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Pirates hosting Keith LeClair Classic
By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
GREENVILLE — Former East Carolina coaching great Keith LeClair means a great deal to the Pirates. He means so much that his name is a part of the sign that fans see when they enter the ballpark, “Clark-LeClair Stadium.”
The Pirates have further honored the coach by hosting an annual tournament named after him, “The Keith LeClair Classic.” This weekend marks the third annual event.
Joining the Pirates for the three-day tournament will be N.C. State, UNC-Wilmington, Penn State, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
Today’s games will be Virginia Tech vs. UNC-Wilmington at 10 a.m., N.C. State vs. West Virginia at 1:30 p.m. and ECU vs. Penn State at 5 p.m.
Saturday’s games will be Penn State vs. N.C. State at 10 a.m., ECU vs. UNC-Wilmington at 1:30 p.m. and West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech at 5 p.m.
Sunday’s games will be West Virginia vs. Penn State at 10 a.m., ECU vs. Virginia Tech at 1 p.m. and N.C. State vs. UNC-Wilmington at 4 p.m.
LeClair, who went 212-96-1 in five seasons as head coach of the Pirates, has been battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
In the summer of 2002, LeClair was told he had ALS. He first felt weakness in his hands, before the disease affected his speech. Slowly, the disease destroys muscle tissue which results in total paralysis.
Because of the disease, LeClair had to resign as ECU’s head baseball coach.
LeClair is passionate about the game of baseball, a big reason why he was so successful as a head coach. He led the Pirates to four consecutive NCAA Regional appearances, three Colonial Athletic Association championships and a Conference USA Tournament Championship.
LeClair’s 2001 Pirates advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals and finished with a No. 11 national ranking. He won the American Baseball Coaches Association’s East Region Coach-of-the-Year award in both 1999 and 2001.
Teams
East Carolina Pirates
The Pirates (5-2) are coming off a 19-5 win over the Duke Blue Devils. ECU has a .303 collective batting average.
Jay Mattox leads the Pirates with a .429 average. Other top hitters for the Pirates are Stephen Batts (.375), Jake Smith (.357), Dale Mollenhauer (.333), Adam Witter (.333), Drew Schieber (.333) and Ryan Tousley (.273). Smith leads the team with nine RBIs, while Batts has seven and Tousley six. Tousley leads ECU with two home runs.
ECU has a 2.57 team ERA. T.J. Hose (2-0, 0.75) has the team-lead for wins. Also getting wins for the Pirates are Dustin Sasser (1-0, 0.75), Kevin Rhodes (1-0, 0.00) and Scott Andrews (1-0, 1.69).
UNC-Wilmington Seahawks
The Seahawks (5-1) are coming off a 10-5 win over Wake Forest. Wilmington has a .420 collective batting average.
John Raynor leads the Seahawks with a .652 average. Other top hitters for Wilmington are Chris Hatcher (.619), Matt Poulk (.555), Daniel Hargrave (.538), Steve Halford (.474), Justin Barefoot (.450) and Jonathan Batts (.300). Poulk leads the team with 11 RBIs, while Raynor and Hargrave have nine apiece. Batts and Mike Marbry (.250) have each driven in eight, while Halford and Barefoot have seven RBIs apiece.
Wilmington has a 3.60 team ERA. Zach Booker (2-0, 2.84) has the most wins on the team. Also earning wins are Allen Flood (1-0, 2.61), Thomas Benton (1-1, 4.00) and Brett Braxton (1-0, 10.80).
N.C. State Wolfpack
The 18th-ranked Wolfpack (9-1) is coming off a 9-3 win over North Carolina A&T. State has a collective .405 team batting average.
Matt Mangini leads the team with a .730 average. Other top hitters for State are Caleb Mangum (.500), Jon Still (.484), Jeremy Synan (.444), Jonathan Diaz (.423), Ramon Corona (.405), Brian Aragon (.378) and Aaron Bates (.314). Mangini leads the Pack with 21 RBIs. Other top run producers are Still (15), Aragon (15), Diaz (14) and Corona (11). Mangini and Aragon share the team-lead with three home runs.
