2015 East Carolina Pirates baseball team

The 2015 East Carolina Pirates baseball team represented East Carolina University during the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Pirates played their home games at Clark–LeClair Stadium as a member of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by head coach Cliff Godwin, in his first season at East Carolina.

2015 East Carolina Pirates baseball
AAC tournament champions
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record40–22 (15–9 The American)
Head coach
Assistant coachJeff Palumbo (1st season)
Pitching coachDan Roszel (5th season)
Home stadiumClark–LeClair Stadium
Seasons
← 2014
2016 →
2015 American Athletic Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
Houston  ‍‍‍y 16 8 0   .667 43 20 0   .683
East Carolinay  ‍‍‍ 15 9 0   .625 40 22 0   .645
Tulane  ‍‍‍y 13 11 0   .542 35 25 0   .583
South Floriday  ‍‍‍ 13 11 0   .542 34 26 1   .566
Memphis  ‍‍‍ 12 12 0   .500 37 21 0   .638
Connecticut  ‍‍‍ 11 13 0   .458 35 25 0   .583
UCF  ‍‍‍ 10 14 0   .417 31 27 0   .534
Cincinnati  ‍‍‍ 6 18 0   .250 15 41 0   .268
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 2015[1]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Previous season

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In 2014, the Pirates finished the season 7th in Conference USA with a record of 33–26, 16–14 in conference play. They qualified for the 2014 Conference USA baseball tournament, losing in the second round, but failed to qualify for the 2014 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.

Personnel

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Roster

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2015 East Carolina Pirates roster[2]
 

Pitchers

  • 12 - David Kirkpatrick - Sophomore
  • 17 - Brandon Taylor - Senior
  • 18 - T.J. McDonald -   Freshman
  • 21 - David Lucroy -   Junior
  • 27 - Ross Gardner - Freshman
  • 31 - Nick Durazo - Junior
  • 32 - Reid Love - Senior
  • 33 - Jacob Wolfe - Sophomore
  • 34 - Mason Keen - Freshman
  • 35 - Evan Kruczynski - Sophomore
  • 36 - Joe Ingle - Freshman
  • 37 - Luke Bolka - Sophomore
  • 42 - Brandon Saunders -   Sophomore
  • 43 - Jimmy Boyd - Junior
  • 44 - Evan Voliva - Freshman
 

Catchers

  • 10 - Ryan Clinch - Freshman
  • 19 - Travis Watkins -   Sophomore
  • 24 - Luke Lowery - Junior
  • 25 - Eric Tyler - Sophomore

Infielders

  • 3 - Charlie Yorgen - Sophomore
  • 4 - Hunter Allen - Senior
  • 5 - Jack Owens - Freshman
  • 8 - Cameron Snow -   Freshman
  • 9 - Kirk Morgan - Sophomore
  • 11 - Tyler Strawn - Junior
  • 20 - Jackson Mims - Freshman
  • 26 - Bryce Harman - Sophomore
 

Outfielders

  • 2 - Garrett Brooks - Junior
  • 7 - Bailey Sugg - Freshman
  • 14 - Jeff Nelson - Junior
 

Coaching staff

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Name Position Seasons at
East Carolina
Alma Mater
Cliff Godwin Head coach 1 East Carolina University (2000)
Jeff Palumbo Assistant coach 1 George Mason University (2004)
Dan Roszel Pitching Coach 5 University of North Florida (2000)

Season

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February

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The Pirates opened their season on February 13 against Virginia, as part of a home-and-home series. The Pirates traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2014, and were swept in a three-game series. Once again, the Cavaliers swept the Pirates, this time over the first weekend of the 2015 season. The Pirates struggled offensively, and scored just five runs over the entire series. Josh Sborz collected two saves for Virginia.[3] The following Wednesday, the Pirates were scheduled to visit Old Dominion, but bad weather caused a postponement until April.[4] The following week, the Pirates' home game against the Monarchs on the 25th was also pushed until March 4.[5]

On the second weekend of the season, weather related issues caused a shakeup to the schedule of the annual Keith LeClair Classic hosted by ECU. All Friday games were cancelled, and Michigan, who was originally scheduled to participate (along with Liberty and St. John's), was replaced by UNC Greensboro. East Carolina went 1–2 on the weekend, defeating St. John's and UNC Greensboro, but falling to Liberty, to win the classic for the third consecutive year.[6]

