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Roots and resume land Eason on Mazey staff
From
staff and ECU Media Relations reports
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Randy Mazey
Photo: ECU |
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Tommy Eason
Photo: ECU |
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GREENVILLE — Randy Mazey knows Tommy Eason and so does Eastern North
Carolina. That familiarity with the Snow Hill native and with his track
record at East Carolina — first as a catcher, then an assistant coach — was
a key factor in Eason's selection as the first member of the new Pirate
skipper's staff.
Mazey, who was named the ninth head coach in ECU's baseball history on
July 1, pointed to Eason's ties to the region and his successes on the field
and in the dugout in making the announcement.
"We are pleased that Tommy has decided to stay with us," Mazey said.
"Tommy is the essence of ECU baseball — he's an eastern North Carolina
native, was a great player at East Carolina, and has been a great coach for
the past five years here. I'm happy that he will continue to be a part of
our staff."
Eason, an assistant the past five seasons under previous ECU head coach
Keith LeClair, was a standout catcher for the Pirates from 1989-91. Mazey
and Eason both served as assistant coaches on LeClair's first staff at ECU
in 1998. Mazey departed following that season to become an assistant coach
at Tennessee, where he served four years before being named the successor to
LeClair.
Eason is one of the top catchers in Pirate history. A two-time
All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, he finished his three-year
career at ECU with a .336 batting average. Regarded as one of the finest
defensive catchers in Pirate history — with a .987 career fielding
percentage — he also helped the Pirates gain an NCAA Regional berth in three
consecutive seasons.
Since taking over as ECU's pitching coach in 1999, three of Eason's
hurling staffs have finished in the top 16 nationally in earned run average.
ECU has won 43 or more games in each of the last four seasons, advancing to
NCAA Regional play each year. Last season, the ECU pitching staff posted a
3.64 ERA, 16th in the country, and the Pirates swept to a Conference USA
Tournament championship in their first year in the league.
LeClair, who relinquished his head coaching duties on June 19 for health
reasons, remains with the ECU athletics department as a special assistant to
director of athletics Mike Hamrick after compiling a 212-96-1 record during
a tenure in which he oversaw the most successful five-year run in Pirate
baseball history.
Visit ECUPirates.com.
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