Hoist the Colours: An East Carolina Athletics Podcast · 247Sports, Hoist the Colours, East Carolina Football, East Carolina, Football, College Football, ECU

Expectations for ECU heading into opening weekend

·1 hr·3 clips

Braden Burris leads off, Jack Herring hits second, and Matt Lashley rounds out the lineup at shortstop.

1. Hoist the Colours: An East Carolina Athletics Podcast frames this episode around ECU’s opening weekend against Xavier at Clark LeClair Stadium. 2. Stephen Igoe hosts Jonathan Wagner and Scott Lord-Batcher, while Wagner’s baseball notes and Lord-Batcher’s rotation and lineup opinions drive most of the discussion. 3. The episode asks what ECU’s first weekend should look like, from the Friday starter to the batting order to Jake Gautreaux’s impact on the offense. 4. The hosts react to a reported rotation of Ethan Norby, Gavin Van Kempen, and Colby Weber, with Van Kempen slotted for Saturday and Weber projected for Sunday. 5. Wagner says Van Kempen has “100% earned the opportunity to start,” but both hosts worry about whether his West Virginia starts can translate into length at ECU. 6. Lord-Batcher points out that a short Saturday outing would force ECU into its bullpen early and could ripple into the Tuesday midweek game. 7. The conversation also references Ethan Norby’s preseason ranking as the No. 3 starting pitcher in D1 Baseball’s poll. 8. Wagner argues that Norby’s strikeout ability and 3.8 ERA last season justify the ranking, even if his body type and workload raise questions for pro scouts. 9. The hosts note that some of Norby’s earned runs came in one midseason stretch against UAB, FAU, and Tulane, which changes how his season line looks. 10. They also discuss Sean Jenkins, who D1 Baseball lists as a reliever, and whether a bullpen role could let his stuff play more freely. 11. Wagner calls the current lineup puzzle the toughest he has ever tried to project, because ECU has multiple options at shortstop, center field, and designated hitter. 12. His first projection has Braden Burris leading off at second base, Jack Herring hitting second in right field, and Austin Irby batting third at first base. 13. Wagner’s version puts Jack Vogeli in the cleanup spot as the designated hitter, Colby Wallace fifth at third base, and Carlos Hakame sixth at DH or a middle-infield role. 14. Scott Lord-Batcher’s lineup differs by putting Hakame at shortstop, Vogeli at DH, Jeff Sabater in center field, and Grady Linehan in left field. 15. The hosts also mention Alex Peltier as a possible center-field option and say Matt Lashley offers the best defensive shortstop look if healthy. 16. They repeatedly emphasize that ECU’s defense could be strong even if the exact batting order changes from game to game. 17. Listener questions push the discussion toward Jake Gautreaux, whom the hosts describe as a proven SEC hitting coach who should simplify offense and possibly add more power and aggressiveness. 18. The tone stays conversational and speculative, with the hosts riffing on player roles, D1 Baseball rankings, and live chat comments while joking about Xavier’s pronunciation and the program’s bullpen options. 19. Fans who follow ECU baseball roster battles, pitching roles, and lineup construction will get the most out of this episode. 20. Casual listeners looking for a finished recap of the weekend games may skip it.

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