Countdown to Opening Day: The Battery
February 10, 2015 | Baseball
Pirate Nation, we are just a few days away from the start of the 2015 East Carolina Baseball season, where the Pirates will play host to No. 2 Virginia at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium this weekend. Over the next three days, ECUPirates.com will highlight each position of first-year head coach Cliff Godwin's squad leading up to first pitch on Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. (EST).
Starting Pitching:
Left-hander Reid Love returns for his senior season anchoring the Pirates pitching staff that boasts a bunch of young arms. Although he will be absent from the opening weekend due to an injury, Love will find himself standing atop the weekend rotation following a solid first year with the Pirates a year ago.
An all-conference candidate, Love posted a 5-3 record with a 3.02 ERA in 16 appearances (13 starts) in 2014, which included three complete games. The Dunnellon, Fla. native, who took over as the Friday night starter following a season-ending injury to former Pirate Jeff Hoffman, earned Conference USA Pitcher-of-the-Week honors after turning in one of his most impressive performances in the Purple and Gold. Against instate rival North Carolina, Love tossed the second of his two complete game shutouts limiting the Tar Heels to just five hits with seven strikeouts.
The sophomore duo of Evan Kruczynski and Jacob Wolfe are likely to join Love in the weekend rotation following stellar summer and fall campaigns. Kruczynski, who stands at 6-5, will get the Opening Day start against the Cavaliers later this week. The southpaw appeared in just three games (all in relief) during his initial year with the program, but a solid summer where he produced a 6-3 record with a 2.78 ERA in 55 innings helped the Lakeshore Chinooks claim the Northwoods League title and Perfect Game's Summer Collegiate Team-of-the-Year honors.
Wolfe, another lefty among the Pirates starting pitchers, made 10 relief appearances as a true freshman. The Haw River, N.C. native allowed three runs (two earned) in 7.2 innings and sported the fourth-lowest ERA (2.35). He made his collegiate debut against James Madison facing a pair of batters. Wolfe's best outing came against Marshall in game one of a doubleheader surrendering one run on four hits in 3.2 innings of work. Used primarily as a situational hurler, he did not allow an extra base hit and held opponents scoreless in 8 of 10 contests.
Juniors Nick Durazo and David Lucroy will figure into the mix early on as the Pirates tinker with its starting pitchers. Durazo, a two-year letterwinner, has appeared in 21 career games with six starts (all in 2013) allowing 36 runs (34 earned) on 43 hits while tallying 45.0 innings on the mound. A year ago, he was used out of the bullpen as another situational arm where he experienced action in 11 contests surrendering 11 runs (10 earned) on 15 hits with one save.
Lucroy will bring some experience to the staff having started 26 of 29 career games. The right-hander, who earned Freshman All-America honors in 2013, appeared in 14 games a year ago (12 starts) posting a 2-6 ledger with 34 strikeouts in 55.0 innings. In wins against Charlotte and Florida Atlantic, he allowed just one run (earned) in 14.0 frames while striking out 16 - including a season-high 11 against the Owls. Though his role has not officially been defined as the season approaches, Lucroy could find himself used in a variety of ways whether it's as a starter or coming out of the bullpen.
Right-hander Evan Voliva will likely be penciled in as a midweek starter during his rookie season. The Currituck, N.C. native was a three-time all-conference performer for Currituck County High School and during his junior campaign he struck out 119 batters in 65.0 innings of work.
Relief Pitching:
With the departures of All-Americans Drew Reynolds (2013) and Ryan Williams (2014) to graduation a last year, fifth-year pitching coach Dan Roszel will turn to a talented pool of young arms to define his bullpen.
Leading contenders for the closers role are sophomores Luke Bolka and Kirk Morgan. Bolka, another left-hander, appeared in five games as a true freshman allowing three runs (all unearned) in 2.1 innings with four strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA. During the summer, he pitched for the Kalamazoo Growlers experiencing action in eight games with five starts.
Morgan, one of three two-way players on the squad joining Love and Jimmy Boyd, did not see any time on the mound as a freshman. While with the Lake Norman Copperheads, he appeared in eight games out of the bullpen sporting a 2-0 record with a 1.22 ERA with four saves in 7.1 innings.
Boyd, a junior college transfer from Brunswick Community College, started 18 of 25 games for the Dolphins boasting a 13-1 record with 72 strikeouts and a 2.68 ERA in 121.0 innings.
Others that Roszel will turn to are freshmen Ross Gardner (Jacksonville, Fla.), Joe Ingle (Fayetteville, N.C.) and Mason Keen (Greenville, N.C.).
Catchers:
Behind the plate, Godwin has a variety of options to help bring along his young staff. Returning after a medical redshirt season is sophomore Travis Watkins, who is the projected starter as the season draws near. A two-time Johnny Bench Award Watch List candidate and 2013 C-USA All-Freshman Team selection, Watkins batted .360 (9-for-25) in nine games with five RBI before his season-ending injury in 2014. In 53 career games, the Concord, N.C. native owns a .285 average with four doubles and 21 RBI.
Junior Luke Lowery and sophomore Eric Tyler will split time as Watkins' backup, just as they did in 2014. An all-conference candidate, Lowery appeared in 46 games (40 starts) with 26 behind the plate. In two seasons in the program, he owns a .294 average with eight home runs and 33 RBI. Following his sophomore campaign, Lowery played for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League where he belted five homers and drove in 14.
Tyler experienced action in 37 games (26) as a true freshman serving as Jeff Hoffman's primary catcher on the year. The Landis, N.C. native batted .183 (13-for-71) with six RBI and eight runs scored. Tyler's growth as a backstop continued with a successful summer with the Lake Norman Copperheads where he earned all-star status after batting .268 with a home run, eight doubles and 10 RBI helping his club to its second-straight league title.
Versatile freshman Ryan Clinch could also be an option behind the dish as well as in the infield or outfield. The Jamestown, N.C. native is coming off a decorated high school career earning a preseason Under Armour All-America as a senior at Wesleyan Christian Academy.
Check back tomorrow when we take a look at the Pirate infield.
