PURPLE! Home Stand Issue 2

ISSUE NO. 2

home stand edition east carolina

vs .

tulane

catching a wave Left fielder Ben Fultz makes a sliding catch on a fly ball during Sunday’s win over Tulane. photo by jay clark

on the cover: Pitcher Jharel Cotton earned the win on Sunday, pitching a careerbest 12 strikeouts in seven innings.

Cotton, who is 8-0 in ConferenceUSA, is leading the conference in wins.

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Home stand 2 - ECU vs. tulane - 2012

east carolina university

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home wrecker Pitcher Kevin Brandt attempts to lay the tag on Tulane’s Nick Schneeberger as he scores from third after a wild pitch. photo by jay clark

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Home stand 2 - ECU vs. tulane - 2012

east carolina university

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Home stand 2 - ECU vs. tulane - 2012

ba se ball woot!

John Wooten hit this one for a double and would later score on a hit by Chase McDonald.

pirates drop series to tulane ECU offense struggles to produce against well-rounded waves.

photo by jay clark

STORY BY chase kroll

east carolina university

The ECU baseball program (28-16-1, 10-7-1) avoided its first home series sweep by pulling out a 6-3 victory over the Tulane Green Wave (29-15, 7-8) this Sunday.

The Pirates were led by pitcher Jharel Cotton’s career-best 12 strikeouts, in seven innings of work, as he notched his Conference USA-leading eighth win of the season (8-0).

Cotton finished the game allowing just two runs on four hits.

“I was comfortable. I got in my comfort zone and I kept going,” said Cotton. “I didn’t go out there thinking anything but to just compete, get into the zone, throw strikes and give my team a chance to win.”

After struggling offensively in the first two games of the series, ECU came out Sunday afternoon with its attention on scoring runs. The Pirates matched the amount of runs they scored in the previous two games in the first inning with a three-run homer by Zach Wright.

ECU stretched its lead to five after the second frame with Jack Reinheimer scoring on a wild pitch and a Drew Reynolds single bringing in Chris Gosik.

After Tulane closed the gap to 5-2, Chase McDonald hit an RBI-single in the fifth to score the Pirate’s final run. A home run by the Green Wave’s Brandon Boudreaux in the eighth set the game’s final score.

“If you have to win one day, I’d rather have a Sunday, PURPLE! 7

up against the wall Catcher Zach Wright attempts to catch a foul ball as players watch from the dugout, but the ball was too close to the wall and went out of play. Wright started off strong on Sunday hitting a three-run homer in the first inning.

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Home stand 2 - ECU vs. tulane - 2012

ba se ball super saver

photo by jay clark (2)

Drew Reynolds earned his ninth save of the season on Sunday and is tied for first in saves in C-USA.

east carolina university

because going into the week, we have something to look forward to and we are starting the week off right,” said Wright. “Coach just told us to come out and respond to the past two days.

We haven’t been playing too well and the games have been tough on us.”

The Pirates started the weekend series on Friday, losing 4-1. Corey Thompson led the way for ECU offensively, registering three of the team’s seven hits. Thompson also drew the team’s lone RBI in the first inning as the Pirates took a 1-0 lead.

After tying the game with an RBI-single in the top of the second, Tulane extended its lead courtesy of two wild pitches in the third and an error in the sixth that all resulted in runners scoring.

The game was ECU’s first home Conference USA loss.

Though the pitching was almost identical between Tulane’s David Napoli (7.0 ip, 6 h, 2 r, 3 so) and ECU’s Tyler Joyner (7.1 ip, 6 h, 4 r, 3 so), the Green Wave clinched the series the following day, 4-1, in a phenomenal pitching duel.

As every other game in the series, the Pirates got on the board early but struggled to maintain the offensive output as the game progressed.

Following Tulane’s Sean Potkay’s home run in the first inning, ECU responded in the second with a McDonald two-run single to take its only lead of the game.

ECU finished with just seven hits in the game, failing to record hits in three of the final four innings.

Adversely, the Green Wave notched two runs in the sixth, during a bases loaded situation, and added an RBIsingle from Nick Schneeberger in the eigth to distance itself from its competition.

Though a home series loss may seem new to a lot of fans, coach Billy Godwin has experienced some similar situations.

“I reminded [the team] that last year we were in the exact same situation. [It was] exam week and we lost two to Southern Miss,” said Godwin. “Then we won 12 of the last 15. We hope history is a good teacher.”

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fan-cam

Right fielder Phillip Clark chases down this well-hit fly ball under the watchful eyes of two young fans cheering from the outfield wall during Friday’s game against Tulane. photo by Jay clark

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game 2 - ECU vs. virginia tech - 2011