East Carolinian

Issue date: 6/4/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: staff photo

Media Credit: staff photo

The ECU baseball team was knocked out of the NCAA tournament over the weekend in what proved to be an odd Conway, SC regional.

The Pirates battled their way out of the loser's bracket, just two wins shy of advancing to the Super Regional. ECU's pitching was simply no match for the punch that Coastal Carolina packed.

The Chanticleers buried the Pirates early and held on for a 24-11 win and will face North Carolina this weekend in Cary for a Super Regional match-up.

ECU appeared to be outmatched by the bats of Alabama in their opening game after being trounced 16-3. However, the Pirates responded with a 9-0 victory over Columbia to stay alive. Senior T.J. Hose tossed a complete game shutout against the Lions.

ECU enjoyed a reversal of fortune in its rematch with Alabama. The score line looked remarkably similar, only this time the Pirates prevailed with a 16-1 win. Junior Justin Bristow turned in a masterful seven-inning performance to tame the Crimson Tide bats.

Bristow, Ray and Brandon Henderson were each named to the All-Tournament Team after solid performances.

ECU completed the regional with a 2-2 record and finished the season with a mark of 42-21. The regional marked the last go around for six Pirate seniors: Brett Butts, Harrison Eldridge, T.J. Hose, Corey Kemp, Jamie Ray and Josh Ruhlman.

Freshman pitcher Seth Maness was recently named to the Third Team All America, becoming the 18th Pirate to achieve All-American status.



Alabama, 16/ECU, 3



ECU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead behind a solo round-tripper from Ray.

The Pirates' lead would only last an inning as Alabama responded with a three-run shot from Jake Smith in the second to push the Tide ahead 3-1.

Alabama busted the game open in the third with five runs, including another three-run homer by infielder Matt Bentley.

Maness had no answer for the Tide, lasting 2.2 innings and allowing eight runs.

ECU cut the lead to 11-3 in the sixth but could get no closer.

Freshman pitcher Matt Laney worked 4.2 innings for the Pirates and allowed only one run on four hits.



ECU, 9/Columbia, 0



After suffering a blowout loss the previous day to Coastal, Columbia showed they just could not hang with the heavy hitters from the south.

Hose made quick work of the Lions, allowing just four hits and striking out seven.

Five ECU batters notched multiple hits with Ray leading the way with a two-for-four performance including a home run and three RBI.

Kemp blasted his 17th home run of the season, with three RBI of his own.

Eldridge became ECU's all-time leader in games played (239) and led off with two hits for the Pirates.



ECU, 16/Alabama, 1



With their backs against the wall, the Pirates responded once again with an elimination game win.

After a surprising 16-3 loss two days prior, a 16-1 win was far from likely.

ECU owned a 2-0 lead heading into the third inning, when their bats came alive. Ray and Kyle Roller's home runs highlighted a seven-run inning to give the Pirates a 9-0 lead.

Bristow's previous SEC experience may have been the key for ECU in this matchup. The Auburn-transfer scattered four hits in seven innings and allowed just one in his winning effort.

Ray finished four-for-six at the plate with six RBI while third basemen Drew Schieber pitched in with three hits from the bottom of the order.



Coastal Carolina, 24/ECU, 11



ECU faced a daunting task of knocking off the region's No. 1 seed in back-to-back games.

Unfortunately for the Pirates, they couldn't get through one game.

ECU began the game with a hot hand yet again, but the Chants' bats were too much for the Pirate pitching staff to handle. The Pirates took an early 4-2 lead in the first inning with back-to-back homers from Kemp and Henderson, an indication of just what type of day the two squads were in for.

Coastal plated an astounding 13 runners in the second inning to create a hole too deep for ECU to climb out of.

The Pirates would later chop the lead in half at 16-8, but the Chants' continued to pile runs on behind David Anderson and Tommy Baldridge, who combined for six hits and six RBI.

Eight Coastal hitters finished with multiple hits in the game.





This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com

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