Pirates, Seahawks Renew Baseball Rivalry

Pirates, Seahawks Renew Baseball Rivalry

03/11/2003

East Carolina (10-4-1) vs. UNC Wilmington (15-6)
at Harrington Field

Tuesday, Mar. 11, 7 p.m. [PSN]
Sears (1-1, 3.42) vs. Coughlin (2-2, 4.18)
PSN = Pirate Sports Network radio broadcast

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- The 103rd meeting in a long-running baseball rivalry occurs tonight when East Carolina hosts regional foe UNC Wilmington at Harrington Field. ECU leads the all-time series, 55-47, against its former Colonial Athletic Association conference mate. The Pirates have won six of their last eight games and are looking to continue its momentum heading into its Conference USA opener at Houston this coming weekend. UNCW, meanwhile, has won seven of its last eight and 10 of its last 12. The two teams split last season's two meetings with each winning on its respective home field.

Noting the Pirates

The Pirate pitching staff has now gone 22 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. That streak has pushed the staff ERA down to 2.58, which currently leads Conference USA.

ECU's defense has also been solid of late with only two errors committed in the past four games.

Currently with 211 career strikeouts, senior right-hander Davey Penny needs four more to move past former Pirate hurler Jake Jacobs (1986-89) into the No. 6 spot on the school's career strikeouts chart.

Left fielder Jamie Paige currently has a team season-high hitting streak of eight games. He has batted .545 (6-for-11) over his last three.

Senior right-hander Neal Sears needs two more pitching appearances for his 80th, which will tie the ECU career record.

The No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the batting order have been a bit of a jinx for Pirate hitters this season. Batters in those two positions have combined to hit only .197 so far, while the team batting average is currently .277.

Of ECU's 90 runs this season, 73 percent (66) have been scored from the fifth inning and beyond.

ECU's Jake Smith, Darryl Lawhorn, and Ryan Norwood are all tied for third in home runs in Conference USA with four apiece.

About the Seahawks
UNC Wilmington brings an overall record of 15-6 into tonight's game and is coming off a three-game sweep of St. John's this past weekend. Other notable wins for the Seahawks have come over Missouri, Duke, West Virginia, and Appalachian State. UNCW returns five position starters from a team that finished second in the CAA last season. Among them are senior outfielder Jamie Hemingway, who leads the team with his .358 batting average. Freshman infielder Jon Davis has a team-high 16 RBI. With a team ERA of 3.36, pitching has been a strength for the 2003 Seahawks. Leading the way on the mound have been senior Jake Mullis (3-1, 2.27) and sophomore Ronald Hill (4-1, 3.73). UNC Wilmington was 36-21 overall last season.

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