East Carolina University
VCU
ECU Plays Host To VCU This Weekend
March 25, 2022 | Baseball
| Games: 23-25 | |
| Dates: | March 25-27, 2022 |
| Times: | 6:30 p.m. \\\ 4 p.m. \\\ 1 p.m. (ET) |
| Locations: | Greenville, N.C. (All Weekend) | Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium |
| Game Program: | Baseball Gameday #3 |
| Live Game Coverage: | Radio: 94.3 FM The Game ESPN+ (Friday | Saturday | Sunday) Varsity Network: Online (LEARFIELD) |
| Live Stats: | All Weekend |
| Official Web Sites | East Carolina | VCU |
| Game Notes | East Carolina | VCU |
| 2022 Statistics | East Carolina | VCU |
| Baseball Central | Roster | Schedule/Results | NCAA Baseball | College Scoreboard | Weekly Rankings | National Stat Leaders |
| Social Media | ECUBaseball | The American |
GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina (12-10) will continue its five-game homestand this weekend playing host to VCU (11-8) at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. First pitch of the series is slated for 6:30 p.m. (ET) and will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Pirates, who have made 31 NCAA Regional appearances, won their second-straight American Athletic Conference regular season title with a league-best 20 victories, hosted the Greenville Regional (sixth in program history) for the third consecutive year in 2021 after earning a No. 13 National seed and advanced to the Vanderbilt Super Regional. ECU finished ranked in all six national polls (Collegiate Baseball/No. 12, D1Baseball/No. 12, Perfect Game/No. 12, Baseball America/No. 13, NCBWA/No. 13 and USA Today/No. 13) in 2021 after posting a 44-17 overall record.
ECU returns 25 players including Freshman All-America selections C.J. Mayhue (2020), Zach Agnos (2021) and Josh Moylan (2021) along with AAC All-Conference performers Jake Kuchmaner (2019) and Bryson Worrell (2021). In all, the roster consists of 13 freshmen, 19 sophomores, five juniors and five seniors.
The 2021-22 recruiting class consists of two infielders (Landon Howard and Jacob Jenkins-Cowart), two outfielders (Carter Cunningham and Luke Nowak), two catchers (Ayden Edwards and Ryan McCrystal) and nine pitchers (Merritt Beeker, Charlie Hodges, Jake Hunter, Jordan Little, Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman, Erik Ritchie, Ben Terwilliger, Jaden Winter and Trey Yesavage).
IT'S MUSTACHE MARCH
As the calendar turns to a new month, the East Carolina baseball team (players, coaching staff and support staff) will once again participate in Mustache March to raise money and awareness for ALS Research and the Jim "Catfish" hunter chapter. This year, the Pirates will team up with the Pitt Community College (PCC), Memphis and Michigan baseball programs to help fight and strikeout ALS with a goal of raising $10,000. Click here to donate.
As most of Pirate Nation knows, the ECU Baseball program has been greatly affected by ALS as former head coach and ECU Hall of Famer Keith LeClair was diagnosed with ALS while coaching in 2001. The Pirates continue to follow the mission, vision and characteristics that made Coach LeClair such a tremendous leader, father, friend and coach. Current PCC Head Coach Tommy Eason coached under LeClair from 1998-2005, Michigan Head Coach Erik Bakich and Assistant Head Coach Nick Schnabel both played for LeClair and were teammates of ECU skipper Cliff Godwin from 1999-2000.
Starting Tuesday, March 1 and running through the end of the month, the Pirates will grow mustaches to continue raising money for ALS research which over the last four years has raised over $36,000. With the additional support from ECU Dowdy Student Stores, the four-year total has eclipsed $57,000 in total donations.
INDIVIDUAL QUICK HITS (prior to weekend)
- For the third-straight year, Jake Kuchmaner was penciled into the weekend rotation ... In five starts, he owns an 2-1 record with a 2.92 ERA where he has allowed 10 runs (eight earned) on 25 hits in 24.2 innings ... Registered his second quality start of the season against Saint Mary's (March 11) and has eight for his career ... As a Pirate, he is 19-7 with a 3.82 career ERA over 52 appearances (42 starts) ... The lefty has worked 209.2 innings with 172 strikeouts to 53 walks ... A First-Team All-AAC selection in 2019, he tossed the 31st perfect game in NCAA DI history at Maryland on March 17.
- Josh Grosz earned his first career win in relief at Duke (March 1) tossing three scoreless frames with five punch outs ... Picked up second win of the year against Michigan (March 5) ... For his career, he is 2-2 with a 6.03 ERA registering 32 strikeouts in 31.1 IP.
- Jake Hunter made his collegiate debut against Bryant (2/20) as the Sunday starter ... In five weekend starts, he sports a 0-1 record with a 6.14 ERA .. The right-hander combined on a 5-0 shut out against North Carolina (2/27) tossing 3.1 scoreless frames with three punch outs ... Became the first true freshman to start a game opening weekend since Trey Benton (2017) at Ole Miss.
- Carter Spivey had a career outing against North Carolina (2/27) where he tossed 4.1 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts (both career-highs) ... In 11 outings, which included a start at Campbell, he is 1-0 with two saves ... Currently he sports a 1.99 ERA with 31 strikeouts to just one walk in 22.2 total frames ... Ranks first in the AAC and fourth nationally in K-to-BB ratio (31.00).
