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Mazey disappointed in split with Memphis
JOHN SWARTZ, Sports Correspondent
GREENVILLE -- The East Carolina Pirates were atop the Conference USA standings for about seven hours Saturday.
East Carolina (22-12-1, 9-5) defeated the Memphis Tigers (12-22, 4-10) by a score of 3-2 in the first game of a doubleheader, then lost 8-1 in the second game. The loss knocked the Pirates from the top of the standings.
"I don't understand this team," said ECU head coach Randy Mazey. "We played our way up to first in the conference, and then we come out with probably our worst effort of the year."
East Carolina had come off a five day layoff due to the weather, and it showed in the offensive stats.
"It wasn't pretty," Mazey said. "We haven't been able to practice all week. You never want to play a baseball game after a day off. Well, we had five days off."
The day ended sour, but it didn't start that way. ECU grabbed the early lead in the first game when freshman Adam Witter hit his first home run in Pirate purple and gold in the second inning.
"It felt wonderful," Witter said. "It was a good pitch to hit, up in the zone and I just tried to hit it hard."
Memphis tied the game in the fourth when Kurt Welch scored Michael Lewis from third base with a single to left field. The Tigers got one more runner on third in the inning, but could not move him in to score.
Luke Cherry drew a walk to start the fifth. He then moved over to second after a failed pick-off attempt. On the next pitch, Cherry went to third when catcher Kurt Welch bobbled the ball. Ben Sanderson laid a sacrifice bunt down the first base line to score Cherry.
After Jamie Paige and Mike DeJesus both singled, Darryl Lawhorn sent a shot to deep center that found its way into the glove of Kevin House. Lawhorn got a sacrifice RBI for his effort as Paige scored.
The Tigers made it a one-run game again in the seventh when Lewis hit a single to right field that scored Ryan Martin. One run was as close as the Tigers got as Penny Davey went the distance and held the Tigers scoreless for the remainder of the game.
"It was a great game all around," Davey said. "I just praised God for a beautiful day; who wouldn't want to come out here and play?
"It's been soggy around here, but the guys still game in and got their work in. We scratched out three today, and that's all we needed. Hopefully that gave us enough momentum to go into the second game and get six, seven or eight more. That'd be nice."
It would have been nice, but the Pirate bats couldn't make it happen. ECU managed only one run on five hits in the second game as they were handed their worst loss of the season.
"I think the (players) are embarrassed by the way they played in front of a good crowd," Mazey said. "This was probably the best crowd of the year, a lot of people came to see them play and they just embarrassed themselves on the field."
Like the first game, the Pirates got on the board first in the second inning as errors from Memphis helped the Pirate cause.
Mark Minicozzi utilized a Memphis error to reach second base, then a wild pitch from Brandon Rowan moved him to third. After Jake Smith drew a walk, Memphis catcher Kurt Welch bobbled the ball and Smith darted to second. On the next pitch, Luke Cherry hit a sacrifice fly just deep enough to score Minicozzi.
The Tigers responded in the third when Kyle Scott hit a liner all the way to the center field wall that scored Kevin House from first. Scott moved to third when Jordan Hart tested Cherry with a slow ground ball. Cherry collected the ball and was barely able to make the transfer in time to get the out.
With the bases loaded for Memphis, Ryan Martin hit into a fielder's choice. Ryan Norwood took the sure out at second in hopes of starting an inning-ending double play, but only one out was recorded and a run scored. The Pirates got out of the inning without any more damage and only a one-run deficit.
The Tiger kept the pressure on Sears in the fourth. After an error and a walk with no outs, Kevin House moved Ryan Martin to third with a sacrifice fly to right field. A second straight sacrifice fly scored Martin, and then a throwing error from Norwood scored a second run on the play to bring the Tigers' lead to three.
With the pressure mounting, the Pirates worked the bases loaded with one out. The batters would stay on the bases as Ben Sanderson sent the ball back to the pitcher to end the inning.
The Tigers added one more in the sixth and the Pirates weren't able to cut into the lead in its half of the inning. In the seventh, Ryan Martin hit his sixth home run of the season to make the Pirates' deficit six runs.
The Pirates still have a chance to win the series. The final game is scheduled for today at Harrington field at 12:30 p.m.
"If they (Pirates) have got any pride amongst themselves, I think they'll come out tomorrow and play better," Mazey added. "I foresee that happening."
Game One
Memphis 000 100 100 -- 2 7 2
East Carolina 010 020 00x -- 3 6 1
W: Davey Penny (4-2); L: Stephen Gostowski (1-3)
E -- Jamie Paige 1-4; Mike DeJesus 2-4; Darryl Lawhorn 1-3 (RBI); Ryan Norwood 1-4; Adam Witter 1-2 (HR, RBI); M -- Michael Lewis 2-3; Kurt Welch 1-4 (RBI); Brent Dlugach 1-4; Ryan Martin 2-4; Kyle Sledd 1-4.
Game Two
Memphis 002 201 201 -- 8 12 1
East Carolina 010 000 000 -- 1 5 3
W: Brandon Rowan (2-3); L: Neal Sears (2-4)
E -- Jamie Paige 1-4; Kevin O'Sullivan 1-4; Ryan Norwood 1-3; Adam Witter 2-4. M -- Michael Lewis 2-4; Ryan Martin 2-5 (3 RBI); Kurt Welch 1-5; Brent Duglach 2-5; Kevin House 1-4 (RBI); Kyle Scott 3-3 (3 RBI); Jordan Hart 1-4.
