East Carolina University
UCLA
Gameday: No. 8 ECU Travels Out West To No. 1 UCLA
April 12, 2019 | Baseball
| No. 8 ECU at No. 1 UCLA (Games 33-35) | |
| Dates: | April 12-13, 2019 |
| Time: | 9 p.m. (ET) \\\ 5:00 p.m. (ET) - Doubleheader |
| Location: | Los Angeles, Calif. (Jackie Robinson Stadium) |
| Tickets: | Buy Tickets |
| Live Game Coverage: | Radio: 94.3 FM The Game Video: None TuneIn Radio: Online (Pirate IMG Sports Network) |
| Internet Options: | Live Stats: All Weekend |
| Official Web Sites: | ECU | UCLA |
| Game Notes: | ECU (PDF) | UCLA (PDF) | The American (PDF) |
| 2019 Statistics: | ECU | UCLA |
| Baseball Central: | Roster | Schedule/Results | NCAA Baseball | College Scoreboard |
| Social Media: | ECUBaseball | The American #ECUPirates | #ECUBaseball | #AmericanRising |
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – No. 8 ECU returns to action as it travels west to take on No. 1 UCLA in a three-game series starting Friday, April 12. First pitch of the weekend is set for 9 p.m. (ET) at Jackie Robinson Stadium and will be followed by a doubleheader Saturday, April 13 at 5 p.m. (ET).
NEARLY $11,000 RAISED FOR MUSTACHE MARCH
• Annually, for the past 16 seasons, ECU hosts the "Keith LeClair Classic" a tournament put together to bring awareness to ALS through the Jim "Catfish" Hunter chapter, which is located in Raleigh, N.C. The chapter finds the tournament as a way to continue awareness and fundraising in Coach LeClair's honor. The goal is to use the LeClair Classic as a starting point for our own fundraiser to help Strikeout ALS.
• In 2018, the ECU and Memphis baseball programs participated in "Mustache March" raising nearly $11,000 with donations going towards funding, supporting families and researching through local chapters. The past two seasons, ECU Dowdy Student Stores has donated $10,500 from t-shirt sales during the year and has pushed ECU's four-year total to $43,492 in donations.
• This year, ECU teamed up with the Memphis and Michigan baseball clubs to raise $10,836 for ALS.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE WEEKEND
• ECU (25-7) enters the weekend having won 17 of its last 19 games, which includes weekend series wins against Maryland, UCF, USF and Houston as well as a 10-game win streak … On the season, they are averaging 6.2 runs per game, while surrendering 3.6 rpg … ECU is batting .290 on the year and has racked up 310 hits (94 for extra bases).
• UCLA (24-6) comes into the weekend as the consensus No.1 team in the nation … The Bruins have claimed series wins on the season over No. 19 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Oregon State and most recently No. 2 Stanford … They are hitting at a .286 clip, while their pitching staff owns a 2.57 ERA.
• ECU and UCLA have met six previous times with the Bruins holding a 5-1 lead in the all-time series … UCLA won the first-ever series between the two clubs in 2007 (at UCLA) and two years later won two of three in Greenville (2009) … Friday night's game will mark the 10th time the Pirates will face the top team in the land since 1998 where they own a 2-7 record.
PIRATE QUICK HITS (prior to series)
• Jake Agnos has recorded at least seven strike¬outs in seven-straight games ... Two-time AAC Pitcher-of-the-Week selections (2/25, 4/1) ... Tied career-high with 11 punch outs vs. Monmouth and at USF ... Had 10 strikeouts against Marist ... Stands 12th nationally in Ks per 9 innings (13.60), 13th in total strikeouts (69) and tied for 28th in starts ... Tallied four quality starts on the year ... Played for Team USA (Collegiate National Team) in Summer of '18.
• Tyler Smith is one of three Pirate pitchers with four wins on the season (4-0) ... Tied for 28th nationally in starts ... Earned wins over Western Carolina, Maryland, USF and Houston ... Sports a 13-1 career record ... Registered fifth career quality start vs. Terps ... Fanned career high seven batters vs. UMD in 2018.
• Trey Benton made his second start of the season at UNCW earning his third win of the year (10th of his career) ... Also notched wins against Radford (2/15) and Duke (4/3) ... In 21 career games out of the bullpen, he has allowed 10 runs (six earned) on 25 hits with 30 strikeouts and 15 walks in 31.2 frames ... Owns a 2-0 record in 2019 ... Struck out a career-high 11 batters (six innings) against UNC in 2018 ... Tallied nine career quality starts.
• Alec Burleson stands 16th nationally in sac flies (five) ... Owns a .373 batting average with four home runs, 21 RBI, 11 doubles and 15 runs scores ... Has tallied 44 hits, 14 multi-hit and five multi-RBI games ... Named to a pair of Midseason All-America Teams (D1Baseball, Perfect Game) as a utility play¬er ... Earned AAC Player-of-the-Week accolades, while also being tabbed Perfect Game National Player-of-the-Week on Feb. 25 ... Two-time AAC Honor Roll selection (2/18, 4/1) ... On the mound, struck out a career-high 10 batters vs. Monmouth ... Appeared in 10 games (three starts) posting a 2-0 record with three saves ... Sports a 2.73 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 29.2.
