ECU Club Baseball wins NCBA Fall Invitational

Published Nov 12, 2012 by
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The ECU Club Baseball team was winner of the 2012 Fall Invitational Championship tournament in Greenville, S.C. (Contributed photo)

 

The East Carolina University club baseball team overcame early struggles and rallied to win the National Club Baseball Association Fall Invitational baseball tournament this weekend in Greenville, S.C.

ECU club baseball won the NCBA World Series in 2011 and is the defending Middle Atlantic South Conference champion.

In the opening game this weekend, ECU gave up nine runs in the 5th inning and and lost to Furman 11-10.  ECU bounced back with wins against Georgia Southern (14-0) and perennial powerhouse Virginia Tech (5-3).  Of the major club baseball programs who participated in the tournament in recent years, only ECU advanced to the semifinals. Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, Clemson and Georgia were all eliminated.

In the semifinal game, ECU battled Middle Atlantic South Conference foe Elon.  The Pirates jumped ahead early and never looked back, defeating Elon 8-4 to advance to the championship game. UNC-Charlotte defeated Kennesaw State, a Division II World Series team a year ago, to set up the meeting with the Pirates.

The championship game was very close early and tied 2-2 going into the 5th inning, when ECU plated eight runs to take a 10-2 lead. The Club Pirates scored two more runs in the 6th inning and built the lead to 12-2.  By tournament rule, a ten-run lead after six innings prompted the mercy rule and ended the game.

Jim Leggett, ECU senior from Rocky Mount, pitched four innings and gave up only two runs. Brandon Taylor, a sophomore from Maryland, pitched two scoreless innings. On the offensive side, David Troutman, a sophomore from New Jersey, delivered a three-run homerun in the 5th inning to expand the ECU lead to 10-2.

ECU scored 40 runs during the five-game tournament.

Club Sports is a part of the ECU Campus Recreation and Wellness. Club baseball is one of 42 club programs at ECU with more than 900 students competing. For more information about the ECU Club Baseball team or club sports in general, contact Justin Waters, assistant director of club sports at (252) 737-2713 or via e-mail at watersj@ecu.edu.