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When it rains, it pours for ECU at the Greenville Regional

Burleson pitching Saturday.
Photo courtesy of ecupirates.com

ECU was down one, had the tying and winning runs on base and All-American Alec Burleson up with two out and a chance to tie or win in the ninth inning. Burleson grounded out to end the game.

That’s how close ECU was about the entire game. One play away.

Even after the buildup from a game beginning 24 hours after it was supposed to, It felt like ECU never had momentum and was playing catch up to Quinnipiac the entire game.

The Pirates fell short against the Bobcats 5-4 in their Greenville Regional game Saturday. ECU, who never lead at any point, now falls to the losers bracket and plays NC State at noon tomorrow. Quinnipiac moves on to face Campbell at 4 p.m. It’s Quinnipiac’s first NCAA Tournament win, in only its second ever appearance (2005).

“Hell of a baseball game. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for us. Hats off to Quinnipiac,” ECU head coach Cliff Godwin said. “We had some quality at-bats. I thought they just played a little bit better than we did.”

The game was supposed to be Friday at 6 p.m., but instead took place on Saturday at 6 p.m. after three severe weather delays.

Quinnipiac started the scoring with two runs in the top of the first. The Pirates responded with two of their own in the bottom half of the inning. An RBI double for Quinnipiac made it 3-2 in the second. Two innings later, ECU responded to tie the game yet again.

Both teams traded outfield assists from their respective right fielders, Burleson, and Liam Scafariello, throwing out runners trying to score from second, keeping the game tied. A two-run blast for Scafariello in the seventh made it 5-3. ECU responded again but with just a solo home run from Bryson Worrell in the eighth. One play away.

Burleson may have made the final out but he more than did his part. Burleson went 2-for-5 at the plate with an RBI single in the first inning. He was the one who threw out a Quinnipiac runner trying to score. He threw scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth innings to keep ECU within striking distance.

That included the eighth inning when he faced the bases loaded and nobody out, and got out of it by striking out three consecutive batters with just 10 pitches.

“It was tight the whole game and (I was) just excited to be out there and able to make plays. It was fun to come in and do it for my teammates,” Burleson said.

Bryant Packard also contributed at the plate, going 3-for-5. Quinnipiac had Evan Vulgamore go 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a triple.

Jake Kuchmaner just did not have his best stuff in the opening game of the regional, and that set the tone. He only managed to go 1.1 innings (30 pitches) and gave up three runs on five hits. Kuchmaner was routinely hit hard, as four of the five hits were for extra bases.

“I would’ve been a genius if it would’ve worked out but I’m an idiot because it didn’t. I’m going to lay my head down tonight because we wouldn’t be where we are without Jake Kuchmaner. Our guys poured their heart and souls out on the field and competed for their tails off. As a coach, I’m going to sleep good tonight. I don’t know how long I’m going to sleep, but I’m going to sleep good,” Godwin said.

Godwin turned to Gavin Williams to try and stymie the Quinnipiac momentum. Williams struck out the first batter he faced and got the second to ground out and keep the Bobcats from scoring any more runs in the second inning.

Williams would finish after 2.2 innings pitched without giving up a single hit, walking two hitters only. His outing was crucial in allowing ECU to catch up in the ballgame.

The same could be said for Zach Barnes (1.0 inning, no runs, one hit), Ryder Giles (1.0 inning, no runs, one hit) and Burleson, all the pitchers used to make up for the short outing.

Things went better for Quinnipiac pitching. Chris Enns went 6.2 innings, giving up three runs. Colin Donnelly threw the final 2.1 innings of the game and allowed just one run on two hits. Donnelly had a lot of back-and-forth with ECU fans on Twitter all week leading up to the game.

It must have been destined to get an ECU-NC State matchup in Greenville this weekend. Most people just expected it to be the winner’s bracket game instead of an elimination game.

ECU will throw AAC Pitcher-of-the-Year Jake Agnos. A rivalry and elimination game packed into one, for bragging rights and for the right for your season to continue.

“I know a lot of people are mad but if we’re going to get our ass kicked, I’m going to go down with these guys every single day,” Godwin said. I don’t care what anybody says. They’ve played their ass off for me all year. And hey, they’ll do it again tomorrow.”

By Dylan Johnson

Greenville Regional day 1:

Photo courtesy of ecupirates.com
Photo assuming State and Campbell finish tonight

Well, it wouldn’t be the Greenville Regional without multiple weather delays, right? Right, because that’s exactly what happened. ECU and Quinnipiac never got an opportunity to take the field and now has its game pushed to tomorrow morning at 11 a.m.

NC State and Campbell will try to finish its game tonight if possible and hopefully not get pushed over into tomorrow morning as well. The loser’s bracket teams will play an elimination game at 4 p.m. and then 55 minutes after that game there will be a matchup between the winner’s bracket teams.

