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East Carolina Pirates
2024 East Carolina Pirates baseball team
Founded	1907
University	East Carolina University
Head coach	Cliff Godwin (10th season)
Conference	The American
Location	Greenville, North Carolina
Home stadium	Clark–LeClair Stadium (Capacity: 5,000)
Nickname	Pirates
Colors	Purple and gold
NCAA regional champions
2001, 2004, 2009, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2022
NCAA Tournament appearances
1964, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference tournament champions
ECAC: 1982, 1984 CAA: 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2000 C-USA: 2002 American: 2015, 2018, 2022
Regular season conference champions
North State: 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1961 SoCon: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1977 ECAC: 1984, 1985 CAA: 1986, 1990, 2001 C-USA: 2004, 2009 American: 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

The East Carolina Pirates baseball team is an intercollegiate baseball team representing East Carolina University in NCAA Division I college baseball and participates as a full member of the American Athletic Conference. The Pirates have made regular appearances in the NCAA tournament. As of 2024, they have the most NCAA tournament appearances without a College World Series appearance.

The Pirates are coached by Cliff Godwin and play their home games at Clark-LeClair Stadium, named after donor and alumnus Bill Clark and former coach Keith LeClair. Every year, the Pirates host a baseball tournament in Greenville in honor of Coach LeClair called the Keith LeClair Classic.

History

Conference

• 1948–1962: North State
• 1963–1965: Independent
• 1966–1977: Southern Conference
• 1978–1981: Independent
• 1982–1985: Eastern College Athletic Conference
• 1986–2001: Colonial Athletic Association
• 2002–2014: Conference USA
• 2015–present: American Athletic Conference

Head coaches

* 1943–1945 No Games Played

Stadium

Clark-LeClair Stadium is the home of Pirate baseball at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. The stadium was named after Pirate alumnus and key contributor Bill Clark and former Pirate skipper Keith LeClair.

The stadium has 3,000 Stadium bleacher seats, plus space for several thousand more spectators in "The Jungle". There are concession and restroom facilities at the stadium plus a family picnic area. Amenities include the Pirate Club fundraising and hospitality suite and a private suite for the LeClair family.

The stadium is home to the ECU Invitational and the Keith LeClair Classic.

Year-by-year results

Notes

1. Collegiate Baseball began team rankings in 1959. Baseball America began during the 1981 season.

NAIA tournament

In 1961, the ECU Pirates won the NAIA World Series championship to claim East Carolina's first national championship in baseball. The East Carolina Pirates won 13–7 over the Sacramento State Hornets. Since then, the Pirates have yet to make it to a national championship.

NCAA tournament

• The NCAA Division I baseball tournament started in 1947.
• The format of the tournament has changed through the years.

Pirates in the Major Leagues

• Over the 5-year tenure of current head coach Cliff Godwin, 14 Pirates have been drafted.
• Since the MLB draft began in 1965, 2 Pirates have been selected in the first round: Pat Watkins was selected 32nd in 1993 and Jeff Hoffman was selected 9th in 2014.
• A total of 22 Pirates have gone on to play in the MLB, 4 of which are active players.

See also

• List of NCAA Division I baseball programs
• Conference USA baseball tournament
• American Athletic Conference baseball tournament

