Game Day Central: ECU Plays UConn In AAC Championships
May 23, 2015 | Baseball
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| (2) East Carolina vs. (6) UConn May 23, 2015 | 1 p.m. (EST) Clearwater, Fla. RADIO: WNCT 1070 AM |
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THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAME
? No. 2 East Carolina (38-20) and No. 6 UConn (35-24) will meet for the seventh time this season on Saturday, May 23 at 1 p.m. (ET) ... ECU, the No. 2 seed in the eight-team tournament, stands at 2-0 in the double-elimination bracket needing one win to advance to Sunday's championship game ... UConn would have to beat East Carolina twice to advance ... The Pirates took both series against the Huskies collecting four wins in six games.
PIRATE QUICK HITS (prior to start of championships)
? East Carolina enters the AAC Championships as the No. 2 seed, its highest conference finish since winning the 2009 C-USA regular season title ... The Pirates are coming off its fifth weekend sweep of the year (second in AAC play) at Cincinnati (7-3, 6-4, 8-7) and have won seven of their last 10 games.
? Reid Love will get the start against No. 7 UCF in the Pirates AAC opener ... Earned First-Team All-American honors as a pitcher and utility player (unanimous selection) ... Only player in the league this year to claim Player-of-the-Week (April 27) and Pitcher-of-the-Week (April 2) honors this season ... On the season he is 7-3 with 4 saves in 20 apps. (9 starts) with a 2.79 ERA and two CGs ... Worked into the seventh inning in last four starts (all wins) ... At the plate he is batting .301 with 3 HRs, 18 RBI, 22 runs scored.
? First-year head coach Cliff Godwin was named the 2015 American Athletic Conference Coach-of-the-Year ... Godwin becomes the fifth Pirate skipper in school history to take home coach-of-the-year accolades joining Monte Little (Southern Conference, 1977), Gary Overton (Colonial Athletic Association, 1990), Keith LeClair (Colonial Athletic Association, 1999 & 2000), Randy Mazey (Conference USA, 2004) and Billy Godwin (Conference USA, 2009) ... He is the second first-year coach in school history to earn the honors following Little in 1977 and his 36 wins are the most by any first-year skipper.
? Evan Kruczynski has won 7 of his 14 starts (3 NDs) ... Tossed 2nd CG in the AAC opener vs. Memphis allowing one run with six strikeouts ... Other was vs. Monmouth (2-Hit, SHO) ... Recorded a team-best nine quality starts.
? Jacob Wolfe appeared in 16 games (14 starts) ... Recorded 1st career save at UConn in the series finale ... Tossed 6.0 SHO frames vs. MON with 6Ks in first collegiate win ... Worked into the fifth inning in 10 of last 11 starts (7 quality starts).
? Luke Lowery earned First-Team All-American honors as the designated hitter ... He leads the team in 11 offensive categories ... Walk-off single vs. Duke (7th career GW RBI) ... On Mar. 16th earned AAC Hitter, Collegiate Baseball and CollegeSportsMadess National Player and NCAA.com Player-of-the-Week honors ... Has eight career GW RBI (4 in `15).
? Hunter Allen was named to Brooks Wallace Watch List (April 23), which is given to the nation's top shortstop ... Leads the team in hits (62) and BA (.339) ... At least one hit in 25 of last 30 games including 12 multi-hit contests.
? Bryce Harman is batting .250 on the season ... Leads team in HBPs (11), tied for lead with 11 doubles and 2 triples ... Second in HRs (7) and third in runs (32) ... Hit home runs in four of last nine games.
? Charlie Yorgen was named to the AAC Honor Roll (April 2) ... Team leader with 30 BBs, 13 SHs and tied for first with 16 multi-hit games.
? ECU's starting pitching boasts a 3.15 ERA ... Allowed 146 runs (112 ERs) with 213 Ks to 75 BBs in 320.0 innings ... The bullpen has surrendered 90 runs (76 earned) in 175.0 innings posting a 3.91 ERA ... They have allowed 32 of 114 inherited runners to score (28.1 percent).
PROBABLE STARTERS
Thursday: LHP Jacob Wolfe (4-2, 3.42 ERA) vs. RHP William Montgomerie (3-1, 3.98 ERA)
ECU'S HISTORY ON THE DIAMOND
? In its storied history, the Pirates won the 1961 NAIA National Championship, have claimed 23 conference titles (13 regular season/ 10 tournament), made 26 NCAA Regionals and advanced to three Super Regionals (2001, 2004 and 2009).
THE PIRATES AT A GLANCE
? The Cliff Godwin Era officially got underway on Feb. 13 with a three-game series against No. 2 Virginia ... Godwin, who was named the 16th head coach in school history on June 25, 2014, was a four-year letterwinner for the Pirates from 1998-2001 ... He has been a part of seven NCAA Regional and two College World Series teams at the Division I level as an assistant coach most recently helping Ole Miss to its first CWS appearance since 1972 ... As a player, he helped former ECU skipper Keith LeClair's teams post a 169-76 four-year ledger, including 46-plus wins in each of his final three seasons (16-16 in '99, 46-18 in '00 and 47-13 in '01) ... ECU won a pair of CAA Tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Regionals every season from 1999 to 2001 ... The Pirates were the top seed in their regional all three years, including a No. 6 national seed in 2001 where they advanced to the Super Regional round before being eliminated by Tennessee.
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