The Pirates closed the month of February (and opened the month of March in the finale) with a three-game series against Albany. Originally, ECU was scheduled to play in the annual Irish Classic in Cary, North Carolina, but it was cancelled due to weather. The Pirates swept the Great Danes over the three-game series, outscoring them by a cumulative score of 24–7.[7]

March

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In the Pirates' first midweek game of March, they traveled to rival NC State and lost by a score of 0–7, extending their losing streak against the Wolfpack in Raleigh to five games.[8] The following day, the Pirates returned home and hosted Old Dominion in the makeup game of a February 25 postponement. In their 9–7 win, East Carolina broke a 5–5 deadlock with two runs in both the seventh and eight innings, and despite allowing a run in both the eight and ninth innings, held on for their sixth victory of the season.[9]

 
Doak Field, home field of NC State

In their first weekend series in March, the Pirates hosted Monmouth. After the game scheduled for Friday, March 6 was pushed back to Saturday, March 7, as part of a doubleheader, ECU swept the doubleheader against the Hawks, shutting out Monmouth in both games. In the first game of the doubleheader, a 2–0 victory, Evan Kruczynski threw a complete game, two hit shutout. In the second game of the doubleheader, the Pirates scored six runs in the first inning to coast to a 9–0 win. ECU completed the sweep with a 3–2 win on Sunday.[10]

In the second week of March, the Pirates opened with a pair of midweek games. They lost the first game to Campbell 4–9, before rebounding to defeat UNC Greensboro, 8–1. It was the Pirates' second win over UNC Greensboro on the season, after having defeated them on February 21.[11] Over the weekend of March 13, the Pirates traveled to Elon, North Carolina, to play a three-game series with Elon. For the second straight weekend, the Pirates picked up a three-game sweep, after sweeping Monmouth the previous weekend. East Carolina scored 41 runs in the series.[12]

The Pirates hosted Princeton, out of the Ivy League, for a two-game midweek series from March 17–18. The Pirates swept the Tigers over the two-game series to improve their record on the season to 15–6 and extended their winning streak to six games.[13] Following the midweek series against the Tigers, ECU hosted VCU, a traditional midweek opponent, for a three-game weekend series. The Pirates dropped both the first and last games of the series, dropping their first weekend series since opening weekend against Virginia.[14]