NC State and Campbell got through most of the early game which began at noon on Friday. Campbell was leading the Wolfpack 5-4 going into the bottom of the ninth inning when the long-lasting delay kicked in. The two teams had already been delayed earlier for about an hour and 20 minutes.

At least it didn’t happen during the Pirates’ game this year. Last year ECU got off to a good start at its own regional with a 16-7 win over UNCW. But then a loss to South Carolina forced an elimination game with the Seahawks – one that took forever due to a several-hour-long weather delay. That delay contributed to ECU losing its rhythm and getting knocked out of its own regional.

It was a rough day for Will Wilson, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Wilson made three errors in the field and was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.

Campbell jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. 2-run home run by K Collins to the jungle in left field.

Campbell starter Michael Horrell – 7.0 innings, one earned run (Butler solo home run right before first weather delay) five hits and 11 strikeouts.

They gave up four runs in total, however, as the Campbell defense allowed three unearned runs in the third inning to allow State back into the game at 4-3.

AROUND THE STATE:

North Carolina got the second most teams in by state for this NCAA tournament, so let’s see what some of the other NC teams did on Friday.

UNC-UNCW:

The Tar Heels are hosting the Chapel Hill Regional at Boshamer Stadium after their impressive ACC tournament win. The Heels took on No. 4 UNCW. UNCW went into the bottom of the ninth inning with a 6-5 lead but UNC promptly tied it with a solo home run. A weather delay hit that game as well, and it is still unfinished as of this writing. The Tar Heels had the winning run on first base.

Duke-Texas A&M:

The Blue Devils are playing in the Morgantown regional and took on Texas A&M on Friday. They won 8-5 to move into the winner’s bracket.

By Dylan Johnson

DJ Podcast 4/23/19

By Dylan Johnson

ECU downs Duke, win streak to 10

Brady Lloyd rounding the bases from his home run Wednesday
Photo courtesy Sarah Styons

One of the biggest crowds in ECU baseball history, easily the biggest crowd of the season, was on deck but there wasn’t much to cheer for. It took a struggling hitter to open the floodgates for a struggling offense, but once he did they could not be stopped.

Brady Lloyd lined a solo home run to left field, his first extra base hit of the season, to break the scoreless tie and the rest of the offense picked up the slack en route to a 6-1 win for ECU (22-6, 6-0 AAC) over Duke (14-15, 3-9 ACC). ECU’s win streak is now up to 10, while the Blue Devils drop a game below .500.

“I was hoping it was gone but I was dead sprinting around first base. I looked out there and I thought he caught it but then the fans started cheering,” Lloyd said

In its first home game in 10 days, the Pirates won in front of a crowd of 4,744, a season high and the 15th highest mark in ECU baseball history.

“4,700 screaming, that will get you going a little bit. It also makes it harder on their pitchers,” ECU outfielder Bryant Packard said.

ECU evened the season series between the two teams with the win. Duke defeated ECU 7-2 in Durham back on Mar. 12. That was a different Duke team however, which was 11-5 when it played ECU the first time but was just 14-14 coming into the rematch before the Pirates put them below .500.

Lloyd had been struggling, being hitless in the last three games against USF. He had not recorded a multi-hit game since Mar. 10 against Marist. Lloyd came in to Wednesday’s game with a .238 batting average. Lloyd went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.

“It feels real good. I don’t hit many home runs so when I do it’s awesome,” Lloyd said.

After Lloyd’s solo shot, the Pirates added two more runs in the three-run fifth inning. Jake Washer walked, Packard doubled, a wild pitch scored Washer and moved Packard to third base. A Lane Hoover single scored Packard to make it 3-0. Duke also had two passed balls in the inning on top of the wild pitch.

ECU added three more runs in the sixth inning when Thomas Francisco walked, Lloyd laid down a bunt single and Washer singled Francisco home. Lloyd scored on a Nick Barber groundout. Packard then followed it up with a single to left field to score Washer.

“It was a complete effort. The defense was really good too. It was Pirate baseball,” Packard said.

Ryder Giles made his first career start. In what Packard said was “a bullpen day” according to ECU head coach Cliff Godwin, Giles went just 3.0 innings, gave up no runs on just two hits and threw only 30 pitches. Giles first eight appearances came out of the bullpen and, other than one other game he threw 28 pitches, he hasn’t reached 10 pitches in an outing. He still has a 0.00 ERA through 11.1 innings pitched this season. Duke starter Cooper Stinson pitched 4.2 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and 90 pitches.

Trey Benton came in and pitched the next 2.1 innings scoreless before loading the bases and being relieved in favor of Sam Lanier, who struck out back-to-back batters to leave the bases loaded.

