Georgia State's baseball team, down to five every-day starters, somehow found a way to get into the CAA tournament that begins Thursday in Wilmington, N.C.
Luckily one of the healthy ones is Mark Micowski, one of the best hitters in Division I baseball. A healthy pitching staff, led by Will Campbell, also helps.
Micowski's bat and Campbell's right arm have the Panthers (37-19, 17-13 CAA) within three wins of setting a school record. They will try to move a step closer in their first-round game against top-seeded James Madison (37-17, 21-9).
"Our team has played so hard and been so resilient, and the next guy has stepped up to keep us going," coach Greg Frady said. "I couldn't be more proud that the team kept playing and winning like it has under some tough, adverse conditions."
The Panthers needed to win its series against George Mason last weekend to earn the fourth and final seed. The goal was permitting only three runs or fewer in each game. The Panthers took two of the three games, including Saturday's final outing on a walk-off single in the 10th inning to squeak into the tournament. GSU allowed a run in each of its two wins, including Campbell's Thursday victory, which gave him a school-record trying nine wins this season.
His production is a surprise considering he had two wins in the three previous years, spent mostly as a reliever. A sinkerball pitcher who admits he won't strike out the side, Campbell said his success is the product of several factors this year, notably the change in bats that have suppressed scoring. His ERA has gone from 8.62 last year to 2.72.
"The balls aren't going to fly the way they used to," he said.
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There's more to his success. Campbell was called to the coach'soffice after his junior year and Frady told him that he believed in him and gave him a scholarship. That commitment prompted Campbell to take his work even more seriously.
"It's almost like a pay to play now," he said. "It was [putting] a trust in the coaching staff and athletic department that everybody has put in you. I feel like it has made a difference."
He is tied for the conference lead in wins.
"He matured," Frady said. "Every kid that goes along the way, when they go to their senior year, they say this is my year, let's do something special."
While Frady has been waiting on Campbell to shine from the time he walked on, Micowski's .392 average has been expected. He transferred to Georgia State after Vermont dropped its program. He wanted to compete in the South against some of college baseball's best players. It didn't take him long to adjust. He had 91 hits last year to tie the school's single-season record and bring his career total to 224 in three seasons. He has 84 more this season and is among the sport's top five active leaders in career hits.
"He's been a hitting machine every year he's been in college baseball," Frady said.
Micowski said he's been hitting since he was a little boy, with his mother or father throwing soft tosses to him in the back yard in Connecticut. Although he's a left-hander, Micowski said he's patterned his game after the right-handed Derek Jeter.
Micowski said his ability to leave his New England roots and succeed at a new school, in a new city and against pitchers he's never seen is reason to think the Panthers can shake off their injuries and win the conference tournament for the second time in three years. They have resilience and an adaptability.
"We have everything to gain," he said. "If we go into the tourney with the right mindset, stay relaxed and have fun, our potential is going to shine and come through if we come through with those things."
CAA Baseball Tournament
When: Thursday-Saturday.
Radio: WRAS 88.5FM.
Thursday's schedule: Game 1, No. 4 Georgia State vs. No. 1 James Madison, 3 p.m.
Game 2, No. 2 Old Dominion vs. No. 3 Wilmington, 7 p.m.
Friday's schedule: Game 3, loser Game 1 vs. loser Game 2, noon
Game 4, winner Game 1 vs. winner Game 2, 3:30 p.m.
Game 5, winner Game 3 vs. oser Game 4, 7 p.m.
Saturday's schedule: championship game, 1 p.m.
