Game Program Feature: Baseball Summer Success
October 15, 2014 | Baseball
Originally printed Oct. 4, 2014 in the First and Goal football game program
By Malcolm Gray,
Director of Athletic Media Relations
Summer - the warmest time of the year where many take off to the beach to relax and get away from the everyday grind of life. But when you are student-athlete that plays college baseball and looking to take one step closer to playing professionally, it's the time when you pack your bags and join a new team to play against some of the top-talent in the nation.
This summer, 11 Pirates did just that. They packed their belongings, moved away from their temporary home of Greenville, N.C. and trekked as far north as New England, as far west as Wisconsin, and even a couple stayed in the Tar Heel state.
While they each had success in their own way, six returning Pirates (Garrett Brooks, Evan Kruczynski, Kirk Morgan, Cam Snow and Eric Tyler) helped their respective summer teams to league titles. Brooks helped the Peninsula Pilots of the Coastal Plain League to its second-straight Petitt Cup Championship with a thrilling 11-4 come from behind victory. Trailing 4-3 in the seventh frame with two outs, the Pilots scored eight unanswered runs to cap a record setting season posting a 47-18 record. The rising junior outfielder batted .248 (40-for-161) with 26 RBI, 34 runs and stole 24-of-32 bases, which ranked seventh in the league.
Kruczynski, who had appeared in just three games for the Pirates, had a stellar season with the Lakeshore Chinooks of the Northwoods League helping them to a 50-21 record, which included a perfect 7-0 run through the playoffs to claim the league title in just their third year of existence. The 6-foot-5 left-hander posted a 6-3 record on the mound with a 2.78 ERA in 55 innings. He closed out the summer working into the sixth inning in six consecutive starts recording a 5-0 record with 20 strikeouts, while allowing just six earned runs in 38.1 innings (1.41 ERA). To go along with the league title, the Chinooks were named Perfect Game's Summer Collegiate Team-of-the-Year.
Morgan, Snow and Tyler played for the Lake Norman Copperheads of the Southern Collegiate Baseball League helping them to a second-straight league title. Morgan, who appeared in seven games, batted .278 on the season with two RBI and scored three runs. But his final game of the summer lifted the Copperheads to a 3-2 walk-off win over the Ballantyne Smokies when he reached on an error. The rising sophomore, who was a mid-season all-star selection, reached base twice in the contest while picking up the win on the mound. He tossed a scoreless inning of relief pushing his record to 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA in nine games.
Snow, a redshirt freshman for the Pirates in 2014, appeared in 22 games moving back in forth between short and third where he batted .167 on the year with a pair of extra base hits, drove in six and scored eight times.
Tyler continued to build on his freshman season where he started 26 of 37 games behind the plate in the Purple and Gold. Playing for the Copperheads, Tyler joined Morgan as a mid-season all-star selection, where he batted .268 (16-for-32) with one home run, eight doubles, 10 RBI and scored a team second-best 16 runs.
A pair of Pirates in Luke Bolka and Bryce Harman also played in the Northwoods League playing for the Kalamazoo Growlers. Bolka, a 6-2 lefty who pitched in five games for the Pirates as a true freshman without allowing a run, appeared in eight games making five starts where he posted a 0-3 record with 15 strikeouts in 16.1 innings.
Harman, who at first played in the Cape Cod League (CCBL) with the Bourne Braves before switching leagues, batted .349 (15-for-43) in 10 games with the Growlers. He recorded four extra base hits, drove in five and walked four times, while also tossing a scoreless inning in relief. With the Pirates, Harman earned Conference USA All-Freshman Team honors batting .244 with a team-best seven home runs and driving in 21.
Luke Lowery continued a long list of Pirates who spent the summer playing in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League. Lowery, who was tabbed as a top-200 prospect by Perfect Game, batted .244 with six home runs and 16 RBI. The rising junior represented Brewster in the Home Run Contest during the Mid-Summer Classic finishing second behind Harwich's Sal Annunziata. Lowery capped off the first round with seven homers, but only hit one out in the final round while Annunziata blasted three.
Staying close to home and playing the Coastal Plain League were rising sophomores Davis Kirkpatrick, Jacob Wolfe and Charlie Yorgen. Kirkpatrick posted a 1-4 record on the bump with a 6.30 ERA in eight games (six starts) for the Morehead City Marlins. The right-hander allowed 21 runs (all earned) on 29 hits while fanning 33 in 30.0 innings of work.
Wolfe continued to build on his impressive freshman campaign where he boasted the fourth-lowest ERA on the Pirates pitching staff (2.35). The lefty suited up for the Asheboro Copperheads appearing in 11 games out of the bullpen and sporting a 2.77 ERA. He allowed seven runs (four earned) in 13 innings to go along with eight punch-outs and a 0-1 ledger.
After starting 43 games for East Carolina where he batted .288 on his way to C-USA All-Freshman Team honors in 2014, Yorgen stayed close to Greenville playing for the Wilson Tobs, where he once again manned second base starting nine of 12 contests for the Tobs batting .148 with four RBI.
