4-3 record with a 4.45 ERA. As a red-shirt sophomore in 2011, he helped the Pirates to a 41-21 overall record and a No. 2 seed in the Charlottesville Regional. During that campaign, he appeared in 19 games (six starts) sporting a 3-1 record with a 4.63 ERA.
"We are excited to kick off our 2017 season with a special night for the Pirate Nation," ECU Head Coach Cliff Godwin said. "This will be a fun evening for our fans to come out and support our team. There's no better way to get the season started than with John Williamson, a Pirate Hall of Famer, and Shawn Armstrong, former Pirate and Cleveland Indian leading the charge!"
The 2017 Pirates will be introduced during the program and fans will have a chance to hear from Coach Godwin as well as captains Evan Kruczynski, Eric Tyler and Travis Watkins.
During his two years at the helm of the program, Godwin has guided ECU to a pair of NCAA Regional berths, a Super Regional appearance, an American Athletic Conference Tournament title and a 78-44-1 (.638) overall record. Three players have earned All-America honors, five were named to the Charlottesville All-Regional Team, six took home all-conference honors (five first-teamers), seven were selected as American Player-of-the-Week, while a pair were drafted by Major League Baseball teams.
Off the field, his teams have excelled in the classroom by registering a 3.05 or higher in three of four semesters, including a program-best 3.42 in the fall of 2015 and a 3.20 in the spring of 2016. For the 2015-16 academic year, the Pirates recorded a 3.31 cumulative GPA, which ranked as the highest male team cumulative GPA at ECU during that span. Godwin's club earned The American Academic and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Excellence Awards for the first time in program history.
In the community, the Pirates have volunteered nearly 2,000 hours working with programs in the Pitt County area as the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, Team IMPACT, Riley's Army, Cypress Glenn Retirement Community Flood Relief, Red Cross, First Born Community Development Center and the James, ACES for Autism, Make-A-Wish Foundation and the James and Connie Maynard Children's Hospital.
Pirate fans, coaches, players and ECU dignitaries will enjoy a sit-down dinner provided by McCall's that includes: grilled chicken, pork tenderloin, roasted new potatoes, vegetable medley, rolls, salad, chef's dessert, iced tea, lemonade and water.
Capacity for this year's event is limited to 800 people with ticket prices set for adults ($40), ECU Baseball Alumni ($25) and children under 12 ($20). Fans also have the ability to purchase tables at the price of $700, which consists of eight seats for family and friends to go along with two players. Each table that is sold will receive a team autographed baseball jersey and two general admission season ticket vouchers for 2017.
Every person in attendance will also get a team poster and one ticket voucher to the 2017 season opener against La Salle, which is set for 4 p.m. on Feb. 24 at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Schedule of Events
5 P.M. – Doors open and silent auction begins (items include two tickets to the 2017 Virginia Tech and 2017 BYU home football games as well as ECU baseball alumni memorabilia)
5-6 P.M. – Autograph session with coaches, players and as well as John Williamson and Shawn Armstrong
6-8 P.M. – Program and dinner
6:50 P.M. – Silent auction ends
Tickets for the banquet officially go on sale Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 12 noon and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20 (or until sold out). Fans can reserve their seats by ordering through the Online Ticket Center (http://bit.ly/2i5SKUW) or by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at (252) 737-4500.
Prior to dinner, the Pirates will hold an official practice session and intra-squad scrimmage at Clark-LeClair Stadium, which is free to ECU fans.
Season tickets are officially on sale with packages starting as low as $120. Pirate fans have seven different options to choose from and can purchase their 2017 season tickets online (http://bit.ly/2gynKJ0) or contacting the ECU Athletic Ticket Office.
Ticket Options (tax included)
Chair Back – $200
Chair Back Upgrade – $400
Regular Reserved Bench – $200
Faculty/Staff Reserved Bench – $160
Senior Citizen Reserved Bench – $120
Young Grad Reserved Bench – $120
Economy Plan (Section 201/201 & Jungle) – $120
Players Mentioned
Friday, May 29
Thursday, May 28
Sunday, May 24
Sunday, May 24
