ASU hoping to get hot in SoCon Baseball Tournament
At the end of April, Appalachian State’s postseason prospects looked promising.
Although its non-conference schedule wasn’t particularly impressive, a 31-8-1 record and No. 38 standing in RPI was good enough to begin speculation about NCAA Tournament possibilities.
Then exams hit. And Elon hit. And College of Charleston really hit, to the tune of 37 runs in what turned out to be a second consecutive loss of a three-game series in the tough Southern Conference.
Fact is, the Mountaineers didn’t hit.
“When we finished the month of April we had probably the most confident club I had ever been around,” Coach Chris Pollard of the Mountaineers recalled. “We were just rolling.
“Then all of the sudden we came out of exam break and just weren’t swinging the bats as well. Some guys had some bad at-bats and then started to press. We got ourselves into as bad of a hitting slump as any team I’ve ever coached.”
The slump lasted through six innings of last Friday’s opening game against Wofford. The Mountaineers, who had lost eight of nine games, snapped out with a come-from-behind victory and followed up with 13-4 and 10-3 winis on Saturday to close the regular season 35-16-1.
“We had really lost confidence coming into the Wofford series,” Pollard said. “It’s amazing what three ballgames can do for you, because we were as low as low could get. Now, all of the sudden, we’ve got some air back in our sails.”
So, the Mountaineers will look to reverse their fortunes against red-hot College of Charleston on Wednesday morning in the opening game of the Southern Conference Tournament in Charleston, S.C.
Tyler Jackson, a left-handed freshman, will start for the Mountaineers.
He struggled a bit against the Cougars 11 days ago – allowing three hits, four walks and four runs in 3 2/3 innings. But he said it was a learning experience.
“I know they are a fastball aggressive team,” Jackson said. “I know I’m going to have to mix up a lot more offspeed with them and not leave any fastballs down the middle and up. They’ll rip it if I do.”
Pollard said that the key to a successful run in the double-elimination tournament will indeed be pitching.
“You’ve got to get quality starts,” Pollard said. “If you have to get into your bullpen early in the tournament, then you’re stretched pretty thin and it becomes an uphill battle. But if you get two or three good starts, that gives you a chance.
“We’ve had some inconsistency out of that third and fourth spot, so what we need are for some guys to step up and pitch big, above where they’ve been at times this year. We do have arguably the best bullpen in the league, so that will be an asset.”