Pirate Baseball Hosts Keith LeClair Invitational
February 27, 2004 | Baseball
PIRATES CONTINUE 12-GAME HOME-STAND
East Carolina welcomes No.11 Clemson and Georgia Southern to Harrington Field this weekend for the First Annual Keith LeClair Invitational. East Carolina will wrap up its 12-game home-stand before hitting the road next weekend for its first games away from home at nationally-ranked Arizona State. ECU swept UNC Asheville, 4-1, 8-0 and 6-2 in the season opener. The Pirates have mid-week wins over Campbell, 10-2, and North Carolina, 2-0. The Pirates swept the series from Delaware last weekend, 6-4, 4-0, and 9-1.
ABOUT THE PIRATES
East Carolina is off to its best start since the 2002 season when the Pirates opened up the season 10-0. ECU continues its 12-game home stand when it hosts No. 11 Clemson and Georgia Southern for the first annual Keith LeClair Invitational. Sophomore second baseman Trevor Lawhorn leads the team hitting .469 with four home runs, four doubles and 12 RBI. Senior center fielder Ryan Jones is second hitting .389 with two doubles and three home runs. East Carolina's pitching staff has been very good early in the season. Thirteen Pirate pitchers have combined for a 1.12 ERA. ECU pitchers have recorded 73 strikeouts in 72 innings while walking 13 batters and allowing only nine earned runs as the staff already has three shutouts in eight games. For the third straight weekend, the Pirates will send the rotation of left-hander Brody Taylor, right-handers Greg Bunn and Ricky Brooks to the mound to start things off. Bunn already has 16 strikeouts in 12 innings while not allowing an earned run.
ABOUT THE CLEMSON TIGERS
Clemson is ranked in the Top 17 of all three major college baseball polls. The Tigers are 11th by Baseball America and Sports Weekly and 17th by Collegiate Baseball.Clemson enters this weekend's invitational looking to regroup after a 5-4 setback to Charlotte at home Tuesday. The 49ers combined for 14 hits off nine different Tiger pitchers. Junior third baseman Brad McCann led the Tigers against Charlotte going 4-for-5 with a double, home run and two RBI. He enters this weekend riding a 21-game hitting streak. As a team, the Tigers hit .276 after one game while the pitching staff has a 4.00 ERA after allowing four earned runs in nine innings and recording two strikeouts. Clemson's rotation for the weekend features right-handers Jason Berken, Kris Harvey and left-hander Tyler Lumsden. Lumsden threw one scoreless inning against the 49ers and gave up one hit. Harvey also added one scoreless inning against Charlotte. Berken will be making his first appearance of the 2004 season.
ABOUT THE GEORGIA SOUTHERN EAGLES
Georgia Southern has already played 10 games in 2004 entering the weekend invitational sporting a 5-5 record. Offense has been the key for the Eagles in the first 10 games. The Eagles are hitting .313 as a team with 113 hits in 10 games including 14 home runs and 80 RBI. First baseman Greg Dowling leads the team hitting .429 with four doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI. Left fielder Jason Hurst is hitting .324 but has 15 RBI including four doubles and three home runs. The pitching staff has produced a 5.44 team ERA with 87 strikeouts in 91 innings, but GSU has walked 35 and allowed 55 earned runs on 98 hits.The Eagles are coming off a 14-5 win over Mercer Tuesday. Georgia Southern split a two-game series with intra-state rival Georgia last weekend. GSU lost game one, 6-3, but knocked off the Bulldogs 12-5 in the second game.
LECLAIR'S JERSEY NO. 23 AWARDED TO SENIOR JAMIE PAIGE
Baseball jersey No. 23, which is the number worn by former ECU head coach Keith LeClair throughout his coaching and playing career, became an honorary number for the Pirate baseball program in 2003. The number is awarded annually to a deserving player who best displays the hustle, determination and desire that made LeClair a great coach and player. Ben Sanderson wore the No. 23 in 2003 and passes the honor on to senior outfielder Jamie Paige in 2004. Paige, a three-year letterman, is a career .300 hitter and batted .307 with 42 runs scored, 71 hits, eight doubles, three home runs and 33 RBI as a junior in 2003. LeClair's courageous battle against a neuromuscular disorder has garnered support and admiration throughout the ECU community.
ECU VS. CLEMSON, GEORGIA SOUTHERN
East Carolina and Clemson have met 19 times with the Tigers holding a 13-6 advantage in the series dating back to 1968. The series is tied 4-4 in games played at East Carolina. Clemson has won the last two meetings between the teams. The Tigers knocked ECU out of the NCAA Tournament in 2002 winning 4-2 and 21-1. The Pirates last defeated the Tigers, 5-4, and, 14-2, in Greenville in 1999. ECU head coach Randy Mazey will coach against his alma mater for the first time. East Carolina and Georgia Southern have met 18 times with the Eagles holding an 11-7 advantage. East Carolina knocked Georgia Southern out of the 2002 Clemson Regional with a 7-3 Pirate win. The Pirates last hosted the Eagles in 1998 when Georgia Southern swept a two-game series, 10-5, and, 9-6.
KEITH LECLAIR INVITATIONAL HONORS FORMER ECU COACH
The East Carolina Athletics Department would like to thank Trade Mart and Wachovia Bank who are the official sponsors of this weekend's First Annual Keith LeClair Invitational. ECU, Georgia Southern and No. 11 Clemson are taking part in the round-robin invitational. LeClair served as head coach at East Carolina from 1998-2002. He stepped down after the 2002 season after being diagnosed with a neuromuscular disorder. He still serves as a special advisor to the Pirate baseball program. The Invitational will reunite coaches with a connection to LeClair. Georgia Southern head coach Rodney Hennon and assistant coach Mike Tiddick played for LeClair at Western Carolina. LeClair played for current Clemson head coach Jack Leggett at Western Carolina.