Schedule

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Legend
  East Carolina win
  East Carolina loss
  Postponement
Bold East Carolina team member
2015 East Carolina Pirates baseball game log
Regular season
February
Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record AAC Record
February 13 No. 3 Virginia Clark–LeClair StadiumGreenville, NC L 1–3 Kirby (1–0) Kruczynski (0–1) Sborz (1) 2,541 0–1
February 14 No. 3 Virginia Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC L 2–9 Jones (1–0) Wolfe (0–1) 3,058 0–2
February 14 No. 3 Virginia Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC L 2–4 Roberts (1–0) Boyd (0–1) Sborz (2) 3,058 0–3
February 18 at Old Dominion Bud Metheny Baseball ComplexNorfolk, VA Postponed Rescheduled for April 15
February 21 UNC Greensboro Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 8–3 Kruczynski (1–1) Clark (1–1) 2,207 1–3
February 22 Liberty Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC L 3–4 Clowers (2–0) Love (0–1) 2,207 1–4
February 22 St. John's Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 9–2 Lucroy (1–0) Magee (0–2) 2,142 2–4
February 25 Old Dominion Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC Postponed Rescheduled for March 4
February 27 Albany Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 5–1 Kruczynski (2–1) Ryan (1–1) Love (1) 482 3–4
February 28 Albany Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 14–3 Boyd (1–1) Sorgie (0–2) 587 4–4
March
Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record AAC Record
March 1 Albany Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 5–3 Morgan (1–0) Woods (0–2) Love (2) 422 5–4
March 3 at NC State Doak FieldRaleigh, NC L 0–7 Britt (1–0) Boyd (1–2) 456 5–5
March 4 Old Dominion Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 9–7 Morgan (2–0) Bainbridge (0–1) Ingle (1) 2,155 6–5
March 7 Monmouth Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 2–0 Kruczynski (3–1) McKenna (0–2) 2,263 7–5
March 7 Monmouth Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 9–0 Wolfe (1–1) Trimarco (0–2) 2,263 8–5
March 8 Monmouth Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 3–2 Love (1–1) Ciavarella (0–3) 2,226 9–5
March 10 Campbell Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC L 4–9 Thompkins (3–0) Boyd (1–3) 2,150 9–6
March 11 UNC Greensboro Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 8–1 Morgan (3–0) Betts (0–1) 1,928 10–6
March 13 at Elon Walter C. Latham ParkElon, NC W 10–3 Kruczynski (4–1) Harris (2–1) 161 11–6
March 14 at Elon Walter C. Latham Park • Elon, NC W 11–8 Love (2–1) McGillicuddy (0–1) 318 12–6
March 15 at Elon Walter C. Latham Park • Elon, NC W 20–4 Lucroy (2–0) Stalzer (1–3) 615 13–6
March 17 Princeton Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 11–2 Boyd (2–3) Donatiello (0–1) 2,239 14–6
March 18 Princeton Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 8–3 Durazo (1–0) Bodurian (0–1) Love (3) 2,015 15–6
March 20 VCU Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC L 3–4 Lees (3–0) Boyd (2–4) Concepcion (3) 2,069 15–7
March 21 VCU Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 9–3 Morgan (4–0) Gill (0–2) 2,862 16–7
March 22 VCU Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC L 2–3 Lees (4–0) Boyd (2–5) Concepcion (4) 2,295 16–8
March 24 at UNC Wilmington Brooks FieldWilmington, NC L 2–4 Barnes (4–0) Love (2–2) Gesell (2) 1,635 16–9
March 25 High Point Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC L 2–13 Hennessey (1–2) Boyd (2–6) 2,290 16–10
March 28 Memphis Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 4–1 Kruczynski (5–1) Wallingford (3–2) 2,315 17–10 1–0
March 28 Memphis Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC L 2–3 Myers (1–0) Boyd (2–7) Blackwood (8) 2,315 17–11 1–1
March 29 Memphis Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC L 2–4 Myers (2–0) Lucroy (2–1) Blackwood (9) 2,051 17–12 1–2
April
Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record AAC Record
April 2 Tulane Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 3–0 Love (3–2) Merrill (1–3) 2,213 18–12 2–2
April 3 Tulane Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 11–4 Boyd (3–7) Rankin (3–1) 2,411 19–12 3–2
April 4 Tulane Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC L 6–8 Massey (2–2) Lucroy (2–2) Duester (2) 2,261 19–13 3–3
April 7 at Campbell Jim Perry StadiumBuies Creek, NC W 7–5 Wolfe (2–1) Long (3–1) Love (4) 828 20–13
April 10 at South Florida USF Baseball StadiumTampa, FL L 1–2 Herget (6–1) Love (3–3) Peterson (11) 862 20–14 3–4
April 11 at South Florida USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL L 0–10 Mulholland (4–4) Kruczynski (5–2) 868 20–15 3–5
April 12 at South Florida USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 6–0 Durazo (2–0) Cavallardo (3–1) Boyd (1) 517 21–15 4–5
April 15 at Old Dominion Bud Metheny Baseball Complex • Norfolk, VA W 4–2 Boyd (4–7) Mathesson (2–6) Durazo (1) 445 22–15
