Friday, May 22
Clearwater, Fla.
9:00 AM
East Carolina University
vs
Rice
No.2 East Carolina Set To Start Conference Tournament Play Against No.3 Rice
May 21, 2026 | Baseball
| Game 56: No. 2 East Carolina Pirates (33-21-1, 17-10 American) vs. No. 3 Rice Owls (35-22, 16-11 American) | |
| Coverage | May 22: 9:00 a.m. EST \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Stream: ESPN+ Radio: 94.3 The Game (Dylan Johnson and Dr. Gary Overton) |
| Location: | Clearwater, Florida | BayCare Ballpark (8,500) |
| Official Websites: | East Carolina | Rice | Championship Central |
| Game Notes: | East Carolina | Rice |
| Statistics: | East Carolina | Rice |
| Baseball Central: | NCAA Baseball | College Scoreboard | Weekly Rankings | National Stat Leaders |
| Social Media: | ECUBaseball (Twitter) | ecu_baseball (Instagram) | East Carolina Baseball (Facebook) |
CLEARWATER, Fla. -Â The East Carolina Pirates (33-21-1, 17-10 American) set their sights on hopefully clinching a second American Conference Tournament in a row, after solidifying the title in 2025 as a No. 6 seed. The Pirates will start play on Friday after a double bye through the weekend, with No. 3 seed Rice as their first opponent in the tournament. First pitch is set for an early 9:00 a.m. EST start time. Â
PROJECTED FRIDAY STARTERS
#7 LHP Ryan Towers vs. #17 RHP Ethan SandersÂ
GOING INTO CLEARWATER
The Pirates finished the regular season with a 17-10 conference record, earning the No. 2 seed in the tournament after closing the year with a road sweep at Florida Atlantic. ECU also secured a share of the American Conference Regular Season Championship, marking yet another successful campaign for one of the league's premier programs.Â
ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
Six members of the East Carolina baseball team earned postseason recognition from the American Conference following a strong regular season that saw the Pirates claim a share of the regular-season conference title. Ethan Norby, Joseph Webb, and Braden Burress were named First Team All-Conference selections, while Jack Herring earned Second Team honors. Freshmen Grady Lenahan and Ethan Rose were also recognized on the All-Freshman Team.Â
Norby continued his dominant career with the Pirates by earning All-Conference honors for the third straight season and First Team recognition for the second consecutive year. The right-hander led the American Conference with 108 strikeouts, ranking among the national leaders, while serving as a steady force in ECU's weekend rotation. Webb also played a major role on the mound, becoming one of the Pirates' most reliable bullpen arms with 73 strikeouts and a 3.80 ERA across 26 appearances.Â
Burress earned First Team honors for the second straight season after transitioning from the outfield to second base. The junior started all 55 games and hit .336 while leading the team in multi-hit performances. Herring paced the Pirates offensively, leading the team in batting average, RBI, doubles, on-base percentage and walks.Â
Freshmen Lenahan and Rose also made immediate impacts in their first collegiate seasons. Rose posted a 2.90 ERA in 24 appearances out of the bullpen, while Lenahan became a key contributor in the lineup and center field, batting .314 with seven home runs and a perfect fielding percentage.Â
SMARTY PIRATES
The East Carolina Pirates have shown their athleticism on the field, while also emphasizing the student-athlete. At the end of the spring 2026 season, the Pirates posted the highest GPA in the Cliff Godwin Era, with a 3.74, beating the previous spring semester in 2025, which was a 3.72. 14 members of the team posted a 4.0 GPA this year, the most ECU Baseball has recorded in a single season. Â Â
TOUCHING BASE
Jack Herring is currently on a 54-game on-base streak for the Pirates, marking being one of 18 Pirates to have reached base in at least 30 games since 1998. Herring has been able to reach base safely in every game he has started this season, with 54. Herring currently stands second in program history for longest on-base streak since 1998. Conor Norby took the crown in the 2021 season, now holding the longest on-base streak at 58. Both Norby and Herring stand as the only two Pirates since 1998 to reach at least a 50-game on-base streak.Â
ABOUT RICE
Rice started to make a run towards the end of the 2026 season, finishing in third in the American Conference Standings. The Rice Owls opened up conference play against South Florida, losing the opening weekend to the Bulls. The conference did not start to turn around for the Owls until the UAB series. Rice entered the UAB series and confirmed its second conference sweep against one of the top contenders at the time, UAB, taking all three games. Â
The Owls then came to Greenville in the second-to-last weekend of conference play, not only able to beat the Pirates but also to win the series on away turf. The series win against the Pirates put the Owls only one game behind second place, making them a threat for the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. Â
The Pirates solidified the No. 2 seed in the tournament, leaving Rice at No. 3. The rematch in the conference tournament will give the Pirates a chance to reclaim the dominance they temporarily lost in Greenville.Â
No.3 Rice started tournament play on Thursday afternoon, taking down No. 7 Wichita State in walk-off fashion to stay in the winner's bracket to Friday.Â
Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballECU Baseball Practice in Clearwater
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