After dropping only its second weekend series of the 2012 campaign, No. 27 East Carolina (27-13-1)  hits the road for its lone midweek contest on Wednesday for a matchup with in-state foe No. 10 North Carolina.

The Pirates dropped Friday's contest against No. 7 Rice, 2-0, and were able to collect just one hit against All-American right-hander Matthew Reckling. ECU held 1-0 and 2-1 leads in Saturday afternoon's tilt, but Rice knotted the score in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out home run and claimed a 6-2 decision with a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th. Junior Jharel Cotton picked up his conference-best seventh win of the season in Sunday's series finale as the Pirates managed to avoid a sweep with a 4-3 victory. Drew Reynolds collected his eighth save of the season.

After shutting out UNC Wilmington three weeks ago in the Port City, the Pirates were unable to capture a season sweep of their instate rival as the Seahawks stormed into Greenville and claimed a convincing 10-1 triumph over ECU in Tuesday night's non-conference matchup.

East Carolina (25-11-1) freshman right-hander Jeff Hoffman entered the contest having tossed 19 consecutive scoreless innings, but the visitors solved the 6-foot-4 flamethrower in the top of the second as Corey Dick blasted a towering three-run round-tripper to stake UNCW (21-16) to a 3-0 advantage.

Here's more insight into the Pirates' setback...

East Carolina featured one of the nation's deepest and most efficient pitching staffs in 2011, finishing the campaign with the nation's seventh-lowest team ERA.

Apparently, scouts were paying close attention to the dominance on the mound as five Pirate hurlers were selected last June in the MLB Draft.

Mike Wright was selected by the Baltimore Orioles early in the third round while Maness was the next member of last year's vaunted rotation to hear his name called - in the 11th round by the St. Louis Cardinals. Right-hander Shawn Armstrong was taken in the 18th round by the Cleveland Indians while Brad Mincey became a Florida Marlin 10 rounds later in the 28th. Finally, ECU's all-time leader in saves, Seth Simmons, was picked by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 40th round.

Thus far in 2012, each organization has every reason to be excited about their June selection.

Here's how Wright, Maness, Armstrong, Mincey and Simmons have fared during the early stages of their professional careers... 

Fresh off its third consecutive Conference USA series win, East Carolina returns home for a pair of midweek contests before hitting the road once again, this time for a league set at Rice.

ECU (25-10-1, 8-3-1) hosts UNC Wilmington (20-16) on Tuesday evening while William & Mary makes the trek to Greenville Wednesday.

Here's more insight into Tuesday's contest with the Seahawks...

No. 24 East Carolina hit the road last weekend for a three-game set with Memphis. After claiming a 5-2 victory in Friday night's contest, the Pirates dropped a decision on Saturday afternoon, 5-2.

The Pirates responded on Sunday by scoring 14 runs behind a solid effort from starter Jharel Cotton (6-0) as ECU seized its third consecutive Conference USA series win.

Here's more insight into the weekend set...

On a night when East Carolina (24-9-1, 7-2-1) committed three errors and collected just three hits through six innings, it must feel fortunate to have walked away from FedExPark with a 5-2 victory over Memphis (15-19, 5-5) Friday night in a critical Conference USA series.

Senior lefty Kevin Brandt didn't have his best stuff in the opener of the three-game set, but the Pirates were able to muster just enough offense off Memphis starter Dan Langfield and added a pair of insurance runs late to preserve the victory.

Here's more insight into Friday's contest...

No. 24 East Carolina (23-9-1, 6-2-1 Conference USA) hits the road for a league series at Memphis (15-18, 5-4) beginning Friday at 7:30 p.m. (EST).

The Pirates and Tigers will jockey for position in the top-half of the conference standings as Memphis drastically improved its place with a sweep last weekend against Marshall.

Both clubs are coming off midweek losses as ECU dropped a 3-2 decision against Old Dominion while Arkansas State handed UM a 4-2 loss Wednesday night.

Here's more insight into this weekend's three-game set...

Last Saturday's tie with Houston left the Pirate faithful with a sour taste in its mouth. Following the draw - a contest marked by a severe lack of drama - No. 24 East Carolina returned to the diamond Tuesday night and enjoyed one of its more dramatic victories in recent memory.

John Wooten plated Tim Younger with a go-ahead sacrifice fly to center field in the top of the tenth inning to give East Carolina a 3-2 triumph over Elon at Latham Park.

But it wasn't your typical 10th inning tilt. Here's more insight into the first of back-to-back midweek clashes for the Purple and Gold...

No. 24 East Carolina is coming off a midweek victory over UNC Wilmington and a series victory over Conference USA foe Houston last weekend as it faces a pair of non-conference opponents Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tomorrow's matchup pits the Pirates against Elon and the club returns to the friendly confines of Clark-LeClair Stadium on Wednesday seeking a season sweep of Old Dominion.

Here's more insight into Tuesday's tilt...

Coming off a 5-0 victory over in-state rival UNC Wilmington Tuesday night, No. 27 East Carolina (20-8, 4-2 Conference USA) welcomes Houston to Greenville for a three-game series beginning Thursday at 6 p.m.

Houston is on the heels of a 4-1 win over McNeese State, but the Cougars have dropped six of their last eight games, dropping to 11-16 overall and 1-5 in league play.

Here's more insight into the Easter weekend showdown...

No. 30 East Carolina (19-8, 4-2), fresh off a weekend sweep of Conference USA foe UAB, heads to the Port City on Tuesday for midweek action against in-state rival UNC Wilmington.

The Seahawks are winners of seven of their last nine and also find themselves on the heels of a three-game sweep. UNCW knocked off Old Dominion on three straight days, improving to 15-12 and 10-2 in league play - a ledger that places the 'Hawks in first place in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Here's more insight into Tuesday night's showdown...

No. 30 East Carolina (19-8, 4-2 Conference USA) defeated UAB, 6-5, in 13 innings on Sunday afternoon to capture its first sweep of a league opponent thus far in 2012.

The Pirates used a furious three-run rally in the ninth to send the game into extra frames before Ben Fultz delivered a game-winning sacrifice fly to center field in the 13th to give ECU the victory and the sweep.

UAB fell to 17-12 overall, while its league record dropped to 2-4.

Here's more insight into all three weekend games...