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Tanner had 'grand' time at ECU
Written by NEIL WHITE
nwhite@thestate.com
Posted on 05.29.09
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survey:
NCAA East Carolina Regional
WHO: No. 2 USC (38-21) vs. No. 3 George Mason (42-12)
WHEN: 3 p.m. today
WHERE: Clark-LeClair Stadium
TV: None
RADIO: WNKT-FM 107.5, WISW-AM 1320
ALSO: No. 1 East Carolina (42-17) vs. No. 4 Binghamton (29-20)
East Carolina regional
Location: Clark-LeClair Stadium, Greenville, N.C.
Teams: No. 1 East Carolina (42-17), No. 2 South Carolina (38-21), No. 3 George Mason (42-12), No. 4 Binghamton (29-20)
First round games: USC vs. George Mason, 3 p.m., Friday; East Carolina vs. Binghamton, 7 p.m. Friday
Remaining schedule: Saturday, 2 and 6 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 6 p.m.; Monday (if necessary), 6 p.m.
Tickets: At 9 a.m. Wednesday, sales open for the general public. All-session ticket books are available for $60, while tickets for single games, priced at $10, will go on sale on Friday. Tickets can be purchased in person or over the phone by calling (800) DIAL-ECU or (252) 737-4500 during normal business hours.
• Get live updates and chat with each other in real-time here today from USC-George Mason
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Ray Tanner is not certain of the season in which he hit a grand slam on the same East Carolina field on which his USC team will play this weekend. But he remembers the circumstances well.
Tanner, who played third base for N.C. State and graduated in 1980, was playing in a doubleheader at what was then called Harrington Field on the ECU campus. In the opening game, he struck out four times.
Before the second game, Tanner said he did not bother to check the lineup card, figuring he would be seated on the bench next to his coach, Sam Esposito.
"You're in there," Tanner recalls Esposito saying. "If I take you out now, you'll never get back in the lineup."
In his first at-bat, Tanner blasted a grand slam over the left-field fence at what is now Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Sick bay. Catcher Justin Dalles (.295, 12 HRs, 37 RBIs) didn't make it to Thursday's workout. After coming down with a possible flu bug on the trip to Greenville on Wednesday, he attempted to climb out of bed and board the bus to a lunch-time practice, but Tanner kicked him off. The coach decided it wasn’t worth risking the entire team becoming sick.
Tanner said Dalles’ availability would be a game-time decision.
Kyle Enders will draw the start if Dalles can't play.
Carolinas connection. When Binghamton showed up for its workout, the team didn't pick up any bats and balls right away. The Bearcats first gathered in right-center field for a team picture in front of the Clark-LeClair Stadium scoreboard. It was a nice way for the America East champion to commemorate its first trip to an NCAA regional.
Binghamton coach Tim Sinicki has a connection to the ballpark, which is named in part for former coach Keith LeClair, who died in 2006 from Lou Gehrig's disease. Sinicki played baseball at Western Carolina with LeClair in the late 1980s, and the two remained good friends until LeClair's death.
And the duo’s coach at Western Carolina? Clemson's Jack Leggett.
Capacity crowds. ECU officials are expecting sellouts this weekend. Clark-LeClair Stadium seats 3,000 fans but can hold nearly twice that with standing-room only on the outfield berm, which is called “The Jungle” and rises so that fans can stand up to eight-deep and look over the outfield fence from one foul pole to the other.
The Pirates guaranteed the NCAA they would sell 1,500 standing-room-only tickets but expect to sell more. A ballpark record of 5,581 — which is the most fans to watch a college baseball game in the Tar Heel state at an on-campus facility — saw ECU's 4-0 victory against North Carolina on April 22.
Kick in the shins. USC's DeAngelo Mack (.366, 14 HRs, 59 RBIs) is glad to be taking his normal place in left field for the regional. Late-season shin splits moved him to designated hitter for a number of games in the SEC tournament, which didn't suit him.
"Being the DH feels like you're not competing in the game," he said. "I'm back in the outfield and happy about that."
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SOUTH CAROLINA
Record: 38-21 (SEC)
Coach: Ray Tanner
Key players: OF DeAngelo Mack (.366, 14 HR, 59 RBI), RHP Sam Dyson (8-4, 5.31)
Key number: 99 — homers, the most coming into this regional in a hitter’s park
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EAST CAROLINA
Record: 42-17 (Conference USA)
Coach: Billy Godwin
Key players: 2B Ryan Wood (.387, 13 HR, 55 RBI), RHP Seth Maness (9-1, 4.15 ERA)
Key number: 3,000 — the number of seats at Clark-LeClair Stadium, certain to be filled with people wearing purple and gold
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GEORGE MASON
Record: 42-12 (Colonial Athletic Association)
Coach: Bill Brown
Key players: OF Scott Krieger (.378, 20 HR, 80 RBI), LHP Mike Modica (11-1, 4.17 ERA)
Key number: 1 — wins in NCAA tournament history, a figure that could double with a victory over USC
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BINGHAMTON
Record: 29-20 (America East)
Coach: Tim Sinicki
Key players: OF Corey Taylor (.335, 15 HR, 51 RBI), RHP Murphy Smith (7-2, 2.41 ERA)
Key number: 537 — the distance from Binghamton, N.Y., to Greenville, N.C., the furthest away of the visiting teams
Staff writer Ron Morris contributed to this report.
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