References

1. ECU Athletics Style Guidelines (PDF). July 14, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
2. "CONFERENCE CAROLINAS HISTORY (THROUGH 2021-22)" (PDF). p. 21. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
3. ^ "2018 ECU Baseball Fact Book" (PDF). East Carolina University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
4. "Conference Carolinas History & Roots". Retrieved November 15, 2022.
5. "WHO'S WHO IN BASEBALL". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina. April 30, 1932. p. 3. Retrieved April 15, 2024. Although the Teachers have had only a few weeks practice on the diamond in which to learn the wrinkles of the field and the eccentricities of the old sphere, Coach Deal is gradually turning out a well-rounded team. None of the players have had previous experience other than high school and a little semi-professional baseball except Bill "Lou" Brown. From this raw material the present team has evolved.
6. "Nothing But Co-eds—REVIEW OF YEAR'S ACTIVITIES". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina. May 14, 1932. p. 2. Retrieved April 15, 2024. Also the boys have a baseball team this term. Prof. R. C. Deal is coaching this team. Although we are not having quite as successful season in this sport as basketball, we are nevertheless making a fair showing. A baseball team cannot be organized in one season.
7. "BASEBALL SEASON REVIEWED". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina. May 3, 1933. p. 3. Retrieved April 8, 2024. All of the teams have been coached by Kenneth C. Beatty who has served with no financial remuneration whatsoever, without the assistance of coach Beatty it is doubtful whether the teams would have ever been put out. The college as a whole owes to Coach Beatty, and the Athletic Committee, a debt it can never repay. Both for the school spirit developed by the teams, and the mental and physical development of the squads.
8. Whitfield, Lloyd (May 11, 1951). "Baseball Has Come Long Way At College". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina: East Carolina Teachers College. p. 4. Retrieved April 8, 2024. The baseball diamond was along side the lake in the arboretum, and the Coach for the 1933 season was Kenneth C. Beatty, a Greenville man who had no financial help whatsover in fielding a ball club that played .500 ball.
9. Willard, George S. Jr. (May 19, 1934). "Action Photo of Successful Pirates - East Carolina College 1934 Baseball Squad". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina: East Carolina Teachers College. p. 3. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
10. Willard, George S. Jr. (May 30, 1934). "Sports Comments". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina: East Carolina Teachers College. p. 5. Retrieved April 6, 2024. Hats off to Dr. A. D. Frank, coach of baseball during the past season.
11. Whitfield, Lloyd (May 11, 1951). "Baseball Has Come Long Way At College". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina: East Carolina Teachers College. p. 4. Retrieved April 6, 2024. Mathis Appointed Coach. In 1935 Doc Mathis was appointed head coach at the college, and under this able and ambitious director, athletics were on the upgrade...Mathis' nine won seven games, tied one, and lost seven games.
12. "College Secures Bo Farley As Baseball Coach For Season". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina: East Carolina Teachers College. March 12, 1936. p. 3. Retrieved April 6, 2024. Director of Athletics of Local High School Succeeds Doc Mathis as Baseball Coach
13. The Tecoan 1940. Charlotte, North Carolina: The Lassiter Press, Inc. 1940. p. 173. Coach Gordon Gilbert's Pirates got off to a bad start for the 1939 season, by dropping the first game to Campbell College's nine to the tune of 13-5.
14. "Coach Farley Launches First Practice Paces". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina. March 28, 1940. p. 7. Retrieved April 12, 2024. The first baseball practice, held Monday under the supervision of Coach Bo Farley, who was the Pirates' baseball skipper in 1937 and 1938 and former manager of the Greenville entry in the Coastal Plain League, indicated that this year's nine would be an unusually good team.
15. "Bucs End Athletic Season". The Teco Echo. May 22, 1942. p. 4. Retrieved July 8, 2022. Coach Christenbury was able to find several teams which proved to make games of interest for the Pirates. By winning seven and losing seven the Teachers ended up with a .500 average.
16. Lloyd Whitfield (May 11, 1951). "Baseball Has Come Long Way At College—Intercollegiate Sports Begin Decline". The Teco Echo. p. 4. Retrieved July 31, 2022. It was in 1942 when the U.S. government was drafting all young college boys that baseball as well as other sports began to decline. Many colleges dropped the most popular of all spring sports and Coach Christenbury could only draw up a 14-game schedule which saw only three college teams listed. The rest of the teams on the card were service teams which were loaded with professional material.
17. "Photo 1946 Pirate Baseball Team". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina. August 21, 1946. p. 4. Retrieved April 12, 2024. Here is the picture of the 1946 baseball team that won seven and lost four games in their first season since '42.
18. "Sports Of All Kinds Come Back To E.C.T.C." The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina. May 3, 1946. p. 3. Retrieved April 12, 2024. Last quarter we had a pretty good basketball team under the able direction of Coach Smith, and this quarter as most of the student body no doubt knows Smitty has produced a good baseball team.
19. "Coach John Cameron Boasts Varied Career In Athletics". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina. May 2, 1947. p. 3. Retrieved April 12, 2024. John Cameron, head baseball coach and instructor in physical education at ECTC, is a man of varied experience in the sports world.
20. "Buccaneers To Battle NATTC In Contest At Norfolk Today". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina. April 18, 1947. p. 3. Retrieved April 12, 2024. Coach John Cameron has shaken his line-up considerably in a maneuver toward placing a higher caliber nine on the diamond.
21. "Baseball Practice Now Underway At East Carolina". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina. March 5, 1948. p. 3. Retrieved April 12, 2024. The Pirates will be without the service of John Cameron, last year's head baseball coach. He will be succeeded by Coach Jimmy Johnson.
22. "Last Year's Baseballers Back For Rugged 23 Game Schedule". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina. April 2, 1948. p. 3. Retrieved April 12, 2024. Coach Jim Johnson's 1948 diamond hopefuls were scheduled to take to the fields this afternoon, playing host to Elon in their season's debut. Johnson was elevated into the Head Coach spot this year, succeeding John Cameron, who last year led the Pirates to a successful season.
23. "Diamond Season Opens With Two Games Here". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina. March 25, 1949. p. 3. Retrieved April 12, 2024. Coach Jack Boone, who has just this year taken over the head baseball coaching duties, has been drilling his diamond prospects for three weeks with the first two weeks used in limbering up exercises and the fundamentals of baseball.
24. Davis, Jack (June 23, 1949). "Sports Review". The Teco Echo. Greenville, North Carolina. p. 3. Retrieved April 12, 2024. Coach Jack Boone's baseball squad racked up a season record of 6 wins and 8 defeats. The Pirates had a 4-6 record in Conference standing.
25. "LEWIS FIELD AT CLARK-LeCLAIR STADIUM". ECU Athletics. Archived from the original on 2009-03-14. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
26. "2007 ECU Invitational". ECU Athletics. Archived from the original on 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
27. "6th Annual Keith LeClair Classic". ECU Athletics. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
28. "2024 East Carolina Baseball Record Book" (PDF). pp. 39–40. Retrieved April 7, 2024. PIRATES' DEFY ODDS IN 1961 NAIA CHAMPIONSHIP RUN

• East Carolina Pirates baseball
• Baseball teams established in 1907
• 1907 establishments in North Carolina