“I knew that Trey had thrown really well before me, so it was really big to not let his runs score. It was awesome. He gave me a big hug when we came to the dugout and it was really good to see Trey on point tonight,” Lanier said.

Benton has struggled with consistency this season. It was his first time going more than two innings without allowing a single run since the opening series against Radford, when he threw 2.1 scoreless innings. Benton threw 2.0 scoreless innings against Elon but also gave up four runs in 2.2 innings against Marist. Benton didn’t pitch in the next six games after that outing. Godwin said that Benton was “the old Trey” tonight.

It was very close to being a shutout. Zach Barnes and Cam Colmore each threw one scoreless inning of relief. Evan Odum came on to pitch the ninth and got to two outs before a single dropped in front of a diving Dusty Baker in center field scored the Blue Devil’s lone run of the game.

“The pitching staff has evolved for sure. This team is a lot different. It’s been a challenge for me. I’ve learned a lot as a coach this year just trying to maneuver parts on the back-end,” Godwin said. “You’ve got Ryder Giles and Alec Burleson playing positions and you’ve got to figure out how you’re going to get them in and who’s going to go in. It’s been interesting. There are a lot of moving parts, but that’s why we’ve got a great staff and we talk and figure it out.”

After playing its first home game since Mar. 24, ECU gets back on the road for a series against Houston. Friday’s game starts at 7:35 p.m. The Pirates won’t be back at home until Apr. 18.

By Dylan Johnson

Nate Harvey’s unique pro day

Nate Harvey playing at ECU.
Photo courtesy of ecupirates.com

The last few months for former ECU defensive end Nate Harvey has featured a lot, from thinking he would play college football another season to all of a sudden needing to scramble for the NFL. Some would consider those last few months a bit of a roller coaster, Harvey included.

“That’s exactly how I would describe it,” Harvey said. “It’s been a rollercoaster ride. There’s a lot of stuff that has been putting me up and down.”

Harvey had begun spring practice with ECU and was convinced, along with many others that he would get an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA after playing only a handful of snaps his freshman season at another school. But, after a lengthy wait, the NCAA denied him that extra year of eligibility, a questionable move to say the least.

Still, Harvey impressed and drew a lot of intrigue at ECU’s annual pro day which took place on Thursday morning inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Many teams were in touch with Harvey, including the Panthers, Browns, Texans, Giants and Rams among others. Harvey said those teams told him he had a good day and that he should keep working hard.

That’s even more impressive considering Harvey had hardly any time to prepare for NFL scouts Harvey only got nine days to train specifically for pro day and now for the NFL draft. Harvey had even already practiced with ECU, and is still juggling classes at ECU.

“(The appeal process and the NCAA’s decision) took so long and I practiced on the first day so in my head I’m already back. Then after that first day they told me I wasn’t,” Harvey said.

But despite being complimented on his pro day, Harvey doesn’t want them to pay too much attention to the numbers he put up at pro day. He instead wants them to look at his film from his lone season at defensive end, when he was the AAC DPOY.

Harvey’s award-winning season saw him average 2.1 tackles for loss per game, and record 63 tackles, 14.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Harvey set ECU and AAC records for tackles for loss in a season and tied the AAC single-season sack record.

“I feel like my film is everything. I put my heart into last season, and next season whoever I’m playing for I’m gonna put my heart into it again,” Harvey said.

There’s no reason to think Harvey isn’t just scratching the surface of his defensive line prowess considering he only played it one season at ECU and excelled. Harvey started as a walk-on fullback before switching to linebacker and eventually moving to defensive end right before the 2018 season for then-defensive coordinator David Blackwell. Harvey even said himself that he was “learning on the fly” last year and the position can become more natural to him.

ECU head coach Mike Houston only had a few months with Harvey after taking the job. Despite briefly working together, Harvey won Houston over and the coach has said he will do anything he can to help Harvey make it there.

“When I took the job here, I didn’t even know who Nate Harvey was. Over the last three months, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know him on a daily basis,” Houston said of Harvey, per ecupirates.com

Houston made such an impression on Harvey as well so that Harvey was holding back tears the day he found out the NCAA had denied his extra season of eligibility. Harvey has no hesitation in returning the complimentary attitude back to Houston.

“Coach Houston is a great coach,” Harvey said, per ecupirates.com. “He showed me that the first week he was here, and that’s what made me want to stay.”

Harvey is still in the process of signing an agent and getting comfortable in going through the NFL process. Despite going through a rollercoaster last few months that would shake a lot of people, Harvey is still absolutely sure in one thing.

“I feel like I tried my best out here and I just hope a team can pick me up and if they do, they won’t regret it.”