No. 11 ECU Set To Challenge Campbell In Buies Creek

Tuesday, February 21

Buies Creek, N.C.

5:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

Campbell

February 20, 2023 | Baseball

Game 4: No. 11 East Carolina at Campbell
Coverage	February 21: 5:00 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Radio: 94.3 The Game (Scooter Rogers and Gary Overton)
Location:	Buies Creek, N.C. \| Jim Perry Stadium (1,000)
Official Web Sites:	East Carolina \| Campbell
Game Notes:	East Carolina \| Campbell \| The American
Statistics:	East Carolina \| Campbell
Baseball Central:	Roster \| Schedule/Results \| NCAA Baseball \| College Scoreboard \| Weekly Rankings \| National Stat Leaders
Social Media:	ECUBaseball \| The American

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Fresh off a dominating Opening Weekend sweep of George Washington, No. 11 East Carolina makes the short trip over to Buies Creek for a marquee early-season affair with Campbell at Jim Perry Stadium. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. and the game will be streamed via ESPN+ with Evan Budrovich on the call.

The Pirates outscored the Colonials 43-13 over two days, winning the finale 23-5 and scoring their most runs in a single contest since a 24-0 win over Delaware State back on May 13, 2011. Junior catcher Justin Wilcoxen went on an absolute tear at the plate, going 10-for-14 (.714) with nine runs scored, three doubles, two home runs and eight RBI to earn American Athletic Conference Player of the Week accolades while freshman LHP Zach Root picked up his first collegiate victory on the mound in the series opener after firing across 3.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts against just one walk. Root was tabbed to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll for his efforts.

As a unit, the ECU pitching staff notched 29 strikeouts over the trio of games and the offense belted out seven home runs and hit .376 collectively.

Projected Pitching Matchup
RHP Charlie Hodges (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Hunter Loyd (0-0. 0.00 ERA)

About The Camels
Campbell won two of three against Big Ten Conference outfit Rutgers during its Opening Weekend in Buies Creek. The Camels captured the first two games by 11-5 and 10-0 margins before dropping the series finale 16-3. Campbell is hitting .303 as a team while the pitching staff sports a 6.33 ERA with 31 strikeouts against 17 walks. Tyler Halstead leads the way offensively hitting .500 (5-for-10) with five runs scored and four RBI.

The Campbell Series
East Carolina leads the series with Campbell by a 73-27 margin and has won three of the last five meetings between the teams in Buies Creek. The Pirates have also emerged victorious in eight of the last 10 encounters with the Camels.

Pirates Selected 2023 AAC Preseason Favorites
After doubling as both the regular season and tournament champion in the American Athletic Conference a season ago, East Carolina topped the 2023 Preseason Coaches' Poll. The three-time defending AAC regular season champion Pirates have been picked first in the preseason poll five-straight times and six overall since joining the league. ECU received 49 points and seven first-place votes while Houston was second with 39 points and UCF third with 38. South Florida was awarded the only other first-place vote. Reigning American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year Carter Spivey was named the 2023 Preseason Pitcher of the Year, joining the likes of Evan Kruczynski (2017), Jake Kuchmaner (2020) and Carson Whisenhunt (2022). Both Spivey and sophomore outfielder Jacob Jenkins-Cowart garnered unanimous selection to the All-AAC Preseason Team.

2023 Individual Notables
Head Coach Cliff Godwin: Has been part of 13 NCAA Regional and two College World Series teams at the Division I level as an assistant coach and head coach … Guided ECU to six NCAA Regional berths (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 Greenville Regional host), four Super Regional appearances, three-straight American Athletic Conference regular season titles and three AAC Tournament crowns while posting a 304-151-1 (.665) overall record … Under Godwin's direction, 20 players have earned All-America status, 23 have been NCAA All-Regional selections, 33 have been named all-conference (26 first teamers) and 14 have been drafted by Major League Baseball teams … A four-time AAC Coach-of-the-Year selection (2015, 2019, 2021, 2022), 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.

