GREENVILLE, N.C. – Thirty-three home games at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium, including the 17th-Annual Keith LeClair Classic, highlight the 2020 ECU baseball schedule announced Monday by sixth-year head coach Cliff Godwin. Season tickets for the 2020 campaign will officially go on sale Monday, Nov. 18.
The 2020 slate features 16 games (9/home, 6/away, 1/neutral) against eight teams that earned a bid to the 2019 NCAA Regionals, 36 against squads with 30-plus wins (19 with 35-plus, three with 40 or more wins) and 10 contests versus six clubs that finished ranked or receiving votes in the final national polls.
ECU will play nine of its first 11 games at Clark-LeClair Stadium, including the LeClair Classic when it welcomes in Indiana (Feb. 28), Ole Miss (Feb. 29) and High Point (March 1). The Pirates will open their 86th season of play hosting William & Mary (Feb. 14-16) and Georgia Southern (Feb. 21-23).
“Our 2020 schedule is filled with quality opponents,” Godwin said. “The American Athletic Conference will once again be one of the best baseball conferences in the country. The combination of playing in one of the toughest conferences along with our quality non-conference schedule will prepare us for postseason play. Pirate Nation, let’s make sure to pack Clark-LeClair Stadium and The Jungle!”
ECU also has non-conference weekend contests at Charlotte (March 6-8) and two home series against Columbia (March 13-15) and Rhode Island (April 24-26) to go along with home-and-home games against Campbell, Elon, North Carolina and Old Dominion. The Pirates will face off against VCU (March 17) and Duke (April 9), while also playing in-state rival UNCW (March 11, April 21) three times including a neutral site setting at Historic Grainger Stadium in Kinston, N.C. (April 14).
The Pirates will look to defend their American Athletic Conference regular season title when they start league play at UCF (March 20-22). They will also travel to Memphis (April 3-5), Connecticut (April 17-19) and Tulane (May 8-10). ECU will play host to AAC members Cincinnati (March 27-29), Houston (April 9-11), Wichita State (May 1-3) and USF (May 14-16).
Once again, The American Championships will be held at Spectrum Field (May 19-24) in Clearwater, Fla., home of the Clearwater Threshers, the Class A Advanced affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.
During his five years at the helm of the program, Godwin has guided ECU to four NCAA Regional berths (2018 and 2019 Greenville Regional host), two Super Regional appearances, the 2019 American Athletic Conference Regular season title, a pair of AAC Tournament crowns and a 201-109-1 (.648) overall record. Ten players have earned All-America status, while 10 were NCAA All-Regional selections, 16 were named all-conference (15 first-teamers), while 13 were drafted by Major League Baseball teams.
Godwin and his staff officially welcomed 20 newcomers to campus in August, which features six position players, 12 pitchers and a pair of two-way players.
The 2019-20 recruiting class, which garnered a No. 40 national ranking by Collegiate Baseball, consists of one infielder (Charlie Larson), one outfielder (Trevor Losito), three catchers (Matt James, Ben Newton and Justin Wilcoxen), a pair of two-way players (Zach Agnos and Skylar Brooks), one utility player (Alec Makarewicz) and 12 pitchers (Cody Benton, Parker Boyle, Elijah Gill, Trystan Kimmel, Dylan Lawson, Nick Logusch, C.J. Mayhue, Nate Nabholz, Kenny Schechter, Carson Whisenhunt, A.J. Wilson and Bradley Wilson).
ECU returns 17 letterwinners, including USA Collegiate National Team member and All-American Alec Burleson as well as AAC All-Conference performers Tyler Smith (2018) and Jake Kuchmaner (2019). In all, the roster consists of 12 freshmen, nine sophomores, 13 juniors and four seniors.