Pirates Host Delaware at Harrington Field

Pirates Host Delaware at Harrington Field

02/27/2003

Live official statistics

Live audio (Friday only)

East Carolina (5-3) vs. Delaware (0-3)
at Harrington Field

Friday, Feb. 28, 3 p.m. [PSN]
Brinson (0-0, 6.30) vs. Rogers (0-1, 3.60)
Saturday, Mar. 1, 2 p.m.
Penny (0-2, 8.53) vs. Vincent (0-1, 6.75)
Sunday, Mar. 2, 1 p.m.
TBA vs. TBA

PSN = Pirate Sports Network radio broadcast

Pirates Welcome Blue Hens for Third Straight Season
The University of Delaware pays Harrington Field a visit for the third straight year as East Carolina opens a three-game series with the Blue Hens on Friday (3 p.m.). ECU has taken five of the six meetings played since 2001, including a three-game sweep of Delaware to open last season's schedule. The Pirates will be looking to gain some consistency, both in the batter's box and on the pitching mound, and carry a 5-3 record into the weekend.

Noting the Pirates

ECU matched a season-high in runs with Wednesday's 8-3 win over visiting Elon, which snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Phoenix. Shortstop Luke Cherry smacked two doubles and drove in a career-high five runs for the Pirates. Starting pitcher Neal Sears celebrated his 22nd birthday by pitching five innings for the win.

Pirate pitching has been solid again in the early going. ECU hurlers have allowed just 27 earned runs over 73.1 innings for a 3.31 ERA, which is ahead of the pace set by last year's team ERA which ranked 16th nationally. ECU has struggled at times at the plate, however, with a team batting average of .247. Only one of the regular starters--Cherry at .333--is batting over .300 entering Friday's game.

Senior Jason Tourangeau, who has made 41 pitching appearances over the past three seasons, is making a strong bid for a regular role as ECU's designated hitter. Tourangeau, who went 3-for-5 on Wednesday, is currently batting .500 (5-for-10) with a pair of doubles. He made his first career start at designated hitter last Saturday at UCF.

Saturday's probable starter, senior Davey Penny, needs five more strikeouts for 200. In doing so, he will become just the seventh pitcher in ECU history to reach that milestone and the first since Foye Minton surpassed that mark in 2001.

About the Blue Hens
Delaware opened its season last weekend by dropping three games at Coastal Carolina. Last season, the Blue Hens finished fourth in their first year as members of the Colonial Athletic Association as they posted a 35-22 overall record. Despite a strong finish to the season, Delaware missed the NCAA Tournament field for the first time in five years. The top returning hitter is infielder Kris Dufner, who batted .350 with seven home runs and 48 RBI last season. Sophomore right-hander Jason Rogers is the top returning starter as he went 4-4 with a 3.67 ERA as a rookie. Senior right-hander Jason Vincent, a six-game winner last season, was the starter in game two of last year's series with the Pirates in which ECU pulled out a 3-2 victory in 10 innings.

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