Powerball

The College of Charleston baseball team hits like there's no tomorrow, but coach John Pawlowski also knows there won't be one if the Cougars don't pitch their best in the Southern Conference Tournament.

"The whole key with our season and with this tournament is if we're able to pitch," Pawlowski said. "I certainly think we're capable. If we pitch like we're capable, we certainly have a very good chance to show well in the tournament. The team with the deepest pitching staff has the best chance to win it."

The second-seeded Cougars could be that team. Or not.

Charleston's staff ERA is more than six runs per game, but there have been moments this season when the Cougars' pitching has been formidable.

Jake Goldberg, the Cougars' likely Game 1 starter, had a stretch of five outings when his ERA was less than one run.

He has also had a game or two where he struggled to get out of the first inning.

He's not alone.

That's been the story for most of the season with the Cougars' pitching staff.

"They've all shown flashes of brilliance at some point in time during the season," Pawlowski said. "The guys who have started have all shown at some point in time that they can do the job. The biggest thing is just the inconsistency. That's been the hardest thing."

Charleston's pitching carried the Cougars to a sweep of The Citadel earlier this season, when the Cougars allowed nine runs over three games.

The next week against UNC Greensboro, Charleston got swept while allowing 36 runs.

"I was joking with them recently, and I said, 'You guys stay together. When we pitch well, we all pitch well. When we pitch badly, it's everybody,' " said Charleston pitching coach Scott Foxhall. "It's just the way we've been. Every weekend has been like that. You take two out of three from Elon, you feel good. You sweep The Citadel, you feel good. Then we go to Greensboro and it looks like we haven't taught them one thing about pitching. There are so many ups and downs."

It's been a perplexing turn of events for Pawlowski and Foxhall, who have had more than a few conversations about what to do with the Cougars' pitching.

Charleston's prolific offense has covered up a lot of mistakes. The Cougars have averaged more than 10 runs per game and hit more than 100 homers.

Sometimes, though, it's just not enough.

C of C lost eight games this season when it scored nine or more runs, including a 15-14 loss to Elon, and losses to UNC Greensboro by scores of 12-9 and 18-17.

In their constant quest for answers, Pawlowski and Foxhall have moved players from the bullpen to the starting rotation and back again.

Jesse Simpson is a classic example. He leads the team in victories and in saves.

"I don't think I've ever tried to manipulate our pitching staff as much as I have this year," Pawlowski said. "It's simply because we were trying to find the right combination. In the past, we've always had our Friday night starter our Saturday starter and our Sunday starter. We've had to flip. We've done a lot of different things. We've been inconsistent at times, but we're going to keep tweaking it until we find the right answers. Hopefully we can tweak our way into the postseason. Whoever is hot is going to get the opportunity to pitch."

Foxhall says there's a silver lining to the constant manipulation of the pitching staff.

"This has been the year that we've done the most of moving guys around and trying to put the pieces together," he said. "It has been a little bit crazy, but the positive thing about it going into the tournament is that everybody has done something."