April 17 at Connecticut J. O. Christian FieldStorrs, CT W 7–3 Kruczynski (6–2) Cross (7–2) Durazo (2) 71 23–15 5–5
April 18 at Connecticut J. O. Christian Field • Storrs, CT L 3–7 Kay (6–3) Lucroy (2–3) Ruotolo (5) 305 23–16 5–6
April 19 at Connecticut J. O. Christian Field • Storrs, CT W 4–3 (10) Voliva (1–0) Darras (2–2) Wolfe (1) 287 24–16 6–6
April 21 NC State Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 6–5 Voliva(2–0) O'Donnell (5–3) 3,821 25–16
April 22 Duke Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 3–2 Boyd (5–7) Koplove (1–2) 3,271 26–16
April 24 UCF Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 6–5 Durazo (3–0) Hukari (4–3) 2,446 27–16 7–6
April 25 UCF Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 3–2 Love (4–3) Finfrock (6–4) Ingle (1) 2,441 28–16 8–6
April 26 UCF Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 6–5 Wolfe (3–1) Howell (4–6) Voliva (1) 2,069 29–16 9–6
April 29 Liberty Liberty Baseball Stadium • Lynchburg, VA L 0–5 Pennington (1–1) Lucroy (2–4) 791 29–17
May
Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record AAC Record
May 1 Connecticut Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC L 2–13 Cross (9–2) Kruczynski (6–3) 2,272 29–18 9–7
May 2 Connecticut Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 5–4 Love (5–3) Kay (6–5) 3,034 30–18 10–7
May 3 Connecticut Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 5–2 Wolfe (4–1) Tabakman (2–4) Ingle (3) 3,012 31–18 11–7
May 8 at No. 28 Houston Cougar FieldHouston, TX L 1–10 Lantrip (7–3) Kruczynski (6–4) 1,691 31–19 11–8
May 9 at No. 28 Houston Cougar Field • Houston, TX W 4–1 Love (6–3) Dowdy (7–2) Ingle (4) 2,013 32–19 12–8
May 10 at No. 28 Houston Cougar Field • Houston, TX L 1–11 Romero (7–3) Wolfe (4–2) 1,408 32–20 12–9
May 12 Elon Clark–LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC W 7–1 Lucroy (3–4) Jones (0–1) 2,585 33–20
May 14 at Cincinnati Marge Schott StadiumCincinnati, OH W 7–3 Love (7–3) Atkinson (4–6) 602 34–20 13–9
May 15 at Cincinnati Marge Schott Stadium • Cincinnati, OH W 6–4 Kruczynski (7–4) Zeller (2–4) Ingle (5) 677 35–20 14–9
May 16 at Cincinnati Marge Schott Stadium • Cincinnati, OH W 8–7 Durazo (4–0) Patishall (0–3) Ingle (6) 1,036 36–20 15–9
Post-season
Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record AACT Record
May 20 (7) UCF (2) Bright House FieldClearwater, FL W 4–3 Ingle (1–0) Rodgers (10–1) 37–20 1–0
May 21 (3) Tulane (2) Bright House Field • Clearwater, FL W 3–1 Kruczynski (8–4) Merrill (4–6) Ingle (7) 1,243 38–20 2–0
May 23 (6) UConn (2) Bright House Field • Clearwater, FL W 4–2 Wofle (5–2) Montgomerie (3–2) Ingle (8) 1,136 39–20 3–0
May 24 (1) No. 23 Houston (2) Bright House Field • Clearwater, FL (Championship) W 9–1 Durazo (5–0) Romero (7–4) 1,037 40–20 4–0
Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record NCAAT Record
May 29 (3) Columbia (2) Mark Light FieldCoral Gables, FL L 3–6 Thanopoulos (6–5) Durazo (5–1) Cline (2) 1,845 40–21 0–1
May 30 (4) FIU (2) Mark Light Field • Coral Gables, FL L 0–2 Dopico (3–4) Love (7–4) 1,929 40–22 0–2
All rankings from Collegiate Baseball.

References

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  1. ^ "2015 Baseball Standings". American Athletic Conference. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  2. ^ "Official Baseball Roster". East Carolina Pirates. Archived from the original on May 5, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  3. ^ "ECU baseball swept by Virginia". witn.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  4. ^ "ECU-ODU Baseball Game Postponed Until April 15th". ecupirates.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  5. ^ "ECU-ODU Baseball Game Postponed Due To Weather". ecupirates.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  6. ^ "Pirates take LeClair Classic with 9–2 win over St. John's". witn.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  7. ^ "ECU completes sweep versus Albany". witn.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  8. ^ "Pirates' Doak Field disconnect". reflector.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  9. ^ "Baseball ECU makes most of ODU's miscues to win". hamptonroads.com. Retrieved March 9, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "ECU baseball sweeps Monmouth". witn.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  11. ^ "ECU Pirates dominate UNCG in baseball". wwaytv3.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  12. ^ "East Carolina thumps Elon to complete baseball series sweep". thetimesnews.com. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  13. ^ "College Notebook: East Carolina tops Princeton 8–3 for sixth straight baseball win". The News & Observer. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  14. ^ "Rams end ECU win streak". The Daily Reflector. Archived from the original on March 23, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.