• Gavin Williams has appeared in 22 career games making four starts ... Has worked out of the bull¬pen in his last three outings (UCF, USF, Houston) tossing 8.2 innings where he has allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits with three walks and 12 strikeouts ... In last start at No. 24 Duke, he gave up five runs in the first inning before exiting the game ... Worked career-high five innings against Elon and at No. 8 Mississippi State ... Struck out career-high eight batters at USF (3/31) earning first career save ... Owns a 1-2 record with a 2.75 ERA ... Fanned 37 batters in 39.1 career innings ... Notched first career win against Elon (2/27) where he allowed two runs and struck out six ... Tallied six or more strikeouts in a game three times.
• Spencer Brickhouse earned AAC Player-of-the- Week honors on March 25 ... Currently batting .376 with eight home runs, 26 RBI ... Belted a pair of HRs at Houston in Game 1 of a doubleheader (2-run, grand slam) ... Ranks 16th nationally in SLG Pct. (.731), 47th in OB Pct. (.496) and 56th in home runs ... Owns a .316 career batting average with 28 home runs and 104 RBI ... Has 11 career game-win¬ning RBI (4 in 2019).
• Ryder Giles stands 12th in the nation in sac bunts and 18th sac bunts per game ... Started 26 games at third where he is batting .256 with 13 RBI and 13 runs scored ... Tallied four multi-hit and four multi- RBI games ... Made first collegiate start against Duke (4/3) ... Sports a 0.00 ERA in 10 appearances with one save, 10 strikeouts to one walk.
• Jake Kuchmaner tossed 28th perfect game in NCAA DI history at Maryland (3/17) ... Swept league and national honors in consecutive weeks (3/11 & 3/18) ... Ranks second nationally in hits allowed per game (3.77) and fourth in WHIP (0.71) ... Fanned career-high nine batters at No. 9 Ole Miss ... Reg¬istered three career quality starts.
• Bryant Packard hit grand slams in consecutive games at USF ... Tallied a pair of game-winning RBI at USF (11 career) ... Named to five preseason All-America teams (four first team), Golden Spikes Award Watch List and preseason AAC Player-of-the-Year in 2019 ... Set school record with a hit in 32-straight games ... Played for Team USA (Colle¬giate National Team) in Summer of '18 ... Owns a .356 career batting average.
• Brady Lloyd second on the team with three GW RBI (2 vs. Marist) ... Batting .43 with one home run, 13 RBI and 18 runs ... Second on the club with five stolen bases ... Tallied seven sacrifices ... Has been hit by a pitch nine times in '19 (18 career).
• Jake Washer named to 2019 Buster Posey Watch List ... '18 Bench Award Semifinalist ... Hit home runs in consecutive games at Houston ... Tallied 12 career home runs with 63 RBI ... Started 29 games in 2019 (24/catcher, 5/DH).
• Turner Brown tied ECU single-game record with two triples vs. Marist (3/10) ... Named to AAC Honor Roll (3/11) ... ECU's all-time leader with 50 sacrifices ... Ranks fifth in assists (525) and tied for sixth in hit by pitches (27) ... Registered 14 career game-winning RBI (8 in 2018).
• ECU's pitching staff sports a 3.09 ERA ... The start¬ers own a 3.61 ERA allowing 71 runs (66 earned) with 173 strikeouts to 55 walks ... The bullpen has surrendered 44 runs (33 earned) with 146 punch outs and 40 walks in 123.2 innings for a 2.40 ERA ... They have allowed 18 of 65 inherited runners to score on the year (27.7 pct.).
PROBABLE STARTERS (2019 stats)
Friday: LHP Jake Agnos (4-2, 2.76 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Pettway (2-2, 3.41 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Tyler Smith (4-0, 5.05 ERA) vs. RHP Jack Ralston (5-0, 2.76 ERA)
Sunday: LHP Jake Kuchmaner (3-0, 1.99 ERA) vs. RHP Ryan Garcia (3-0, 1.67 ERA)
GODWIN AT A GLANCE
• Cliff 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 10 NCAA Regional and two College World Series teams at the Division I level as an assistant coach and head coach … During his four years at the helm of the program, Godwin has guided ECU to three NCAA Regional berths (2018 Greenville Regional host), a Super Regional appearance, two American Athletic Conference Tournament titles and a 179-98-1 (.646) overall record, which ranks fifth all-time among ECU head coaches … Eight players have earned All-America status, seven were NCAA All-Regional selections, 12 were named all-conference (11 first-teamers), while six were drafted by Major League Baseball teams … Named 2015 AAC Coach-of-the-Year and was inducted into the George Whitfield Hall of Fame in January of 2016 … Recently he completed a summer stint on the 2018 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team staff that posted a 12-3 record that included series wins over Chinese Taipei, Japan and Cuba … 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. 7 national seed in 2001 where they advanced to the Super Regional round before being eliminated by Tennessee.
Â
