East Carolina was awarded the final host spot for the Regional round in Greenville after an impressive showing all season. This is the fifth Regional that ECU has hosted and the recent success in the program looks to continue. They welcome in Wake Forest, VCU and Evansville for what should be an exciting Regional. Here’s a brief overview of each team along with a prediction for who will advance to the Super Regionals.
#1 East Carolina Pirates
ECU was solid out of the AAC with a 19-8 conference record despite having a target on their heads the entire season. They went 43-15 overall and are going to be a tough team to knock out of the Regional. They have a top 15 potential draft pick in their ace Trey Yesavage and they’ll look to him to lead the charge for the Pirates to a hopeful Super Regional berth.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Carter Cunningham – .371 BA, 1.110 OPS, 85 H, 14 HR, 60 RBI, .642 SLG
Trey Yesavage – 2.09 ERA, .88 WHIP, 11-1 W/L, 86.0 IP, 139/28 SO/BB
#2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Wake Forest is coming off of a previous year where they made a run in the College World Series. They look to get back to that point, led by flamethrower Chase Burns on the mound. The Demon Deacons are 38-20 and are well prepared coming out of the ACC. This is the opponent ECU should fear the most in this Regional by a longshot.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Chase Burns – 2.46 ERA, .87 WHIP, 10-1 W/L, 95.0 IP, 184/26 SO/BB
Jake Reinisch – .323 BA, 1.072 OPS, 69 H, 18 HR, 67 RBI
#3 Virginia Commonwealth Rams
VCU has their work cut out for them in this Regional. Coming off of an A10 championship, they look to keep their success going this weekend. They’ll need to play near flawless baseball to keep their six game winning streak against Wake Forest.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Brandon Eike – .376 BA, 89 H, 14 HR, 61 RBI, .675 SLG
#4 Evansville Purple Aces
The final team overviewed in this preview series, Evansville is red hot. Coming off of an MVC tournament title, they hold a six game winning streak as well and look to upset ECU. This team is fairly familiar with power five competition this season, and the way they’re playing, do not sleep on the Purple Aces.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Mark Shallenberger – .388 BA, 1.241 OPS, 83 H, 20 2B, 15 HR, 57 RBI, .710 SLG
Kip Fougerousse – .346 BA, 1.070 OPS, 84 H, 20 2B, 17 HR, 59 RBI, .646 SLG
Predicted Winner: #2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Evansville could make things interesting with ECU and with Chase Burns on the mound for Wake Forest in a possible deciding game, there may not be a better bet than a well coached team like Wake Forest.