Countdown to Opening Day 2016: Outfielders
February 18, 2016 | Baseball
Pirate Nation it's almost here! We are just one day away from first pitch against Longwood. Before the action begins, we have one more set of players to get you caught up on.
The Outfield:
The Pirate outfield will have a strong mix of veterans and newcomers in 2016. Projected starters Garrett Brooks (center field), Parker Lamm (left field) and Jeff Nelson (right field) started a combined 79 games a year ago helping ECU claim the 2015 American Athletic Conference tournament title.
Brooks, one of three team captains, started 40 of 55 games batting .270 (34-for-126) with three home runs, 14 RBI and scored 23 runs. He closed out the regular season earning AAC Hitter-of-the-Week honors (May 18) where he batted .571 (4-for-7) with two home runs, four RBI and three runs scored helping ECU sweep Cincinnati and claiming the No. 2 seed in the AAC Tournament. Brooks also picked up Coral Gables All-Regional Team accolades after batting a regional-best .667. Defensively, he posted a .991 fielding percentage committing one error with four outfield assists.
Lamm started 27 of 42 games (5/LF, 9/CF, 12/RF, 1/DH) where he batted .238 (24-for-101) with four doubles, 10 RBI and 17 runs scored. The senior co-captain tallied at least one hit in 19 of 27 games with an official at-bat, which included an eight-game hit streak from Feb. 13 to March 1. He committed a pair of errors in 56 chances posting a .964 fielding percentage and tied Brooks for second on the squad with four outfield assists.
A year ago Nelson started the season in right field, but a broken nose sustained at Elon (Mar. 14) sidelined him for nearly a month. In his first year with the Pirates, Nelson played in 27 games (12 starts) batting .234 (11-for-47) with a pair of doubles and four RBI. He notched his first start in the Purple and Gold against No. 2 Virginia in the season opener and in the second game of the doubleheader, registered his first hit and scored his first run.
Just like his infield, Godwin has enough pieces to swap players out as the season progress. Others that will see action in the outfield are Justin Dirden, Ryan Littlefield, Eric Tyler and Dwanya Williams-Sutton. Dirden, a 6-1, 212-pound left-handed bat, closed out his prep career batting .500 with five home runs and 25 RBI on his way to First-Team All-Gateway Athletic Conference honors.
Littlefield, who will also see time in the DH role, transferred from Lower Columbia College where he batted .315 (53-for-168) with seven home runs and 51 RBI as a sophomore. He helped the Red Devils to a 41-10 overall record, which included the Northwest Athletic Western Divisional title (24-1) and the NWAC Tournament Championship.
Forty-eight of Tyler's 59 starts last year came as an outfielder. Even though he has been competing for a starting job at third, Tyler will see action past the infield as a starter and in a reserve role. Last year he posted a team and conference best 1.000 fielding percentage, turned a pair of double plays and led the club with five outfield assists.
Williams-Sutton comes to ECU after an illustrious prep career at Greenfield and Wilson Hunt High Schools. The 6-1, 233-pound specimen has raw power and speed and will push for a starting spot in right field. As a senior at Greenfield, he batted .574 (39-for-68) with three home runs and 26 RBI during the 2015 state title run, which culminated with him being selected in the 26th round of the Major League Draft by Cincinnati.
