Earlier this season, East Carolina took two of three on the road against the University of Virginia. So, it should come as no surprise that the Pirates were again able to visit the Cavaliers this weekend and sneak out of the Charlottesville Regional with a Super Regional bid.
Though it’s been four months since the teams met earlier this year, ECU looked every bit as sharp and fresh as in its first matchup. After three consecutive victories in Virginia, the Pirates are now the lone AAC team moving on to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Baseball Tournament.
.@ECUBaseball Super Regional dates, times, TV: June 10 (8 pm/ESPNU), June 11 (3 pm/ESPNU), June 12 (3 pm/ESPN2 or ESPNU) – all games Eastern
— East Carolina Pirates (@ECUAthletics) June 7, 2016
Following an 8-4 victory over William & Mary this past weekend, the Pirates will be heading to their program’s fourth Super Regional appearance and their first since losing to North Carolina in the 2009 Chapel Hill Super Regional. This year, they will travel to Lubbock, Texas to face the home-standing Texas Tech Red Raiders in a best of three series starting Friday at 8 EST on Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
After winning the Big 12 regular season crown, Texas Tech summarily went 1-2 during its conference tournament and awkwardly bowed out. This past weekend the team bounced back by winning three of four games against Dallas Baptist, New Mexico and Fairfield earning the team the right to continue its 2016 postseason.
The Red Raiders are a hit-first and ask questions-about-pitching-later type team. They hit .295 this year and led the Big 12 in home runs (52), doubles (133) and walks (315—7th in nation). Their pitching staff is the team’s most glaring weakness as the composite staff ERA of 4.3 leaves a bit to be desired defensively. Behind those pitchers, however, is a staunch defensive presence as the team is ranked second nationally in double plays while also holding a respectable .974 fielding percentage.
Texas Tech enters the Super Regional round as the No. 5-ranked national seed.
Not a bad way to travel! Charter flight to Lubbock! You get what you earn!#family #whynotus pic.twitter.com/8Fn5OGVGBH
— Cliff Godwin (@cgodwin23) June 8, 2016
As evidenced by the team’s ritualistic treatment of Virginia baseball this year, the Pirates have been a model of consistency throughout the baseball season. The team has never lost more than two straight games since mid-March and, more recently, have won six of their last eight contests, scoring fewer than four runs only once in that span.
ECU is batting a red-hot .291 in 2016—good enough for tops in the AAC—and it owns a stellar 3.4 team ERA. Aggregates aside, the team is made up of some pretty spectacular individual parts. Namely, Charlie Yorgen, who combined with teammates Eric Tyler and Travis Watkins to hit six home runs in the regional-clinching game against William & Mary. Yorgen also contributed a regionalbest nine hits over the weekend. Watkins, who was later named Charlottesville Regional Most Outstanding Player, led all regional players with five runs batted in and 2 homers.
Starting pitcher Evan Kruczynski again led the charge this weekend from the pitching bump giving the team seven stellar innings of work, allowing zero runs while striking out six. ECU starters Jimmy Boyd and Jacob Wolfe struggled, pitching 7.2 innings and allowing seven earned runs off 11 Hits. The relief pitching was more than capable of picking up the slack, thankfully, as Sam Lanier and Matt Bridges combined to pitch 8.2 innings and allowed only two earned runs. Lanier—who took over for starter Jacob Wolfe (following RP Chris Holba) in the regional finale—was masterful, pitching five shutout innings with seven strikeouts and giving up only one hit, thus solidifying the regional final for the Pirates.
On Saturday against host Virginia, East Carolina produced five runs in the bottom of the ninth sending the team to the regional final with the 8-6 win. It was a game in which the Pirates entered the ninth down three runs, found a way to conjure four consecutive hits, a sac bunt and then a miraculously walk-off three run homer by Watkins.
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