Spring Break
Pirates soar past Phoenix in midweek action
Michael Perry
Issue date: 4/2/09 Section: Sports
The ECU baseball team wasted no time bouncing back from its first conference loss as it pummeled Elon, 15-4, Tuesday evening.
"Coming off our first conference loss it was important to get our bats going again," said sophomore outfielder Devin Harris.
The Pirates controlled the tempo of the game early, as they put up five runs in the first inning and consistently produced throughout the match up, with four ECU batters drilling home the long ball.
After the seventh inning stretch, the Pirates nailed the coffin shut when Ryan Wood connected on a colossal slam well into the Jungle with bases loaded to put the Diamond Bucs up 15-1.
"It's about time I got a hold of one," Wood said of his first career grand slam. "And I got it all."
Trailing 15-1 in the final inning of play, Phoenix pinch hitter Neal Pritchard sent the ball out of the park for a three-run shot, yet still down 11 runs, the notable effort was overshadowed by the commanding scoring deficit.
Halfway through the match up in the fifth inning, the ECU offense gained some breathing room with a three-run dinger from Dustin Harrington to increase the Pirate lead 9-1.
At the start of the game, the Pirates dodged an early bullet as Elon loaded the bases in the top of the first, but thanks to a fly ball to left field, the three Phoenix runners were left stranded.
Realizing the scoring threat, ECU jumped into its usual groove of merciless hitting. Leadoff hitter Trent Whitehead started off the inning with a single, then both Wood and Kyle Roller earned a free trip to first to load the bases.
With the bases loaded, third baseman Drew Schieber lofted the ball over the Phoenix shortstop to bring home Whitehead and Wood.
After Schieber popped the scoring cork, Harris kept the inning rolling as he sent a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall for a three-run homer to give the Pirates an early 5-0 lead.
On the opposite side of the ball, the ECU pitching staff allowed four freshmen some time to stretch their wings as they earned seven strikeouts and held Elon to only four runs.
Patrick Somers (2-1) picked up the win and Mike Wright burned the Phoenix on strikes three times in only 1 2/3 innings.
"I think again the offense overshadowed the pitching," said head coach Billy Godwin. "I was trying to get some of the freshmen guys out there and I thought they did an outstanding job [pitching]."
The Pirates will hope the midweek non-conference win restarts a recently broken win streak for the Pirates as they won two out of three last weekend in West Virginia over Marshall.
ECU picked up both wins in the double header over the Thundering Herd winning 7-6 and 5-1. Unfortunately, the Pirates dropped the last game of the series 6-2, snapping a 10-game winning streak.
"I've got them thinking one game at a time," Godwin said. "And told them lets start another streak tonight."
This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.
"Coming off our first conference loss it was important to get our bats going again," said sophomore outfielder Devin Harris.
The Pirates controlled the tempo of the game early, as they put up five runs in the first inning and consistently produced throughout the match up, with four ECU batters drilling home the long ball.
After the seventh inning stretch, the Pirates nailed the coffin shut when Ryan Wood connected on a colossal slam well into the Jungle with bases loaded to put the Diamond Bucs up 15-1.
"It's about time I got a hold of one," Wood said of his first career grand slam. "And I got it all."
Trailing 15-1 in the final inning of play, Phoenix pinch hitter Neal Pritchard sent the ball out of the park for a three-run shot, yet still down 11 runs, the notable effort was overshadowed by the commanding scoring deficit.
Halfway through the match up in the fifth inning, the ECU offense gained some breathing room with a three-run dinger from Dustin Harrington to increase the Pirate lead 9-1.
At the start of the game, the Pirates dodged an early bullet as Elon loaded the bases in the top of the first, but thanks to a fly ball to left field, the three Phoenix runners were left stranded.
Realizing the scoring threat, ECU jumped into its usual groove of merciless hitting. Leadoff hitter Trent Whitehead started off the inning with a single, then both Wood and Kyle Roller earned a free trip to first to load the bases.
With the bases loaded, third baseman Drew Schieber lofted the ball over the Phoenix shortstop to bring home Whitehead and Wood.
After Schieber popped the scoring cork, Harris kept the inning rolling as he sent a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall for a three-run homer to give the Pirates an early 5-0 lead.
On the opposite side of the ball, the ECU pitching staff allowed four freshmen some time to stretch their wings as they earned seven strikeouts and held Elon to only four runs.
Patrick Somers (2-1) picked up the win and Mike Wright burned the Phoenix on strikes three times in only 1 2/3 innings.
"I think again the offense overshadowed the pitching," said head coach Billy Godwin. "I was trying to get some of the freshmen guys out there and I thought they did an outstanding job [pitching]."
The Pirates will hope the midweek non-conference win restarts a recently broken win streak for the Pirates as they won two out of three last weekend in West Virginia over Marshall.
ECU picked up both wins in the double header over the Thundering Herd winning 7-6 and 5-1. Unfortunately, the Pirates dropped the last game of the series 6-2, snapping a 10-game winning streak.
"I've got them thinking one game at a time," Godwin said. "And told them lets start another streak tonight."
This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.
Be the first to comment on this story