ECU Baseball To Hold Purple-Gold World Series
October 09, 2007 | Baseball
Oct. 9, 2007
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The 2008 East Carolina baseball team will conclude its fall practice this week with a pair of seven-inning intra-squad scrimmages at Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium starting Wednesday night at 6 p.m.
The Pirates, who started fall practice on Sept. 5, will also play a seven-inning simulated game on Thursday at 4 p.m., with free admission to all Pirate fans.
ECU welcomes back 15 letterwinners from a team that finished 40-23 and made their eighth NCAA Regional in the last nine years. Returning this season are All Conference USA performers Harrison Eldridge and T.J. Hose; C-USA All-Freshman Team selection Kyle Roller and Chapel Hill Regional All-Tournament selections Stephen Batts, Corey Kemp and Jamie Ray.
Also stepping onto the diamond were 11 new faces, which comprised of transfers Justin Bristow (Auburn University) and Daniel Holder (Lurleen Wallace State College), as well as nine freshmen: Cameron Freeman, Matthew Hancock, Dustin Harrington, Matthew Laney, Seth Maness, Brad Mincey, Seth Simmons, Sthil Sowers and Trent Whitehead.
A trio of Pirates have already picked up some preseason national recognition as Batts, Roller and Ryan Wood were all named to Baseball America's top prospects list for 2008.
Batts, who will enter the 2008 season on a 29-game hitting streak, was ranked as the fourth-best prospect from the Coastal Plain League (CPL). Roller, who tied for the team lead a year ago with 11 home runs, was tabbed as the seventh-best prospect from the CPL. Wood, a 6-4 infielder, played his summer ball in the Valley League and was rated as the seventh-best prospect.
