Eason to Remain on ECU Baseball Staff
July 12, 2002 | Baseball
Eason, a native of Snow Hill, N.C., and a standout catcher for the Pirates from 1989-91, is the first assistant named by Mazey, who became the ninth head coach in ECU baseball history on July 1. Mazey took over for Keith LeClair, who relinquished his head coaching duties on June 19 due to health reasons. LeClair remains with the ECU athletics department as a special assistant to director of athletics Mike Hamrick after compiling a 212-96-1 record over the past five seasons.
Since taking over as the Pirates' pitching coach in 1999, three of Eason's staffs have finished in the top 16 nationally in earned run average. ECU has won 43 or more games in each of the last four seasons, advancing to NCAA Regional play each year. This past season, the ECU pitching staff posted a 3.64 ERA, 16th in the country, and the Pirates swept to a Conference USA Tournament championship their first year in the league.
"We are pleased that Tommy has decided to stay with us," Mazey said. "Tommy is the essence of ECU baseball--he's an eastern North Carolina native, was a great player at East Carolina, and has been a great coach for the past five years here. I'm happy that he will continue to be a part of our staff."
Mazey and Eason both served assistant coaches on LeClair's first staff at ECU in 1998. Mazey departed following that season to become an assistant coach at Tennessee, where he served the past four years.
Eason is one of the top catchers in Pirate history. A two-time All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, he finished his three-year career at ECU with a .336 batting average. He also helped the Pirates gain an NCAA Regional berth in three consecutive seasons. He was also regarded as one of the finest defensive catchers in Pirate history, with an impressive .987 career fielding percentage.