- C.J. Mayhue was tabbed as a preseason All-American (third-team) by NCBWA ... Prior to the season opener, he earned inclusion on the NCBWA Stopper-of-the-Year Watch List for the second consecutive year ... At ECU, he has appeared in 54 games (all relief) posting a 6-1 record with nine saves ... Owns a 2.73 ERA and has struck out 114 batters while walking 35 over 82.1 innings.
- Garrett Saylor was named one of Collegiate Baseball's National Players-of-the-Week (March 14) after appearing in four games during the Pirates 3-2 week, which included a series win over Saint Mary's ... Also named to AAC Honor Roll (March 14) ... In 11 outings (two starts) he is 2-2 with one save and has struck out 40 batters while walking six in 26.2 innings.
- Lane Hoover ranks third on the team with a .338 batting average ... Registered at least one hit in 11 of last 13 games entering this week ... During his four years at ECU, he has started 114 of 133 games posting a .310 batting average with a home run, 13 doubles and 50 RBI ... Tallied four game-winning RBI (one in 2022).
- Alec Makarewicz was named to AAC Honor Roll (March 7) ... Leads the club with 17 RBI (4 at Duke/March 1) and four home runs (Bryant/Feb. 9, Michigan/March 5, Saint Mary's/March 11, CofC/March 18).
- Justin Wilcoxen has started 13-of-19 games played behind the plate ... Tallied three multi-hit and one multi-RBI games this season ... Hit first career home run against North Carolina (Feb. 27).
- Jacob Jenkins-Cowart boasts a .348 batting average ... Is tied for second on home runs (three) and multi-hit game (seven) ... Registered a pair of game-winning RBI in the weekend series against Saint Mary's (March 11 and March 13/game two of doubleheader) ... Drove in multiple runs in a game three times (UNC/Feb. 27 and Virginia Tech/March 8, College of Charleston/March 18).
- Skylar Brooks has appeared in 12 games, which is tied for the team lead with C.J. Mayhue - both eighth nationally ... Owns an 0-1 record with two saves and a 3.94 career ERA ... Fanned 17 batters while walking 11 in 16.0 innings ... Notched saves against UNC (Feb. 27) and Indiana State (March 4).
- Josh Moylan returned to action at UNCW ... Hit second home run of the season vs. Elon (March 23) ... Drew seven free passes during the Pirates 4-0 week (March 1-6) ... He tallied four walks at Duke (March 1) - something that hadn't been done since Corey Thompson in 2012 (vs. Milwaukee) ... Has appeared in 75 career games (73 starts) and owns .274 career batting average with eight home runs and 43 RBI.
- Zach Agnos leads the team with three game-winning RBI, including two during the LeClair Classic ... He has a team-high eight multi-hit games ... In his time at ECU, he has started all 100 games played where he is batting .269 with seven home runs, 21 doubles and 64 RBI.
- Ryder Giles has started 147 of 152 games played at shortstop since stepping on campus in 2019 ... Last year he led the team with 16 total sacrifices (15 sac hits) where he ranked second nationally … Currently stands third all-time in the Pirate annuals with 37 sacrifices … Earned his sixth career save against Maryland tossing 2.1 scoreless frames with three strikeouts ... Started two career games (Duke on 4/3/19 and at UNCW on 3/22/22).
- Bryson Worrell has started all 22 games in center where he owns a .239 average with two home runs, five doubles and has driven in eight as ECU's leadoff hitter ... He has started 123 of 178 games batting .269 with 22 home runs, 31 doubles, five triples and 84 RBI ... Has swiped 19 of 26 bases and owns a .979 career fielding percentage.
- ECU opened its 88th season of collegiate baseball (1932-42, 1946-present) against Bryant (Feb. 18) falling 10-2 ... The Pirates have made a regional appearance in 17 of the last 22 seasons, including five of six under Godwin (2015, '16, '18, '19, '21) - no post-season in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
- For the first time since the end of the 2017 season, the Pirates are not ranked nor receiving votes in any of the six major polls ... Their streak ended at 64 consecutive weeks (2018 preseason to March 7, 2022).
- There are five potential two-way players on this year's roster ... Dubbed #2WayU by Godwin, the players are Zach Agnos, CJ Boyd, Skylar Brooks, Cam Clonch and Ryder Giles.
PROBABLE STARTERS (2022 stats)
Friday: LH Campbell Ellis (0-2, 3.27 ERA) vs. LH Jake Kuchmaner (2-1, 2.92 ERA)
Saturday: RH Mason Delane (0-0, 4.00 ERA) vs. TBA
Sunday: LH Tyler Davis (1-2, 3.27 ERA) vs. TBA
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 12 NCAA Regional and two College World Series teams at the Division I level as an assistant coach and head coach … During his eight years at the helm of the program, Godwin has guided ECU to five NCAA Regional berths (2018, 2019 and 2021 Greenville Regional host), three Super Regional appearances and a pair of American Athletic Conference Regular season and a pair of AAC Tournament crowns while posting a 270-140-1 (.658) overall record … Sixteen players have earned All-America status, while 15 were NCAA All-Regional selections, 23 were named all-conference (18 first-teamers) and 14 were drafted by Major League Baseball teams … A three-time AAC Coach-of-the-Year selection (2015, 2019, 2021), Godwin was inducted into the George Whitfield Hall of Fame in January of 2016 … In 2018, he completed a summer stint on the 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 (46-16 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.
