CLEARWATER, Fla. – It is a familiar site in Clearwater this time of year. Several hundred East Carolina fans make their way to the Sunshine State and enjoy pregame tailgating before cheering on their Pirates in the American Conference baseball tournament.
For those clad in purple and gold, there was plenty to cheer about Sunday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark, though not without stress. ECU won it second straight conference tournament with a 1-0 win over UTSA. It was the Pirates’ fifth tourney title since joining the American for the 2015 season.
Colby Wallace’s single in the bottom of the sixth inning scored Braden Burress with the game’s only run. Ethan Norby, brother of former ECU standout and Miami Marlins’ infielder Connor Norby, threw 5 2/3 innings and 99 pitches in relief to pick up the win. The lefty, a top 100 prospect in next month’s MLB draft, was named the tourney’s most outstanding player. He also recorded a save against Rice on Friday.
Cliff Godwin, in his 12th season guiding the Pirates, saw his team dig itself out of a bit of a hole after losing (4-2) to the Roadrunners on Saturday morning. They rebounded with a 13-3 win over Wichita State in the evening to make their way back to the title game.
UTSA, which went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, was blanked only one other time during the season and that was against ECU on March 27 with Norby getting the win after allowing only one hit and fanning 12 in seven innings.
While ECU returns to the NCAA tourney, UTSA should be in good shape as the conference’s regular-season champ. Every regular-season American champion previously made the cut.
The American Conference will return to Pinellas County in July when football media days are held at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront. The event, which takes place July 23-24, will feature head coaches and two players from each of the 14 teams. There will be a Kickoff experience for fans. The conference will provide details in early July.
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