No. 30 East Carolina Looks To Complete Sweep
March 30, 2012 | Baseball
March 30, 2012
 vs.  |
| No. 30 East Carolina vs. UAB Apr. 1, 2012 | 10:30 a.m. (EST) Greenville, N.C. RADIO: WNCT 1070 AM |
 Watch |  Live Stats |  ECU Notes | UAB Notes | C-USA Notes |  Tickets |  Gameday Central | Live Chat |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SERIES HISTORY
? Today's game will mark the 29th meeting between the two schools, which started back in 2002 ... The Pirates own a 24-5 all-time record against the Blazers ... The Pirates improved to 13-1 all-time against the Blazers in Greenville with their series clinching win Saturday afternoon.
WEEKEND PROBABLE STARTERS/ RESULTS
Friday: ECU 11, UAB 6 (Final)
Saturday: ECU 12, UAB 2 (Final)
Sunday: RHP Michael Busby (2-1, 2.01 ERA) vs. RHP Jharel Cotton (5-0, 2.29 ERA)
THINGS TO KNOW
? Junior John Wooten's 12-game hitting streak came to an end in Saturday's contest following an 0-for-5 performance at the plate ... Coming into the weekend he was batting .388 (19-for-49) with a home run, five RBI, 12 runs scored, two doubles and three walks ... He has six multi-hit games during his streak (11 games).
? Junior Jharel Cotton looks to pick up his league leading sixth win when he toes the rubber ... In his last outing, Cotton he fanned a career-best 11 batters at then No. 19 UCF in a 15-6 win on national television ... On the season he is 5-0 with a 2.29 ERA in six starts ... He has registered 30 strikeouts to just nine walks in 35.1 innings.
? Last week, sophomore Jack Reinheimer batted a team-best .500 (10-for-20) on the week and helped the Pirates to a pair of wins against nationally-ranked teams (No. 11 N.C. State and No. 19 UCF) ... On the week he recorded a base hit in all five games (current five-game hit streak) and led the squad in hits (10) and runs (9) while adding a walk, hit by pitch and two sacrifice bunts ... Reinheimer also swiped three bases, drove in one run, slugged .550 and had an on-base percentage of .545 ... Against instate rival No. 11 N.C. State, he was 2-for-2 with a pair of runs, a walk and two sacrifice bunts and reached base four times ... He singled in his first two at-bats, walked and then reached on a fielder's choice sac bunt, where he scored the game-winning run ... Against High Point he was 1-for-4 and hit by a pitch ... In the first two games of the opening C-USA series against No. 19 UCF, he was 2-or-8 with a pair of runs scored ... In the series finale, on national television, Reinheimer collected a career-best five hits and scored a career-best five runs, which tied a school record ... He finished the game 5-for-6 with an RBI, a double and swiped a pair of bases ... After flying out to start the game, he reached base in five consecutive at-bats (four singles, double) and scored all five times, including the game winner in the seventh frame ... On the season, Reinheimer increased his batting average to .281 (27-for-96) with eight RBI, 15 runs scored, two home runs and three doubles.
? Andy Smithmyer notched his second win of the season picking up the victory against No. 11 N.C. State in relief on Mar. 20 ... The junior hurler recorded a season-high five strikeouts against the Wolfpack working three scoreless frames ... Against No. 19 UCF he worked another inning of relief allowing a pair of runs (unearned) on three base knocks with a punch out ... In two outings on the week, he tallied six strikeouts, allowed two runs (both unearned) on four hits in four innings ... Earlier this week he suffered his first loss of the season in relief at No. 9 N.C. State allowing one run (earned) in 3.1 innings where he did not give up a hit, but walked four and punched out three ... This season Smithmyer has appeared in nine games recording 22 strikeouts in 21.0 innings ... He has allowed seven runs (three earned) on 15 hits and boasts a 1.29 ERA.
? Drew Reynolds had his nine-game hitting streak snapped during Friday night's C-USA opener at No. 19 UCF ... But the sophomore DH rebounded picking up a hit in the final two games of the series ... He has registered a base knock in 14 of his last 15 games and heading into the weekend series was batting .392 (20-for-51) with five doubles, eight RBI, four runs and seven multi-hit games in his last 13 games ... As a pitcher, Reynolds has appeared in 12 games where he has recorded a team and league-best seven saves and also owns a 1-0 record with a 4.22 ERA.
? Zach Wright has a team-best 13 RBI and recorded at least one hit in 11 of his last 12 games ... The three-time Johnny Bench Award Watch List candidate is batting .244 (20-for-82) with a home run, six doubles, 13 runs and 15 RBI.
? The Pirates own a 14-4 record during weekend play and have won four of six weekend series ... On the weekend, the Pirates are batting .294 with 11 home runs and 97 runs scored, while the pitching staff has an ERA of 2.18 allowing 55 runs (39 earned) on 138 hits with 123 strikeouts to just 42 walks.
? Heading into this weeks action, the Pirates are ranked No. 30 by Perfect Game and are receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) polls.
? In the latest RPI reports, the Pirates have the second-best RPI in Conference USA ranking 31st by WarrenNolan.com and 32nd by BoydsWorld.com ... ECU trails only Rice, who is ranked No. 13 by both sites.
