By Staff
By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
GREENVILLE — Trent Whitehead grew up an East Carolina baseball fan, and now he has one of the best spots to watch a game.
The former Washington Pam Pack standout, a sophomore with the Pirates, is expected to get plenty of playing time in the outfield this year.
The 5-10, 175-pound Whitehead, who will wear No. 1 this year, is expecting to start in right field. He’s currently battling Devin Harris for the starting spot.
If Whitehead has to share time in the outfield, that’s just fine with him.
Whitehead played in 51 games as a freshman, starting 22 of them. He hit .273 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 88 at-bats.
Whitehead also stole five bases and had a .978 fielding percentage, committing just one error in 46 tries.
Whitehead had been hitting above the .300 mark, but a hand injury late in the season caused the average to drop.
One area where Whitehead had some trouble executing was dropping down a bunt. He looked to remedy that in the off-season.
Whitehead swung a hot stick during fall and spring ball. He’s hoping that will carry over into the season, which starts Feb. 20 with a three-game home series against Monmouth.
Whitehead admitted to tiring near the end of last season. Now that he has a full year of college baseball under his belt, the speedy sophomore knows what to expect.
He’s heading into the 2009 season with a confident attitude.
Godwin is expecting Whitehead to be a key contributor this season.
Whitehead believes the entire team will be fun to watch.
He is more than ready to get the season started.
While Whitehead had a chance to play elsewhere, he’s perfectly happy playing with the Pirates.