ECU in a familiar position

CHAPEL HILL — East Carolina’s 10-1 loss to North Carolina in the first of a best-of-three Super Regional Saturday was eerily similar to last Saturday’s 12-2 loss to South Carolina in the Greenville Regional.

Pirates ace Seth Maness started and lost both games, and gave up six earned runs in both, though in this game, more than last week, he didn’t get much defensive help. In the sixth inning, there was an error, but the scorekeepers could have called at least one more of North Carolina’s seven hits an error instead.

Not that it mattered. If the Pirates can’t come up with clutch hits, they’re chances diminish. Their strength is their offense, after all.

“I just reminded my players a week ago this time we were in the same situation,” said East Carolina coach Billy Godwin. “We have some experience playing in elimination games, and that’s where we’re at, an elimination game. We have to come out and play well tomorrow, and I’ve got a lot of faith in these guys and their character, and they’ll come out and play as hard as they possibly can.”

For the second Saturday in a row, the Pirates hit the ball but couldn’t come up with the big hit with runners in scoring position. Give credit to North Carolina starter Alex White, who worked the outside of the strike zone with authority.

“Just from the start, I was thinking, ‘Just get through one inning at time,’” said White. “I really didn’t know what was going to happen. I had to face one hitter at a time and just collect outs. That’s what I tried to do from the start and when I started feeling good, I just started going after guys.”

Consider, against the Gamecocks last Saturday, the Pirates had 14 hits but only one was for extra bases — a two-run homer. The Pirates left a dozen men on base, and failed to score when it had runners in scoring position in the first five innings.

Against the Heels on Saturday, it was the same thing. The Pirates left nine men on and had nine hits, but only one was for extra bases — Brandon Henderson’s solo homer to lead off the second inning.

Henderson actually came up in the first inning, but Kyle Roller got caught stealing during his at-bat to end the inning. If Henderson hits that homer in the first inning instead, East Carolina is up 3-0.

Or consider the top of the sixth inning. East Carolina led off with a pair of base hits, but didn’t try to steal the runners over to second and third. After Devin Harris struck out, Dustin Harrington hit into a double play.

“We had plenty of opportunities today,” said Henderson. “Whether it’s with one or two outs, we’ve got to come up big. They had their opportunities, and they got some big hits. A few balls fell in for them, and we couldn’t get many to fall in.”

East Carolina is down, but they are far from out, as they proved in Monday’s 10-9 victory over South Carolina, rallying to overcome an early 6-0 deficit.

And in a lot of ways, the task is not as tough as it was after it lost to South Carolina on Saturday, when the Pirates knew it would have to win three in a row to advance, including two games against a South Carolina club that had played one less game.

This time, the Pirates shouldn’t have to piece together its pitching staff and require, at all costs, that its starters go deep.

Faced with that task, East Carolina freshman Kevin Brandt went 8 1/3 innings last Sunday in an 8-6 win that was closer than it should have been.

Nobody’s forgotten that Brandt (9-1, 3.52 ERA), who will start Sunday, shut out North Carolina in a 4-0 win in April. It’s one reason he was chosen even though he was mostly a mid-week starter during the regular season.

This time, he’ll face Adam Warren (8-2, 3.19 ERA).

“I keep our guys grounded,” said Godwin. “I think it’s important to realize that we’re facing a team that’s playing very well right now. … Any past accomplishments we’re certainly not resting on, but Kevin [Brandt’s] pitched very well for us, and we have a lot of confidence in sending in to the mound.”

Warren is capable of the type of performance White had. In fact, he’s been much more solid lately, unlike White, who hadn't earned a win since April 24 and had struggled with a recent hamstring injury and a blister on his throwing hand.

White got off to a rough start, throwing 50 pitches in the first three innings, and if the Pirates could have made him pay then, they might not have had to face him for 8 1/3 innings.

But he turned it around.

White, a junior projected to be drafted in the first round, likely got his last start at Boshamer Stadium. On the way to earning his sixth NCAA Tournament victory, a school record, and striking out a career high (12), he received a standing ovation.

The classy part of it was that even a majority of Pirates fans joined in. It had a lot to do with the fact that White grew up in Greenville. But even so, no doubt, many in Greenville wish White had worn Pirates purple in college, and not Carolina Blue.

“It was just a great feeling,” said White. “Obviously, that’s my home town. There’s a lot fans in the stands cheering for ECU that I know. They just have respect for the game, and they know what’s going on. I’m just glad that they were here and that they were the type of people that could cheer for a guy from their home town.”