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College Sports in the Carolinas

Don't miss Al Myatt's profile of new ECU Chancellor Steven Ballard in the 2004 Bonesville Magazine.

View from the East Friday, October 8, 2004 By Al Myatt

Baseball bachelors tagged by Cupid

©2004 Bonesville.net

East Carolina baseball coach Randy Mazey won a school record 51 games last season but his biggest victory may have been during the offseason.

Mazey waited for just the right moment the night of August 11 at Cobalt Lake in Montana to ask WITN-TV 7 personality Amanda Ross to be his wife.

She said "Yes."

Ross had no idea a proposal was coming.

"I was so shocked I didn't answer right away," Ross said. "I had no idea. That made it that much more special. It was at night on the lake with the mountains all around us. It was so beautiful."

Mazey had hidden the engagement ring in his fly fishing tackle for the flight out. The couple was out of range of a cell phone signal in Montana so Ross had to wait two days to call anyone to share the news.

Mazey had already clued in his mother-in-law-to-be on the imminent proposal before the backpacking excursion. Seems like the coach touched all the bases.

The wedding is set for January 4 in the Valley of Fire, a national park near Las Vegas.

Ross plans to take Mazey's name professionally.

"I've already talked to my boss about it," she said. "I may go as Amanda Ross-Mazey to begin with so our viewers will know about the transition, but eventually it will just be Amanda Mazey on the air."

Wedding bells will also be ringing for ECU hitting coach Allen Osborne. He and Janey Wheeler plan to marry in Winterville on December 11.

Hardworking Pirate

Some people talk about success and some people do something about it.

Perry Hudson is a talker — and a doer.

Hudson has set records as a Pirate Club representative for the number of new members he has signed up and he's broken his own record this year with 69 new members.

Hudson, whose fulltime job is Recreation Director for the city of Dunn, attended ECU and has two daughters enrolled there. All of his persuasion isn't used on behalf of the Pirate Club, however.

The Dunn Recreation Department has broken ground for a $600,000 gym which is scheduled to be completed by March, thanks to a successful fund-raising effort directed by Hudson.

Help in the wings

ECU has some football talent stockpiled on campus that should provide an immediate impact next season — provided academic requirements are in order.

Bonesville.net has already reported that defensive lineman Marcus Hands is enrolled. He was originally signed by North Carolina. Another ECU acquisition, defensive lineman Brandon Setzer, first signed with N.C. State.

Quentin Cotton is regarded as a big time linebacker who drew interest from a number of ACC schools but who should help the Pirates starting in 2005. Defensive back J.J. Millbrook and big offensive tackle Richie Santos also are biding their time until they can become eligible to join the Pirates.

Going, going ...

Standout senior receiver Damarcus Fox has left the building. An ECU offense that needs a game-breaking receiver to stretch defenses vertically has lost its speediest deep threat indefinitely.

Fox, who returned to the team last season after absorbing a gunshot wound to an arm as a relatively-innocent early-morning bystander at a Greenville fast food, may not be back this season, according to sources.

Fox, who has sprinter's speed, was a receiver defenses had to respect. Without him the Pirates' concept of a vertical passing game to open up running lanes for the ground attack takes a major hit.

Although Fox is out for the Tulane game and likely longer — perhaps much longer — the Green Wave expects to have its premier pass target, senior Roydell Williams, in the lineup for Saturday's 2 p.m. game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Scelfo respects Pirates

Tulane coach Chris Scelfo says ECU is better than its 0-4 record would indicate.

"I think from a standpoint of where they are [their record is misleading]; I think there is no question because of who they played and where they played them," said the Green Wave coach. "It is very misleading because they are a good football team."

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02/23/2007 12:46:40 AM
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