Tyler Jackson, a left-hander who was mowing down high-school hitters for Starmount last spring, will face a more daunting challenge today.
Jackson will take to the mound this morning and try to revive Appalachian State's wounded NCAA Tournament hopes. He'll face offensive power College of Charleston at 9 a.m. in the opening game of the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament at Riley Park in Charleston, S.C.
"I feel like it's time for us to have a comeback," Jackson said. ASU's pristine record was damaged in recent weeks but the Mountaineers still enter the tournament at 35-16-1, with their highest victory total since a school-record 40 wins in 1986.
"We didn't pick the best time to go into a slump, but I think we're out of it. Our confidence is back up and hopefully that will carry into the conference tournament."
The Mountaineers were 31-8-1 and in the nation's top 40 in RPI heading into exam break at the end of April. But they lost eight of their next nine games before finally reversing course last weekend with a three-game sweep of Wofford. ASU finished 14-14-1 in SoCon play and is the No. 7 seed in a tournament full of contenders.
"It's arguably as good a year as the conference has ever had," Coach Chris Pollard of ASU said. "I feel like I say that every year the last three or four years, but we've taken a next step in terms of top-to-bottom strength.
"Everybody's got their hands full. You have seven teams out of our league that are in the top 70 in the country in RPI right now. And Furman's the No. 8 team, and they've won six conference games in a row."
College of Charleston, which moved into one national poll this week at No. 29, has most likely locked up a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Citadel won the regular-season title, and its prospects for the NCAA look solid, and Elon is in position as a "bubble" team with an argument for inclusion.
Appalachian, Georgia Southern, Samford and Western Carolina all have 30 wins or more and will try for at least deep runs in the SoCon Tournament. The SoCon Tournament winner will get automatic entry into the NCAA Tournament.
ASU will face a Charleston team that ranks in the top five in Division I in runs and home runs.
"There are so many teams in this conference playing really well right now, and we get probably the hottest in the first round," Pollard said. "They are a very offensive club, and they have some power arms, so we have a challenge right out of the gate."
Pollard said he'll go with the freshman Jackson (2-4) because he likes the matchup against Charleston's left-handed hitters and the fact that senior ace Matt Andress will be available for the second round of the double-elimination tournament.
"Tyler has had a really consistent year," Pollard said. "Really, the only statistical number that doesn't look great for him is his won-loss percentage, and really that boils down to him being a tough-luck starter because we haven't been able to score as many runs for him in his starts.
"You look at his ERA, it's in the mid 4s, and opponent's batting average is in the .270s against him. He's been a very good arm for us all year."
Jackson said: "I'm excited about it. I look at it as an opportunity to get to pitch as a freshman against one of the best teams around in the first game of the tournament. It's a challenge, but I believe we'll be ready for it."
tbowman@wsjournal.com
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