East Carolina University
UConn
Gameday: No. 12 ECU Hosts No. 18 UConn
April 18, 2019 | Baseball
| No. 18 UConn at No. 12 ECU (Games 37-39) | |
| Dates: | April 18-20, 2019 |
| Time: | 6:30 p.m. \\\ 6:30 p.m. \\\ 12 Noon (ET) |
| Location: | Greenville, N.C.(Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium) |
| Tickets: | Buy Tickets |
| Live Game Coverage: | Radio: 94.3 FM The Game Watch Live TuneIn Radio: Online (Pirate IMG Sports Network) |
| Internet Options: | Live Stats: All Weekend |
| Official Web Sites: | ECU | UConn |
| Game Notes: | ECU (PDF) | UConn | The American (PDF) |
| 2019 Statistics: | ECU | UConn |
| Baseball Central: | Roster | Schedule/Results | NCAA Baseball | College Scoreboard |
| Social Media: | ECUBaseball | The American #ECUPirates | #ECUBaseball | #AmericanRising |
GREENVILLE, N.C. – No. 12 ECU returns home and to American Athletic Conference action this weekend when it welcomes No. 18 UConn to Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. First pitch of the three-game series is set for Thursday, April 18 at 6:30 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 SERIES
• ECU (26-10, 8-1 AAC) enters the weekend having won 14 of its last 18 games, which includes a midweek win Tuesday at Elon, 9-4 … The Pirates are batting .283 with 38 home runs, 339 hits (106 for extra bases) and 201 RBI to rank among the conference leaders … ECU is averaging 6.1 runs per game, while surrendering 3.8 rpg … The Pirates pitching staff owns a 3.36 ERA with 352 punch outs
• UConn (24-13, 7-5 AAC) comes in having won six of its last eight games … The Huskies are hitting at a .265 clip with 26 home runs, 324 hits (99 for extra bases) with 198 RBI … Their pitching staff sports a 3.83 ERA with 307 strikeouts.
• ECU and UConn have met 51 times prior to Thursday night with the Pirates holding a 34-17 lead in the all-time series … A year ago, both squads split four games with the Huskies claiming a series at UConn, but the Pirates won the last contest which was in the 2018 AAC Championship Game in Clearwater, Fla.
PIRATE QUICK HITS (prior to series)
• Jake Agnos has recorded at least seven strikeouts in eight-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 11th nationally in Ks per 9 innings (13.50), 13th in total strikeouts (77) and tied for 21st 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 21st 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.
• 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 fourth nationally in hits allowed per game (4.09) and second in WHIP (0.73) ... Fanned career-high nine batters at No. 9 Ole Miss ... Registered three career quality starts.
• 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 22 career games out of the bullpen, he has allowed 11 runs (six earned) on 27 hits with 32 strikeouts and 16 walks in 34.0 frames ... Owns a 3-0 record in 2019 ... Struck out a career-high 11 batters (six innings) against UNC in 2018 ... Tallied nine career quality starts.
• Alec Burleson owns a 3-1 record on the mound this season in 12 appearances (four starts) with a 3.94 ERA ... He picked up his eighth career win at Elon (4/16) on a staff day working two innings where he allowed two runs and struck out three ... He struck out a career-high 10 batters vs. Monmouth earlier in the season and has 39 punch outs to 11 walks in 32.0 innings ... At the plate, he stands fourth nationally in sac flies (sixth) ... Currently owns a .370 batting average with four home runs, 25 RBI, 14 doubles and 16 runs scored ... Has tallied a team-high 16 multi-hit games, while posting a team second-best six multi-RBI contests ... Named to a pair of Midseason All-America Teams (D1Baseball, Perfect Game) as a utility player ... 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).
• Gavin Williams has appeared in 23 career games making four starts ... Has worked out of the bullpen in his last four outings (UCF, USF, Houston, UCLA) tossing 11.1 innings where he has allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits with three walks and 14 strikeouts ... In last start at No. 24 Duke, he gave up five runs in the first inning before exiting the game ... Tallied six or more strikeouts in a game three times with career-high 8 at USF.
• Spencer Brickhouse earned AAC Player-of-the-Week honors on March 25 ... Currently batting .358 with nine home runs, 31 RBI ... Drew five walks in UCLA series pushing his season total to 24 (team leader) ... Belted a pair of HRs at Houston in Game 1 of a doubleheader (2-run, grand slam) ... Owns a .314 career batting average with 29 home runs and 109 RBI ... Has 11 career GW RBI (4 in 2019).
• Ryder Giles stands 18th in the nation in sac bunts and 21st sac bunts per game ... Started 29 games at third where he is batting .241 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.
• 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 (Collegiate National Team) in Summer of '18 ... Owns a .359 career batting average with 20 home runs.
• Brady Lloyd is the co-leader with four GW RBI this season (2 vs. Marist) ... Batting .237 with one home run, 15 RBI and 21 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 13 career home runs with 64 RBI ... Started 32 games in 2019 (27/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 (534) and tied for fifth in hit by pitches (28) ... Registered 14 career game-winning RBI (8 in 2018).
• ECU's pitching staff sports a 3.36 ERA ... The starters own a 3.78 ERA allowing 82 runs (76 earned) with 189 strikeouts to 61 walks ... The bullpen has surrendered 55 runs (44 earned) with 163 punch outs and 45 walks in 140.2 innings for a 2.82 ERA ... They have allowed 21 of 72 inherited runners to score on the year (29.2 pct.).
PROBABLE STARTERS (2019 stats)
Thursday: LHP Mason Feole (1-2, 3.35 ERA) vs. LHP Jake Agnos (4-2, 3.16 ERA)
Friday: RHP Jeff Kersten (3-2, 4.37 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Smith (4-0, 5.08 ERA)
Saturday: RH Jimmy Wang (1-1, 3.06 ERA) vs. LHP Jake Kuchmaner (3-1, 2.13 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 180-101-1 (.640) 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.
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