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Bailey's
Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
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By Brian Bailey |
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Big stakes ride on Pirates'
pitching
©2005 Bonesville.net
The
preliminaries are over for the East Carolina baseball team.
It’s the
postseason, and the Pirates probably need at least a win or two this week
to pick up that much coveted at-large berth in the NCAA baseball tournament.
ECU opens
the
Conference USA Tournament in
Hattiesburg bright and early this morning against Houston (10 a.m.), a team that East Carolina
didn’t see this season.
Like the
College World Series, the conference tournament is actually a pair of
double elimination events going on at the same time. The two survivors then
play one game for the tournament championship.
East
Carolina would dearly love to make it to the weekend. The problem is that
top-ranked Tulane hails in the same part of the bracket with East Carolina.
On the
positive side, any game with the number-one team in the nation (Collegiate
Baseball News poll) gives a team a chance to help its cause with the NCAA’s
by making a good showing. A win, of course, would help even more.
First
things first, though. East Carolina needs to start off by beating Houston.
“We need
our starters to go out there and pitch well and give us some innings,” said
Randy Mazey before his team left for Hattiesburg. “With our pitching depth
we need to win and stay out of the loser’s bracket.”
Mazey pled
his case on the NCAA’s this past weekend. The Pirate coach hopes his team
has already done enough to make the tournament.
“I hope
they (the selection committee) look at our injuries, the way we battled back,"
he said. "We’ve
won seven conference series. To do that with all of the adversity and all of
the injuries we’ve faced this year, you really have to feel good about what
we’ve done this year.”
East
Carolina plays in the 7 p.m. game on Thursday if the Pirates beat Houston. If
ECU drops the opener, then the Pirates play another early morning game in
the loser’s bracket.
Expect the
Pirates to go all out in the opener. Every win moves this team closer to the
NCAA tournament.
Two
straight losses could end the Pirate season. This team, however, deserves a
shot at the postseason.
Herrion’s opportunity
Former
ECU basketball coach Bill Herrion may be a head coach again very soon.
The
University of New Hampshire
has offered Herrion its head coaching vacancy.
Herrion,
who is in Greenville this week for the graduation of his daughter from J.H.
Rose High School, told me
last night that he is certainly considering the offer.
Herrion
recently accepted an assistant coaching position at the University of
Arkansas. Razorback officials have offered Herrion a substantial raise if he
stays at Arkansas, while New Hampshire has put together a nice financial
package as well.
Herrion looked refreshed and ready for whatever challenge he decides
to take on. He is a native of Worcester, MA,
and the New Hampshire job would return him to his home area of New England.
Before he came to East Carolina in 1999, Herrion coached Drexel to a 167-71 record
in eight seasons, including three NCAA Tournament appearances.
The New Hampshire coaching position became
vacant when Phil Rowe resigned in May after six seasons and a 45-125 record.
He was 9-19 last season.
The Wildcats have finished with a winning
record just eight times since the 1951-52 season.
I’m betting
that Herrion returns up north, closer to his coaching roots. Head coaching
jobs are hard to come by and this would be a great opportunity.
It almost
parallels Ricky Stokes' hiring at East Carolina. There is no question that
Stokes, like Herrion, is a great guy who was in an extremely tough
situation in his previous head coaching stint at Virginia Tech.
Now both
have a second chance, Stokes with the Pirates and Herrion with the Wildcats
of New Hampshire.
That official announcement
on Herrion should come shortly.
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02/23/2007 01:31:51 AM |
