Pirate Baseball Travels to Myrtle Beach This Weekend
February 17, 2005 | Baseball
The Pirates (1-2) dropped two of three last weekend at College of Charleston. After winning the season opener on Friday, 9-6, ECU fell 15-7 on Saturday and 11-9 on Sunday.
Sophomore Mike Flye picked up the win on Friday, pitching 3 2/3 innings, allowing three runs of fou hits while striking out two Cougar batters. Freshman T.J. Hose earned his first collegiate save in extra innings in the Pirate win. Hose made two appearances against CofC, pitching four innings, allowing just one run while striking out two and walking two.
Offensively, ECU was led by designated hitter Mike Grace. Grace batted .500 (6-for-12) against College of Charleston, including a homerun and two doubles. In addition to leading the team in hitting, the redshirt sophomore leads the Pirates in RBI (5), total bases (11), and slugging percentage (.917).
Catcher Jake Smith and outfielder Drew Costanzo also homered for ECU over the weekend. Costanzo capped off an eight-run fifth inning in Saturday's game with his first-career grand slam. Other Pirates that enjoyed a successful first weekend at the plate include Brian Cavanaugh (4-for-8, team-leading .556 OB%), Brett Lindgren (4-for-9, three RBI) and Jay Mattox (5-for-13, two runs scored).
ABOUT COASTAL CAROLINA
Coastal Carolina dropped their season-opener 8-4 versus Campbell on Tuesday. Outfielder Jon Foisy led CCU, batting 3-for-5 and collecting three of the team's four RBI. Kevin Marrie started for Coastal Carolina going 4 1/3 innings allowing two earned runs, striking out one and walking three. Jake Hurry took the loss for CCU, allowing two earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Coastal's Mike Costanzo is a Baseball America Third Team All-America preseason selection. In '04 the two-way player hit .359, hitting 21 homeruns with 74 RBI and 66 runs scored. He also earned seven wins with a 5.81 ERA.
ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia defeated Norfolk State on the road twice this past weekend by scores of 5-1 and 6-4. Chad McKown leads the Mountaineers this season batting 4-for-8 through two games, collecting three doubles, two runs, one RBI and one stolen base. Stan Posluszny leads WVU with three RBI. Wes Osbourne and Chris Amedro have earned the wins for West Virginia while Todd Dunham collected a save in the Mountaineers 6-4 win over Norfolk. The WVU pitching staff has allowed only three earned runs in 18 innings pitching.
ABOUT CLEMSON
Clemson has yet to play in the 2005 season. They are currently ranked #21 in the most recent Collegiate Baseball poll announced Monday (2/14). Kris Harvey returns as the Tigers leading offensive threat. Harvey hit .335 with eight homeruns and 41 RBI in '04. Travis Storrer also returns for Coach Jack Leggett's squad. Storrer batted .315 with seven homeruns, 33 RBI and 49 runs scored. The Tiger pitching staff returns two regular starters from last season. In addition to Harvey, who in addition to his offensive contributions, finished with a 6-0 record on the mound in '04, Clemson returns left-hander Robert Rohrbaugh. Rohrbaugh went 4-5 last year with a 3.99 ERA in 76 2/3 innings of work.
PIRATES ALL-TIME VS. BEACH TEAMS
The Pirates have an all-time record of 4-4 against Coastal Carolina, 6-5 versus West Virginia and 8-13 against Clemson. The most recent match-up between ECU and one of their opponents this weekend came at the Keith LeClair Classic a year ago. The Pirates defeated Clemson twice on the weekend, winning 3-2 and 6-4. Mike Flye and Dustin Sasser each earned their first career wins against the Tigers. The last time ECU met WVU, the Pirates prevaled 13-8 in Morgantown. The Pirates defeated CCU 7-6 in 2001 in Greenville the last time they met.
