The intensity picked up on Friday for the East Carolina baseball team, which held its first team practice during the sunny late afternoon hours at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
For veteran Travis Watkins and the other catchers on the roster, that meant the start of plenty of bullpen sessions and scrimmages during the next few weeks as the Pirates try to determine roles for all 34 players.
Evan Kruczynski, Joe Ingle, Jacob Wolfe, Jimmy Boyd and Nick Durazo are the leading returning pitchers, but less-experienced hurlers are looking to find their niche as well. Evaluations of preseason scrimmages will mainly fall on head coach Cliff Godwin and pitching coach Dan Roszel, but they might also value input from Watkins and fellow backstops Eric Tyler, who is also playing third base, and Jake Washer.