CSU counts on trio of pitchers for NCAA tourney

The Columbus State baseball team’s success this season has been rooted in hitting, both for average and for power, and defense. The pitching staff has not been very good.

However, in last week’s Peach Belt Conference tournament, the starters stepped up big time after a poor start in Game 1 by Brandon Koehler.

Enter junior Albert Harless, the starter for Game 2 against Augusta. With a loss in the opener, the game was a must win for the Cougars.

“I really just wanted to play well enough to give our offense a chance to score,” Harless said. “It felt like it was a must win. If we lost, Georgia College would have gone to the championship, so I just wanted to set the tone that day.”

Augusta scored in the bottom of the first off a pair of doubles, taking a 1-0 early lead.

“They scored that first run in the first inning, and I was just like ‘I’ve got to keep them right here,’ ” Harless said.

“If we lose that game, it’s kind of an elimination game for us,” coach Greg Appleton said. “He comes out and gives up a couple of doubles to start the game, but settled down and only allowed a couple of runs.”

Harless only allowed one more run, a home run in the third, and the Cougar offense did just enough to win the game 3-2.

“That was huge for us,” Appleton said.

“It was a good outing. It was really fun,” Harless said.

Now at 1-1, the Cougars faced Georgia College in another must-win situation. This time, junior Luke Porter got the ball as the starter for CSU.

“I got the call to start, and I knew with our offense I just needed to give us a chance to win,” Porter said. “I knew it was a must-win game, and Albert threw a gem. That motivated me to give our team a chance and try to get us to the championship.”

Porter went on to match Harless with a complete-game victory, throwing a whopping 133 pitches and scattering five hits and three runs over the nine innings pitched, and the offense again did just enough to take a one-run victory at 4-3.

“I probably went a lot longer than what coach was expecting or we were counting on,” Porter said.

“Porter comes out and throws against a good-hitting team in Georgia College and shuts them down enough where we can win the game there,” Appleton said.

At 2-1 in pool play, CSU won tiebreakers over other pool teams by virtue of their regular season finish. Lander was victorious in the other pool, setting up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the championship game on Sunday.

Appleton didn’t hesitate in giving Koehler a chance for redemption from the Game 1 loss.

“Coach talked to me the day before in his hotel room and told me what he expected of me,” Koehler said.

Koehler also had inspiration in seeing Harless and Porter throw two complete games to put CSU in the title game.

“It gave me confidence as well,” Koehler said. “They’ve been huge parts of our success throughout the whole season. For them to do so well, it was good to see.”

Koehler allowed three runs on five hits, throwing 110 pitches in seven innings of work. It proved to be more than enough as the offense returned to its familiar form, powering the Cougars to a 9-4 win over Lander and the PBC tournament championship.

“We had 12 days off, which affected our hitting a little bit.” Appleton said. “We didn’t swing the bats in the first few games like we normally do, and we had pitchers who stepped up.”

“It gave me a lot more confidence in myself and for my teammates to know I’ve got their back and they have mine,” Koehler said of his comeback effort in the tournament and the win.

“What can you say about Brandon,” Appleton said. “He got himself off the deck and beat a really good team. That’s the second time he’s beaten (Lander) this year. If you look at their record, they haven’t lost too many games, and two of them are to him.”

The masterful three games by the Cougar starters comes at just the right time.

“That’s a good sign for this time of year, because you’re going to have to have those guys pitch well for you to do well in the tournament.” Appleton said. “I think we have some confidence going in there.”

“It’s going to be a blast,” Harless said. “I hope everyone comes out and supports us this weekend. We’re excited.”

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 6:47 PM with the headline "CSU counts on trio of pitchers for NCAA tourney."