Merritt Beeker: Collected his first career victory on the mound in game two of Saturday's doubleheader against George Washington ... Fired across 1.1 scoreless innings and struck out three.
Tyler Bradt: VMI transfer who made his first appearance in the Purple and Gold in game one of Saturday's doubleheader (Feb. 18) ... Was credited with the save after tossing 1.1 scoreless frames and striking out three.
Nathan Chrismon: Earned his first collegiate start in game two of the doubleheader against George Washington (Feb. 18) ... Has scored two runs and notched his first RBI via a sacrifice fly in the series finale versus the Colonials (Feb. 19).
Cam Clonch: Started at first base in game two of the doubleheader against George Washington (Feb. 18) ... Went 2-for-2 with a run scored, three RBI, a double and a home run in the series finale versus the Colonials (Feb. 19).
Carter Cunningham: Has started all three games in right field ... Went 1-for-3 with a double and RBI in game two of the doubleheader against George Washington (Feb. 18).
Josh Grosz: Started the series finale against George Washington (Feb. 19), tossing four innings with three strikeouts.
Lane Hoover: Started all three games against George Washington in left field ... Scored eight runs and drew two walks in the series.
Jacob Jenkins-Cowart: Started all three games against George Washington in center field ... Went 5-for-15 with three runs scored and five RBI ... Clubbed his first career grand slam in the second game of the series (Feb. 18)
Alec Makarewicz: Started all three games against George Washington at third base ... Went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI in the series finale (Feb. 19).
Josh Moylan: Started games one and three against George Washington at first base ... Went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI in the series finale (Feb. 19).
Luke Nowak: Started at designated hitter in all three games of the George Washington series ... Posted a pair of multi-hit efforts ... Tallied three RBI in game two of Saturday's doubleheader (Feb. 18).
Zach Root: Tabbed to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll Feb. 20 ... Picked up his first collegiate victory in game one of Saturday's doubleheader (Feb. 18), tossing 3.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts against just one walk ... Scattered two hits while holding opposing batters to a .154 average ... Did not allow an extra-base hit ... Retired the first seven batters he faced.
Garrett Saylor: Named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Watch List ... Made his season debut in game one of Saturday's doubleheader against George Washington (Feb. 18), tossing 1.1 scoreless innings.
Carter Spivey: Made his season debut in the opener against George Washington (Feb. 18) ... Threw 2.2 innings and struck out a pair.
Jacob Starling: Started at second base in all three games of the George Washington series ... Hit .500 (5-for-10) with two runs scored and three RBI in the three contests ... Clubbed a three-run home run in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader and scored a pair of runs for good measure ... Chipped in with three RBI in the series finale (Feb. 19).
Justin Wilcoxen: Named the AAC Player of the Week Feb. 20 for the first time in his career ... Started all three games against George Washington at catcher ... Hit a whopping .714 (10-for-14) with nine runs scored, three doubles, two home runs and eight RBI ... Tallied at least three hits in every contest ... Began his stellar weekend in game one of Saturday's doubleheader (Feb. 18) during which he went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, four RBI and a home run ... Capped the twinbill with a 4-for-5 performance while adding three runs scored and a double ... Helped lead the Pirates to a 23-5 victory in series finale (Feb. 19), going 3-for-4 with four runs scored, four RBI, two doubles and a home run ... On the whole, produced a 2.107 OPS with a 1.357 slugging percentage and .750 on base percentage ... Did not allow a stolen base or commit an error in 31 defensive chances.
Dixon Williams: Made two pinch hit appearances in the series with George Washington, ripping a double down the right field line in game two of Saturday's doubleheader (Feb. 18) before recording a single and a run scored in the series finale (Feb. 19).
Trey Yesavage: Made his first start of the campaign in game two of Saturday's doubleheader against George Washington (Feb. 18) ... Fanned a career-high seven batters against just one walk in five solid innings of work.