GREENVILLE -- The East Carolina Pirates were atop the Conference USA standings for about seven hours Saturday.
East Carolina (22-12-1, 9-5) defeated the Memphis Tigers (12-22, 4-10) by a score of 3-2 in the first game of a doubleheader, then lost 8-1 in the second game. The loss knocked the Pirates from the top of the standings.
"I don't understand this team," said ECU head coach Randy Mazey. "We played our way up to first in the conference, and then we come out with probably our worst effort of the year."
East Carolina had come off a five day layoff due to the weather, and it showed in the offensive stats.
"It wasn't pretty," Mazey said. "We haven't been able to practice all week. You never want to play a baseball game after a day off. Well, we had five days off."
The day ended sour, but it didn't start that way. ECU grabbed the early lead in the first game when freshman Adam Witter hit his first home run in Pirate purple and gold in the second inning.
"It felt wonderful," Witter said. "It was a good pitch to hit, up in the zone and I just tried to hit it hard."
Memphis tied the game in the fourth when Kurt Welch scored Michael Lewis from third base with a single to left field. The Tigers got one more runner on third in the inning, but could not move him in to score.
Luke Cherry drew a walk to start the fifth. He then moved over to second after a failed pick-off attempt. On the next pitch, Cherry went to third when catcher Kurt Welch bobbled the ball. Ben Sanderson laid a sacrifice bunt down the first base line to score Cherry.
After Jamie Paige and Mike DeJesus both singled, Darryl Lawhorn sent a shot to deep center that found its way into the glove of Kevin House. Lawhorn got a sacrifice RBI for his effort as Paige scored.
The Tigers made it a one-run game again in the seventh when Lewis hit a single to right field that scored Ryan Martin. One run was as close as the Tigers got as Penny Davey went the distance and held the Tigers scoreless for the remainder of the game.
"It was a great game all around," Davey said. "I just praised God for a beautiful day; who wouldn't want to come out here and play?
"It's been soggy around here, but the guys still game in and got their work in. We scratched out three today, and that's all we needed. Hopefully that gave us enough momentum to go into the second game and get six, seven or eight more. That'd be nice."
It would have been nice, but the Pirate bats couldn't make it happen. ECU managed only one run on five hits in the second game as they were handed their worst loss of the season.
"I think the (players) are embarrassed by the way they played in front of a good crowd," Mazey said. "This was probably the best crowd of the year, a lot of people came to see them play and they just embarrassed themselves on the field."
Like the first game, the Pirates got on the board first in the second inning as errors from Memphis helped the Pirate cause.
Mark Minicozzi utilized a Memphis error to reach second base, then a wild pitch from Brandon Rowan moved him to third. After Jake Smith drew a walk, Memphis catcher Kurt Welch bobbled the ball and Smith darted to second. On the next pitch, Luke Cherry hit a sacrifice fly just deep enough to score Minicozzi.
The Tigers responded in the third when Kyle Scott hit a liner all the way to the center field wall that scored Kevin House from first. Scott moved to third when Jordan Hart tested Cherry with a slow ground ball. Cherry collected the ball and was barely able to make the transfer in time to get the out.
With the bases loaded for Memphis, Ryan Martin hit into a fielder's choice. Ryan Norwood took the sure out at second in hopes of starting an inning-ending double play, but only one out was recorded and a run scored. The Pirates got out of the inning without any more damage and only a one-run deficit.
The Tiger kept the pressure on Sears in the fourth. After an error and a walk with no outs, Kevin House moved Ryan Martin to third with a sacrifice fly to right field. A second straight sacrifice fly scored Martin, and then a throwing error from Norwood scored a second run on the play to bring the Tigers' lead to three.
With the pressure mounting, the Pirates worked the bases loaded with one out. The batters would stay on the bases as Ben Sanderson sent the ball back to the pitcher to end the inning.
The Tigers added one more in the sixth and the Pirates weren't able to cut into the lead in its half of the inning. In the seventh, Ryan Martin hit his sixth home run of the season to make the Pirates' deficit six runs.
The Pirates still have a chance to win the series. The final game is scheduled for today at Harrington field at 12:30 p.m.
"If they (Pirates) have got any pride amongst themselves, I think they'll come out tomorrow and play better," Mazey added. "I foresee that happening."
Game One
Memphis 000 100 100 -- 2 7 2
East Carolina 010 020 00x -- 3 6 1
W: Davey Penny (4-2); L: Stephen Gostowski (1-3)
E -- Jamie Paige 1-4; Mike DeJesus 2-4; Darryl Lawhorn 1-3 (RBI); Ryan Norwood 1-4; Adam Witter 1-2 (HR, RBI); M -- Michael Lewis 2-3; Kurt Welch 1-4 (RBI); Brent Dlugach 1-4; Ryan Martin 2-4; Kyle Sledd 1-4.
Game Two
Memphis 002 201 201 -- 8 12 1
East Carolina 010 000 000 -- 1 5 3
W: Brandon Rowan (2-3); L: Neal Sears (2-4)
E -- Jamie Paige 1-4; Kevin O'Sullivan 1-4; Ryan Norwood 1-3; Adam Witter 2-4. M -- Michael Lewis 2-4; Ryan Martin 2-5 (3 RBI); Kurt Welch 1-5; Brent Duglach 2-5; Kevin House 1-4 (RBI); Kyle Scott 3-3 (3 RBI); Jordan Hart 1-4.
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