State has a 2.80 team ERA. Jason Duncan (3-0, 3.86) and Gib Hopson (3-0, 4.20) are tied for the team-lead in wins. Eryk McConnell (2-1, 2.12) is right behind them.
Penn State Nittany Lions
The Nittany Lions (0-3) are coming off a 9-3 loss to Tulane. Penn State has a collective .228 batting average.
Brian Ernst leads the team with a .500 average. Lance Thompson is hitting .417. Thompson leads the team with his one home run and four RBIs.
The Lions own a 10.50 team ERA. Craig Clark (0-1, 10.80), Mark Wyner (0-1, 13.50) and Alan Stidfole (0-1, 16.20) suffered losses in last weekend’s opening series against the Green Wave.
West Virginia Mountaineers
The Mountaineers (3-0) are coming off an 8-1 win over Bucknell. West Virginia has a collective .281 batting average.
Brent Lockhart leads the team with a .500 average. Other top hitters are Justin Jenkins (.417), Tyler Kuhn (.364), Kyle Matuszek (.364), Adam White (.333) and Stan Posluszny (.300). Posluszny leads the team with a home run and six RBIs.
The Mountaineers own a 2.16 team ERA. Dan Leatherman (1-0, 0.00), Kenny Durst (1-0, 0.00) and Eric Saffell (1-0, 2.08) all picked up wins in the series sweep of Bucknell.
Virginia Tech Hokies
The Hokies (2-0) are coming off a 16-6 win over Campbell. Virginia Tech has a collective .358 team batting average.
Bryan Thomas leads the team with a .700 average. Other top hitters are Matt Foley (.600), Nate Parks (.500), Sheldon Adams (.400), Sean O’Brien (.375) and Warren Schaeffer (.333). Thomas leads Tech with two homers and 10 RBIs.
The Hokies own a 3.50 team ERA. Greg Fryman (1-0, 0.00) and Adam Redd (1-0, 0.00) picked up wins in a sweep of Campbell.
The Pirates have further honored the coach by hosting an annual tournament named after him, “The Keith LeClair Classic.” This weekend marks the third annual event.
Joining the Pirates for the three-day tournament will be N.C. State, UNC-Wilmington, Penn State, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
Today’s games will be Virginia Tech vs. UNC-Wilmington at 10 a.m., N.C. State vs. West Virginia at 1:30 p.m. and ECU vs. Penn State at 5 p.m.
Saturday’s games will be Penn State vs. N.C. State at 10 a.m., ECU vs. UNC-Wilmington at 1:30 p.m. and West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech at 5 p.m.
Sunday’s games will be West Virginia vs. Penn State at 10 a.m., ECU vs. Virginia Tech at 1 p.m. and N.C. State vs. UNC-Wilmington at 4 p.m.
LeClair, who went 212-96-1 in five seasons as head coach of the Pirates, has been battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
In the summer of 2002, LeClair was told he had ALS. He first felt weakness in his hands, before the disease affected his speech. Slowly, the disease destroys muscle tissue which results in total paralysis.
Because of the disease, LeClair had to resign as ECU’s head baseball coach.
LeClair is passionate about the game of baseball, a big reason why he was so successful as a head coach. He led the Pirates to four consecutive NCAA Regional appearances, three Colonial Athletic Association championships and a Conference USA Tournament Championship.
LeClair’s 2001 Pirates advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals and finished with a No. 11 national ranking. He won the American Baseball Coaches Association’s East Region Coach-of-the-Year award in both 1999 and 2001.
Teams
East Carolina Pirates
The Pirates (5-2) are coming off a 19-5 win over the Duke Blue Devils. ECU has a .303 collective batting average.
