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Games 54-56: The Memphis Series…
Game 54: Thursday May 14, ECU 9 - Memphis 4
Memphis lefty pitcher Brach Davis was the story early on in Thursday night’s game at the CLS. But by the seventh inning, the Diamond Bucs began to figure him out.
Trent Whitehead was a stellar 4-5 from the plate, including 4 RBI, but the MVP has to go to Dustin Harrington. Using the late Les Garner’s rendition of ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ as a cue, Harrington uncorked a first pitch into straightaway center, clanking of the new batter’s eye and sparking the Pirate rally.
ECU went on to score three more in the seventh to tie the game, and the bludgeoned the Tigers in the bottom of eighth with five more runs to seal the deal.
The win, coupled with Rice’s loss to UAB move the Bucs into a tie for first in the league standings, and certainly doesn’t hurt our slim but still relevant chances to host a regional.
Game 55: Friday May 15, ECU 9 - Memphis 1
Friday was Senior Day at CLS, with seven Diamond Bucs officially taking the nod as their collegiate careers wind down. Bailey Daniels, Ryan Wood, Brandon Henderson, Britton Cole, Trent Ashcraft, Drew Schieber and Stephen Batts will all soon exit the Pirate program, but chances are the Pirate in them will never escape. The four year Senior class has amassed a solid record of 155-85 and is Coach Billy Godwin’s first full fledged offerings to next month’s MLB draft.
I’ve always been a sap for Senior Day. I get all nostalgic every time I think about another class by the boards and another chapter closing. And not like I need it, but it’s another reminder of my own distance from the Purple Gown and Golden Tassel.
So yeah, I thought long and hard about who to give this rather special Most Valuable Pirate award to tonight. The self-imposed rules that I laid out at the beginning of the season have held up pretty well. I only broke form once, and that was to nominate Les Garner as the MVP on the seventh inning rally on the first game after his passing. That was a cinch… and to this day that evening gives me chills. That alone should stand as the single anomaly.
Among those rules was that there would be no ties. No awards to the entirety of the senior class for example. However, there were four seniors to select from tonight — and for their careers.
Brandon Henderson (2-4, 2 RBI) hit a ball in the bottom of the first inning that, if it weren’t for the top of the light standard in left field, might still be in orbit. Drew Scheiber made his mark in the second with a bomb to right. Ryan Wood, though without a home run, went 3-3 with a walk and in the process, exemplified his role with the Diamond Bucs. But it was Stephen Batts’ game leading 3 RBI with a homer in the first that snags the Senior Night MVP.
By the way, sophomore Ace Seth Maness dealt 9 K’s in 7 innings to go 9-0 and got nice relief from from Patrick Somers and Mike Wright, who struck out the side in the ninth. The trio combined for 13 K’s.
With the win, ECU coach Billy Godwin matched Keith LeClair as the only Pirate Skippers to guide their way to three consecutive 40-win seasons.
Game 56: Saturday May 16, ECU 13 - Memphis 2
The Diamond Bucs earned a regular season Conference Championship Sunday with the sweep of Memphis, while Rice got upended by a late UAB rally to give the Bucs sole possession of first place in the league and the number one seed going into the Conference Tournament Wednesday at Hattiesburg, MS.
The Senior trio of Ryan Wood, Stephen Batts and Brandon Henderson each had a multi-RBI game and fellow Senior Drew Scheiber made a pair of serious stops at the hot corner… all while Brad Mincey kept the Tiger bats at bay through five innings. Kevin Brandt came in and shut the door over the final two innings.
On a day with a host of stellar plays, the MVP goes to Brandon Henderson, whose three run shot in the seventh gave the Diamond Bucs more than enough to invoke the ten run rule and add an exclamation point to the end of the regular season.
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