A Sour End to a Sweet Season

The Super Regional round could not have gone worse for the East Carolina Pirates. All of the magic they had in the Greenville Regional was nowhere to be found in Chapel Hill this weekend.

The Tar Heels completely humiliated the Pirates, winning the two games 10-1 and 9-3. The Pirates were hoping to earn the respect of their in-state rival. Instead, Carolina made quick work of them while easily advancing to the College World Series in Omaha.

The Pirates finished the season 46-20, and won the Conference-USA regular season title. Center-fielder Trent Whitehead and second-baseman Ryan Wood both finished the season with at least 100 hits. Wood got his 100th hit in the final game. Only one other East Carolina player had ever gotten 100 hits in a season.

The Pirates used a miracle comeback to beat South Carolina in the Regional round just to make it to Chapel Hill, setting all sorts of attendance records at Clarke-LeClaire Stadium in Greenville along the way.

The Pirates should not hang their heads. Yes, they got blown out twice to end their season, but they had 46 wins to be proud of going into the weekend. Carolina was the number four overall seed in the tournament, so East Carolina lost to a solid opponent. An opponent that had the best hitter in the country in Dustin Ackley, and one of the best pitchers in the NCAA in Alex White. Both players were as good as advertised this weekend, and were just too much for the Pirates to handle.

All in all, a very successful season for East Carolina. Look for them to be back next year pushing on for their first trip to the College World Series.

The Pirates' season might be over, but the College World Series is just about underway, keep it here on First and Short for results and reaction from College Baseball's national championship.