Texas steps into "The Jungle" at ECU

The only thing standing between Texas and a 38th trip to the College World Series is East Carolina. When the Longhorns take on the Pirates this weekend, they’ll have to win two of three in a place affectionately known as “The Jungle.”

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The Longhorns have played in several raucous environments this season. The record for the largest crowd at UFCU Disch-Falk Field for a collegiate game was set during the Austin regional on Saturday, with 8502 on hand to see the Longhorns top Louisiana Tech. The largest crowd Texas played in front of this year was almost three times that size when 24787 packed into Minute Maid Park in Houston to see Texas defeat LSU.

Those experiences both at home and on the road will come in handy when Texas travels to Greenville, N.C. and plays on the road in a super regional for the first time since 2005.

“The environment is going to be different than anything we’ve even been in,” Texas head coach David Pierce said about ECU’s Clark-LeClair Stadium on Wednesday. “It’s TCU, Texas Tech, and put it on steroids. Everything that they say, you hear. I’ve been there many a times. I’ve had players have beer thrown on them. Had security issues in the bullpen, they really don’t care. They call themselves ‘The Jungle’ and they act like it.”

Pierce’s experience at ECU comes from years spent as an assistant at Houston and at Rice playing against the Pirates in Conference-USA. He mentioned the stadium is similar to TCU’s Lupton Stadium as fans sit on top of the field of play.

One difference between Clark-LeClair and Lupton is the short fence around the outfield. Fans are able to stand just behind the wall and let opponents know exactly what’s on their mind. Most of the players on this year’s Texas team have played in unfriendly confines before. Pierce explained they have to stick to their plan for competing in those situations.

“Their fans are going to live and die on every single pitch from the first pitch to the last pitch,” Pierce said. “They’re going to be in the umpire’s grill every single pitch. With all that being said, we’ve got to play baseball and just focus on our job and do what we always do. You can’t look up. Once you look up, you’ve been distracted.”

Pirate fans set a Clark-LeClair Stadium record during their regional with 5603 passing through the gates for ECU’s 4-2 win over Virginia on Saturday. Speaking over Zoom on Wednesday, ECU head coach Cliff Godwin think his supporters can top that number.

“The excitement level, the fans, the crowd, it’s going to be, hopefully, a little bit better than it was Saturday night against UVA, but it’s going to be to that level of excitement and noise,” Godwin said.

Even though Texas hasn’t been on the road for a super regional in close to two decades, experience playing at places like Minute Maid Park, at Texas Tech, and at South Carolina will come in handy for a team with a considerable amount of veterans. Some players even relish the opportunity to hear the jeers from the crowd, including Texas’ ace.

“That’s why you come to the University of Texas, to play in big games like this and play in big atmospheres,” Texas’ Pete Hansen said Wednesday. “I know the guys are really excited, and like I said this isn’t our first time, this isn’t our first rodeo. I’m excited to play in a great college baseball environment.”

ECU won 29 of 38 games at home this season, including 16 of their last 17. The Pirates started the season 14-13 before going 31-6 on the way to American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles.

“They’ve been playing playoff baseball since our 28^th game” Godwin said of his team. “That’s been neat.”

Pierce described Godwin as an aggressive coach who fights hard for his crew. He described the Pirates as being loud in the dugout with a handful of guys selected as “energy guys.” In addition to warning about The Jungle, Pierce said he also told his team about the college town they’re heading to, the field’s unique setup and dimensions, and any other information he thought necessary.

Some of that information Pierce provides is instructive for players making the road trip. Other information can be restatements of the obvious, but that in no way lessens the effect of the crowd in Greenville.

“There will be purple and gold everywhere we go,” Pierce said. “They will hate us.”