News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

12.01.06: C-USA announces football players of year ... Rice's Graham gets coach of year award ... ECU's Krug lands All-America honor

11.30.06: T.H. issues direct appeal to fans for ticket sales ... New recruiting thumbnail: Maurice Mercer ... Dougherty, Johnson first team All-Conference ... Five from ECU on C-USA All-Freshman team

11.29.06: C-USA bowl slate sends ECU to Birmingham ... SMU's Needham a finalist for Hermann Trophy ... Bearcats coach bolts for Michigan State

11.28.06: ECU's Roach on
C-USA academic team ... Wager on Clemson-South Carolina turns deadly ... Shula era comes to end at Alabama

11.27.06: C-USA title game features UH-USM rematch ... Bunting farewell to press a succinct one ... ECU announces swimming, diving signees

11.26.06: Pirates add Lugo to 2008 baseball class ... VCU prevails over ECU in women's hoops ... Tulsa gains momentum for postseason trip

11.25.06: ECU-bound Herlocker paces Charlotte Catholic ... Miami enters search mode for football coach ... BC out of ACC title contention

11.24.06: Herd takes ECU hopes to Hattiesburg ... Gonzaga has a Garden party in NIT semis ... Iowa State search eliminates two candidates

11.23.06: Yow taking leave of absence for treatment ... Marshall's Bradshaw nabs
C-USA weekly honor

11.22.06: Pirates face Houston if Marshall wins ... Former teammates push Raye for MSU coach ... SMU's Wideman named academic player of year

11.21.06: Duke, Wake athletes named Rhodes scholars ... UAB captures Conference USA volleyball ... Old Dominion stuns Georgetown on the road

11.20.06: Ohio State-Michigan rematch possible ... Video helps inspire Tar Heels to beat State ... Cords stepping down as AD at Marquette

11.19.06: Cougars to host USM or ECU in C-USA title game ... ECU falls in women's hoops to Vermont ... Pirate swimming teams in seventh place

11.18.06: ECU baseball bringing in 10-man class ... UTEP edges Pirates in C-USA volleyball ... West Virginia steamrolls Pitt

11.17.06: Pirates reschedule hoops contest with NCCU ... ECU volleyball places 3 on all- league team ... Top-ranked SMU goes down in NCAA soccer

11.16.06: Paterno's hall of fame induction postponed ... Tressel downplays his dominance vs. Michigan ... ECU softball announces pair of signees

11.15.06: Pirates control their fate in East Division ... Pinkney in star game, playing for Buddy Ryan ... ECU's Lee named special teams player of week

11.14.06: ECU-NCSU kickoff moved to 7 p.m. for TV ... Butch will succeed Bunting at UNC- Chapel Hill ... Conference USA coaches make debuts ... Pirates seeded sixth in C-USA volleyball ... Lady Pirates drop hoops opener to JMU

11.13.06: Houston clinches
C-USA championship berth ... ECU volleyball slips in regular season finale ... Grad rates: Athletes outperform student body

11.12.06: ECU announces women's hoops signees ... Miners extinguish Blazers' bowl hopes ... Mustang duo in contention for Hermann Trophy

11.11.06: Rutgers kicks Cards out of title picture ... Roach selected for district academic honor ... Krug getting it done on court, in classroom

11.10.06: Pirates prepare for Saturday hoops opener ... Houston's Kolb makes cut on O'Brien award list ... UNC-CH officials mum on Davis' status

11.09.06: Former star QB to represent N.C. in Congress ... Homicide unit probing death of Miami player ... Krog's 73 puts her in top five at Augusta

11.08.06: UK's win over Payne's charges not flawless ... SMU, UAB gain NCAA men's soccer berths ... Three C-USA women's teams get NCAA slots

11.07.06: Two Marshall players get C-USA honors ... UAB women capture C-USA soccer title ... Punter faces attempted murder charge

11.06.06: Pirate volleyball takes down Memphis ... Denny O'Brien's Harris Poll ballot ... ECU swimmers, divers perform well ... Paterno recovering from fractured leg

11.05.06: Promotions aplenty for ECU-Marshall game ...
Ex-Tulsa great Largent gets humanitarian honor

11.04.06: Dougherty a semifinalist for Ray Guy Award ... Butch Davis deal with Tar Heels imminent? ... Cardinals talking national title, again ... Honors abound for ECU women's soccer team

11.03.06: Boise State rolls past Bulldogs ... Reale, Pirates earn seconds at Kitty Hawk ... ECU softball's Kozlowski promoted

11.02.06: Mustangs a win away from bowl eligibility ... Hunt, Icenhower lead East Carolina divers ... ECU's Moore earns academic honor with 4.0

11.01.06: Kragthorpe curtails Tar Heel speculation ... Pirates in C-USA women's soccer tourney ... Backup QB Lee to start for FSU against Cavs

Ask any catcher what's the toughest hit to get and 99 out of 100 will say it's a triple. With their typically stockier frame and worn-out knees, backstops are lucky if they have enough speed and energy to hustle their way to third on one swing.

Adam Witter of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes got that elusive extra-base hit and a whole lot more when he hit for the cycle on Aug. 29 against the Vancouver Canadians, earning MiLB.com's Best Short-Season Single-Game Performance Award, according to a special report from Michael Echan to mlb.com.

Former East Carolina standout golfer Adrienne Millican fired a second-round score of even par (72) for a tie for 14th place (70-72-142) at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament in Daytona Beach, FL, after 36 holes, according to an LPGA.com report.

The 90-hole tournament is staged at LPGA International, where 138 players will play the Champions and Legends courses twice, hoping to be among the top-70 to advance to Sunday. After Sunday's final round, the top-15 finishers will earn exempt status for the 2007 Tour season, while the next 35 will earn conditional status.

A native of Fuquay-Varina, Millican is five shots behind co-leaders Angela Park and 2006 LPGA Tour rookie Hye Jung Choi, who have a two-day score of 137, seven-under par.

Coach Tracey Kee has announced the East Carolina softball schedule for the 2007 season. It may be the toughest in program history, as it features 2006 NCAA regional participants Tennessee, Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Long Island, N.C. State, North Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Hofstra and defending Conference USA Champion Tulsa. Michigan advanced to a super regional while Tennessee finished in third place at the Women's College World Series.

"I believe this game schedule will challenge us early and often," said Kee. "Within the first two weekends we are playing five NCAA 2006 Regional participants. Overall our schedule has nine NCAA Regional participants with 16 games involved. Though this is the case, I believe our squad is up for the challenge. Never before have we had a team so committed to developing their skill level, strength training and cardio. As a staff, we can only hope this pays huge dividends come spring."

The Pirates will be tested early as they begin the season at the Carolina Classic (Feb. 9-11). ECU will battle Tennessee, Gardner Webb, Ohio, College of Charleston and N.C. State.

A week later, the Pirates will travel to Boca Raton, FL, to participate in the FAU Dunkin Donuts Classic. ECU will take on another strong group of teams in 2005 NCAA Champion Michigan, Maryland, Long Island and host Florida Atlantic.

The Pirates will return to Greenville the next weekend and host the Hampton Inn Pirate Classic. ECU will entertain Towson, Appalachian State and St. John's.

The following Wednesday will see North Carolina make an appearance in Greenville for the second consecutive season. The teams played a memorable game last season in which the host Pirates defeated the nationally ranked Tar Heels on a squeeze play in the bottom of the eighth inning.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from electronic services and other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.