Baseball Travels To UNC Wilmington For Midweek Clash
April 03, 2012 | Baseball
April 3, 2012
 vs.  |
| No. 27 East Carolina vs. UNC Wilmington Apr. 3, 2012 | 6:30 p.m. (EST) Wilmington, N.C. RADIO: WNCT 1070 AM |
 Watch |  Live Stats |  ECU Notes | UNCW Notes | C-USA Notes |  Tickets |  Gameday Central | Live Chat |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Week Seven Recap l Joyner Named C-USA Pitcher-of-the-Week
SERIES HISTORY
? Tonight's game will mark the 126th in the series between the two former Colonial Athletic Association members ... The Pirates hold a 71-54 advantage and have won eight of the last 10 meetings dating back to 2008.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Tuesday: RHP Jeff Hoffman (0-0, 2.53 ERA) vs. RHP Travis Bradley (0-0, 5.73 ERA)
THINGS TO KNOW
? Sophomore Drew Reynolds and senior Corey Thompson are both riding six-game hitting streaks heading into tonight's contest ... Reynolds has recorded a hit in 15 of his last 16 games and currently leads the Pirates with a .392 batting average, which also ranks third in Conference USA ... Thompson, who leads the team in hits (33) and RBI (22) is batting .327 on the season ranking fourth among the Pirates.
? Junior John Wooten belted a pair of home runs over the weekend to push his team leading total to five ... Wooten had his 12-game hitting streak snapped against the Blazers on Saturday after an 0-for-5 performance at the dish, but rebounded with a pair of hits in the series finale ... He has recorded at least one hit in 13 of his last 14 games ... Currently he is batting .314 on the season with a team-best 23 runs.
? Last week, Reynolds batted .438 (7-for-16) on the week and helped the Pirates to a C-USA home series sweep over UAB ... On the week he extended his current hit streak to six games and has registered at least one hit in 15 of his last 16 games (19 of 21 on the season) ... Reynolds led the club in hits (7), RBI (6), hit by pitches (3) and on-base percentage (.550), while sharing the team lead in runs scored (50 and ranking second in home runs (1) and slugging percentage (.688) ... He also recorded a pair of multi-hit games ... Against instate rival and No. 9 N.C. State, he was 1-for-3 with an RBI single in the Pirates three-run fourth inning ... In the C-USA series opener against UAB, he reached base three times going 2-for-4 with an RBI, run scored and was hit by a pitch ... On Saturday he collected a career-best four RBI going 1-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and reaching base three times (FC, HBP, HR) ... He drove in the Pirates second run of the game on a fielder's choice RBI that scored Tim Younger ... In the eighth frame he belted his second home run of the season, a three-run shot to right field for the final three runs of the game ... Reynolds registered his ninth multi-hit game of the season in the series finally collecting three hits (tying career-high) and scoring a pair of runs ... He singled in the first, doubled and scored in the fourth, singled in the eighth and in the 13th frame reached after being hit for the third-straight game to start the inning and later scored the game-winning run ... On the mound, Reynolds appeared in a pair of games tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings allowing two hits and striking out six ... Against No. 9 N.C. State, he allowed one hit and recorded one out in the Pirates 4-3 loss in 11 innings .. In the series finale against UAB, he tossed a career-best four innings with a career-best six strikeouts facing two over the minimum (14 batters) and picking up his second win of the season ... Reynolds fanned two batters in each of the 11th, 12th and 13th frames ... This season Reynolds is batting a team-best .392 (29-for-74) with two home runs, six doubles, 13 RBI, nine runs and has reached base five times via hit by pitch ... He currently leads the team in slugging (.554) and on-base percentage (.451) ... As a hurler, he is 2-0 on the season with a 3.07 ERA ... In 13 outings he has a team and C-USA best seven saves and has combined on two shutouts ... Reynolds has allowed seven runs (five earned) on 11 hits and has fanned 15, while walking five in 14.2 innings ... Opponents are batting a composite .212 against him.
? Redshirt sophomore Tanner Merritt made two appearances on the week in relief working 4 1/3 perfect frames with six punch outs ... He posted his fourth save in the series opener against UAB striking out three in 1 2/3 innings ... In the finale, he fanned three more in 2 2/3 frames ... He has appeared in three league games allowing three runs (all earned) on three hits in 7 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts with a 3.52 ERA ... Merritt has appeared in 13 games posting a 2-2 record with a 2.45 ERA and 19 strikeouts to three walks.
? Junior Jay Cannon batted a team-best .462 (6-for-13) with two doubles and four runs scored ... Prior to leaving Sunday's game after fouling a ball off his knee in the second inning, Cannon was riding a five-game hit streak where he was batting .500 (10-for-20) with two doubles and five runs ... He currently leads the team with a .474 average (9-for-19) in league action with a pair of RBI, two doubles and five runs ... On the season he has boasted his average to .342 (27-for-79), which ranks second on the team behind Reynolds.
? Freshman Dylan Dickens recorded his first collegiate win on Friday night tossing four scoreless frames in relief ... The right-hander allowed three hits and struck out a career-best two batters ... In three appearances out of the bullpen, he sports a 0.00 ERA in five innings of work.
? Senior Corey Thompson is currently riding a six-game hitting streak where he is batting .300 (9-for-30) with a home run, double six RBI, three runs and two multi-hit and multi-RBI games ... Currently he is batting .327 (33-for-101) with four home runs, five doubles, 13 walks, 22 RBI, 19 runs, nine multi-hit and seven multi-RBI contest - all ranking among the team leaders.
? Zach Wright has reached base safely in 15-straight games dating back to March 9 versus Alabama ... During this streak he is batting .291 (16-for-55) with a home run, four doubles, eight walks, one hit by pitch, 15 RBI and 15 runs ... On the year he is batting .261 (24-for-92) with a home run, six doubles, 17 RBI, 18 runs and five multi-hit and multi-run games.
? Heading into this weeks action, the Pirates are ranked No. 27 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 21st by WarrenNolan.com and 22nd by BoydsWorld.com ... ECU trails only Rice, who is ranked No. 13 by both sites.