Jay Mattox leads the Pirates with a .429 average. Other top hitters for the Pirates are Stephen Batts (.375), Jake Smith (.357), Dale Mollenhauer (.333), Adam Witter (.333), Drew Schieber (.333) and Ryan Tousley (.273). Smith leads the team with nine RBIs, while Batts has seven and Tousley six. Tousley leads ECU with two home runs.
ECU has a 2.57 team ERA. T.J. Hose (2-0, 0.75) has the team-lead for wins. Also getting wins for the Pirates are Dustin Sasser (1-0, 0.75), Kevin Rhodes (1-0, 0.00) and Scott Andrews (1-0, 1.69).
UNC-Wilmington Seahawks
The Seahawks (5-1) are coming off a 10-5 win over Wake Forest. Wilmington has a .420 collective batting average.
John Raynor leads the Seahawks with a .652 average. Other top hitters for Wilmington are Chris Hatcher (.619), Matt Poulk (.555), Daniel Hargrave (.538), Steve Halford (.474), Justin Barefoot (.450) and Jonathan Batts (.300). Poulk leads the team with 11 RBIs, while Raynor and Hargrave have nine apiece. Batts and Mike Marbry (.250) have each driven in eight, while Halford and Barefoot have seven RBIs apiece.
Wilmington has a 3.60 team ERA. Zach Booker (2-0, 2.84) has the most wins on the team. Also earning wins are Allen Flood (1-0, 2.61), Thomas Benton (1-1, 4.00) and Brett Braxton (1-0, 10.80).
N.C. State Wolfpack
The 18th-ranked Wolfpack (9-1) is coming off a 9-3 win over North Carolina A&T. State has a collective .405 team batting average.
Matt Mangini leads the team with a .730 average. Other top hitters for State are Caleb Mangum (.500), Jon Still (.484), Jeremy Synan (.444), Jonathan Diaz (.423), Ramon Corona (.405), Brian Aragon (.378) and Aaron Bates (.314). Mangini leads the Pack with 21 RBIs. Other top run producers are Still (15), Aragon (15), Diaz (14) and Corona (11). Mangini and Aragon share the team-lead with three home runs.
State has a 2.80 team ERA. Jason Duncan (3-0, 3.86) and Gib Hopson (3-0, 4.20) are tied for the team-lead in wins. Eryk McConnell (2-1, 2.12) is right behind them.
Penn State Nittany Lions
The Nittany Lions (0-3) are coming off a 9-3 loss to Tulane. Penn State has a collective .228 batting average.
Brian Ernst leads the team with a .500 average. Lance Thompson is hitting .417. Thompson leads the team with his one home run and four RBIs.
The Lions own a 10.50 team ERA. Craig Clark (0-1, 10.80), Mark Wyner (0-1, 13.50) and Alan Stidfole (0-1, 16.20) suffered losses in last weekend’s opening series against the Green Wave.
West Virginia Mountaineers
The Mountaineers (3-0) are coming off an 8-1 win over Bucknell. West Virginia has a collective .281 batting average.
Brent Lockhart leads the team with a .500 average. Other top hitters are Justin Jenkins (.417), Tyler Kuhn (.364), Kyle Matuszek (.364), Adam White (.333) and Stan Posluszny (.300). Posluszny leads the team with a home run and six RBIs.
The Mountaineers own a 2.16 team ERA. Dan Leatherman (1-0, 0.00), Kenny Durst (1-0, 0.00) and Eric Saffell (1-0, 2.08) all picked up wins in the series sweep of Bucknell.
Virginia Tech Hokies
The Hokies (2-0) are coming off a 16-6 win over Campbell. Virginia Tech has a collective .358 team batting average.
Bryan Thomas leads the team with a .700 average. Other top hitters are Matt Foley (.600), Nate Parks (.500), Sheldon Adams (.400), Sean O’Brien (.375) and Warren Schaeffer (.333). Thomas leads Tech with two homers and 10 RBIs.
The Hokies own a 3.50 team ERA. Greg Fryman (1-0, 0.00) and Adam Redd (1-0, 0.00) picked up wins in a sweep of Campbell.
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| Season comes to a close for Pam Pack |
