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BAILEY'S
TAKE ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the
Anchor Desk
Tuesday,
May 3, 2010
By Brian
Bailey |
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Harris pledges
allegiance to Cowboys
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Dwayne Harris |
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(ECU SID image) |
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Billy Godwin |
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(ECU SID image) |
By
Brian Bailey
©2011 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Dwayne Harris is a Dallas
Cowboy.
It probably doesn’t feel
like it much for the former East Carolina star. With the lockout,
everything is on hold.
Of course, that seems to
change by the day.
First came the thrill of
being drafted. Harris got the call from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
on Saturday afternoon.
“I’m feeling joy,” Harris
told me on my weekly radio show on Pirate Radio 1250 last night [REPLAY
SHOW]. “I’m really excited. It is a dream come true to
get picked up finally. It was a long journey, but I’m ready to start a
new chapter."
Harris knows that his
football future is in Big D. He can’t wait to get started. But even
after being drafted on Saturday Harris still has to be patient.
“What I can do is to
continue to work out and continue to get stronger and faster,” said
Harris. “I can work on my off-season drills. What I can’t do is talk to
the coaches or go to the facility. As soon as it’s (the lockout) over
I’ll be ready.”
Harris was considered a
nice sleeper pick by the Cowboys by many of the draft experts. Most
Pirate fans know what Dwayne Harris can do. America’s Team is about to
find out.
His favorite team growing
up was the Atlanta Falcons. His new favorite team hails from “Big D.”
And Harris was already
working on his ‘How ‘bout them Cowboys!’
Diamond Bucs searching
for consistency
It seemed like every ball
the Pirates hit on Saturday in a 5-0 loss to Southern Miss turned into a
double play ball.
On Sunday, those same
ground balls seemed to find holes in a 7-6 East Carolina win.
That’s baseball, but it’s
obviously frustrating for both the ECU team and its fan base.
This is a ball club that can play with anyone in the country. It is also
a squad team that currently stands at .500 in Conference USA.
Despite dropping two out
of three to the Golden Eagles, the Pirates are still in line to earn an
NCAA tournament berth.
This team has yet to play
its best baseball. The Pirates have played very good baseball in spurts.
The inconsistency, though, continues to be a huge problem.
Saturday’s 5-0 was loss
was especially tough for Pirate coach Billy Godwin, who watched as USM
outfielder Marc Bourgeois’ grand slam in the fifth inning pretty much
clinched the series win for the Golden Eagles.
Godwin said that Bourgeois
took “ownership” of his club’s offense, something his own team has
struggled finding someone to do.
“It’s frustrating because
I believe we have good hitters,” said Godwin.
Those good hitters showed up on Sunday."
Corey Thompson, who lost
weight suffering from the flu, came back with a couple of RBI singles.
John Wooten had three hits and drove in three runs as the Pirates built
a 7-0 lead.
Every time Godwin plugs
one hole, another one leaks out.
ECU's bullpen, stellar all
season long, almost blew the seven-run lead.
Seth Simmons has struggled his last two times out as the Pirates'
closer. Brad Mincey had to come on and nail down the save in the 7-6 win
on Sunday.
Godwin told the media
after the game that he knew his team still had to focus, even when his
Pirates were up seven runs.
“When you have a 7-0 lead
against a good club you have to focus on every pitch, play every play
and finish the game," he said. "Fortunately we were able to hang on.”
The Pirates do not have a
midweek game this week, giving the pitching staff a chance to collect
its breath before a series this weekend at Marshall.
On the positive side it
was good to see Seth Maness back on the hill for the Pirates. Maness was
on a pitch count on Sunday but still picked up the win after giving up
four hits in four scoreless innings while striking out two.
Godwin says his team is
close, but he also realizes the time is now to turn things up a notch
and gain some consistency.
“This club can be as good
as it wants to be when it decides to lock in and do all the little
things and stay in every pitch,” said Godwin. “Right now we are just not
playing in every pitch and that’s a challenge for us as coaches, and
that’s my responsibility to make sure that happens.
“Every pitch counts," he
emphasized. "No matter what the score is, every pitch counts. We’ve had
some great come-from-behind wins and some tough losses late in the
games.
“The lesson is the game,
and we have to take note of that.”
BB
E-mail Brian Bailey.
Brian Bailey Archives
05/03/2011 03:27 AM |
Replay
Monday night's Brian Bailey Show
featuring guest DWAYNE HARRIS.
Eastern North Carolina's longest running
sports radio call-in show airs each Monday
night at 7 p.m. on Pirate Radio 1250 and
930.