"We've got a pitching staff," he said, congratulating Winthrop for its second straight tournament title. "Those other teams, they've got a pitcher."

That staff is the reason why the Eagles like their chances in any game, especially the biggest ones of the season. Coincidentally, those are this weekend at the NCAA Regionals.

"If you only have one pitcher and she's not on, you have nobody to go to," Cooke said. "Whereas, we have options. We try to use those options to our advantage."

Seems to be working so far.

The trio of Megan Evans (18-6, 1.32 ERA), Cari Wooldridge (16-9, 1.81) and Izzy Trottier (2-2, 1.15) has been a large part of Winthrop's two-year stretch of Big South Conference dominance. Cooke mixes the pieces well, alternating between the first two as his starters and turning to Trottier as a relief specialist.

Evans' businesslike demeanor has produced 43 wins in two years. Wooldridge is at a higher level in the big games, winning two BSC tournament MVP awards in two years. Trottier, probably the hardest thrower on the team, gets the call in the late innings or when a starter has a rare off day.

Simple formula. Same results.

"I think, if I know I'm not getting the job done, then I know they're there to back me up at all times," Wooldridge said. "I'm not worried about being on or off because we all complement each other with different styles."

The three share a house, along with third baseman Pearl Coleshill, and inspire the jokes among their teammates. How, they wonder, do three pitchers live together and not get in everyday fights over who should be playing more?

"Not everyone can have a great outing every time," Evans said. "We understand that, if one of us isn't doing well, another can come in and finish the job."

During the tournament, Wooldridge relieved Evans in Game 1 and picked up the win. Wooldridge went the distance in Game 2 for another win and Evans returned in Game 3, pitching six innings before Trottier closed it.

Cooke likes the readiness of his staff -- this isn't baseball, where a seven-inning performance is going to force a pitcher out for the next four days. He also likes the interchangeable-ness of it, where he can afford to mix and match in order to show a team a different look than it may be expecting.

"Radford (during the tournament) was expecting Megan, so we started Cari," Cooke said. "And we always had Izzy. If we run into something unforeseen, it's never a matter of whether she's going to be ready or not. She's going to be ready."

Going into the Regionals, the Eagles could face two staffs and one pitcher. Tennessee has Charlotte native Ashton Ward (27-5, 1.94) and Megan Rhodes (20-9, 2.24), only 14 innings apart this season. Louisville features main gun Kristen Wadwell (18-13, 2.19) and Kassie Stanfill (10-7, 3.34), who has taken a back seat to Wadwell as the season's progressed.

Virginia Tech lets Angela Tincher (33-6, 0.57) handle every game. Tincher has thrown close to 70 percent of the team's innings this year, striking out an incredible 571.

The Eagles are familiar with them. Eighteen of those 571 came on Feb. 24 in Salem, Va., when the Hokies beat Winthrop 3-0.

"She's the kid that no-hit the U.S. Olympic team," Cooke said. "We had three hits up there, we just couldn't score."

The Eagles will face Ward or Rhodes first but are confident they can hold their own. Evans, Wooldridge and Trottier can give Winthrop the best chance to win, and a run or two from a solid offense should produce the same result as 36 other times this year.

"It's just a matter of scoring runs," Trottier said. "We know we can hold them down enough to give us a good shot."