Pirates Come to Town Looking to Steal Wins
East Carolina Not To Be Overlooked
By Mark Anderson
The Rice Owls take their number two ranking to Reckling Field on Friday as they open Conference USA play at 7:00pm.
For those of you thinking that East Carolina will be a pushover, I have two words for you: think again.
While the Pirates were picked in preseason to finish sixth (with Rice finishing first), the fact is ECU has a winning record at 16-7. Here are some other things to consider:
· Dustin Sasser is 4-2 with a 1.96 ERA as a starter
· T.J. Hose is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA as a starter
· ECU leads C-USA in team ERA at 3.01
· The Pirates have 5 players in double digits when it comes to RBIs
· If the batter’s first name is Jake, they are good hitters (Jake Smith, .337, 5 HR, 10 RBI; Jake Dean, .310, 5 doubles, 9 RBI)
This team, in spite of playing a weaker schedule, deserves some respect.
There are a few glaring weaknesses on the Pirate team, however. One of them is the number of times runners have been picked off (not thrown out trying to steal, that’s a whole different story) with six pickoffs. That sort of thing has the tendency to take a team right out of big innings.
The other glaring weakness, in my opinion, is the lack of a proven stopper. ECU has only two saves on the season—and these are by two different pitchers. Kevin Rhodes seems to be the guy the turn to in critical situations, having the more impressive stats (14 innings, 11 strikeouts, only 2 walks).
In the last week (minus the Texas game), the Owl bats have seemingly found life. Tyler Henley, Greg Buchanan, Joe Savery, as well as Jordan Dodson and Brian Friday have all been swinging the aluminum well, and Aaron Luna seems to be regaining his early form. Let’s hope that the hot hitting continues this weekend—and beyond.
As of this date, I have not heard the pitching matchups for this weekend, but will post them as soon as I get them. It seems likely that Eddie Degerman and Joe Savery will certainly make appearances as starters, but Sunday’s starter is anybody’s guess at this point—except Coach Wayne Graham, of course!
While it may be a little on the cool side this weekend, hopefully the Owls will come out like a house of fire. But again—don’t overlook these Pirates! They deserve our respect for what they have accomplished so far this year. Hope to see you at Reckling this weekend for what looks to be a very good series.
By Mark Anderson
The Rice Owls take their number two ranking to Reckling Field on Friday as they open Conference USA play at 7:00pm.
For those of you thinking that East Carolina will be a pushover, I have two words for you: think again.
While the Pirates were picked in preseason to finish sixth (with Rice finishing first), the fact is ECU has a winning record at 16-7. Here are some other things to consider:
· Dustin Sasser is 4-2 with a 1.96 ERA as a starter
· T.J. Hose is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA as a starter
· ECU leads C-USA in team ERA at 3.01
· The Pirates have 5 players in double digits when it comes to RBIs
· If the batter’s first name is Jake, they are good hitters (Jake Smith, .337, 5 HR, 10 RBI; Jake Dean, .310, 5 doubles, 9 RBI)
This team, in spite of playing a weaker schedule, deserves some respect.
There are a few glaring weaknesses on the Pirate team, however. One of them is the number of times runners have been picked off (not thrown out trying to steal, that’s a whole different story) with six pickoffs. That sort of thing has the tendency to take a team right out of big innings.
The other glaring weakness, in my opinion, is the lack of a proven stopper. ECU has only two saves on the season—and these are by two different pitchers. Kevin Rhodes seems to be the guy the turn to in critical situations, having the more impressive stats (14 innings, 11 strikeouts, only 2 walks).
In the last week (minus the Texas game), the Owl bats have seemingly found life. Tyler Henley, Greg Buchanan, Joe Savery, as well as Jordan Dodson and Brian Friday have all been swinging the aluminum well, and Aaron Luna seems to be regaining his early form. Let’s hope that the hot hitting continues this weekend—and beyond.
As of this date, I have not heard the pitching matchups for this weekend, but will post them as soon as I get them. It seems likely that Eddie Degerman and Joe Savery will certainly make appearances as starters, but Sunday’s starter is anybody’s guess at this point—except Coach Wayne Graham, of course!
While it may be a little on the cool side this weekend, hopefully the Owls will come out like a house of fire. But again—don’t overlook these Pirates! They deserve our respect for what they have accomplished so far this year. Hope to see you at Reckling this weekend for what looks to be a very good series.
posted by my kid's sports pics at 9:30 PM
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