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Sports Sean Rayford Sports Photo Editor Freshman shortstop Drew Meyer (7) leaves the field after his solo home run in his first at bat against Liberty. i ; Meyer recognized nationally by Jeff Romig Sports Editor When Drew Meyer arrived at USC last fall, he do so with a quite impressive resume in hand. Meyer’s first season as a Game cock continued his trend of ex cellence and Baseball America took notice. USC Baseball Notes On May 25, Meyer was named to the all-baseball publication’s Freshman All-America team. Mey er improved his freshman numbers and resume last weekend when he was named to the All-Regional team. the shortstop from Charleston is now hitting .321 with 10 home runs, 45 RBIs and 70 runs scored. Kelly enters hollowed ground ■ Tripp Kelly became the third Gamecock player to hit 20 home runs in a season when he hit his 20th in Saturday’s 6-1 win over Wake Forest. Joe Datin holds the school record with 23 in 1985, and Der rick Urquhart hit 20 in 1998. Killer B’s complete regional ■ The Gamecocks pitching com bination of juniors Kip Bouknight, Peter Bauer and Scott Barber (known as the Killer B’s) pitched every inning of last weekend’s regional. Bouknight won the first game against Liberty, Bauer defeated Wake Forest, and Barber saved the Liberty game and won the decisive game against the Deacons Sunday afternoon. The trio is now a combined 38 3 on the year with a 3.09 ERA. Bouknight is 16-1, Bauer 13-1, and Barber is 9-1 with 14 saves. Gamecocks hit 100th home run ■ The three home runs that were hit Sunday, one each by Marcos Rios, Marcus McBeth and Bran don Pack, gave Carolina a total of 102 in 63 games. The Gamecocks have only sur passed the hundred mark three times prior to 2000. The school record of 144 home runs in a season was set in 1985, the last time the Gamecocks went to the College World Series. They fol lowed the 1985 season with 127 homers in 1986, and 12 years lat er, in 1998, USC hit 122. In 1999, the Gamecocks hit 58 home runs. Locking it up ■ In front of major league scouts and a packed Saige Frye Field on Saturday, Peter Bauer made a strong case for being selected early in the June baseball draft. Bauer, who is 6’7 and 247 pounds, pitched a complete game despite working in 100 degree heat. His fastball was clocked in the low 90’s and his slider in the 80s in the eighth and ninth innings in the win. Bauer is ranked as Baseball America’s 33 out of 100 college players available for the draft and is the top player overall available from South Carolina. Comeback kids ■ The Gamecocks have 20 come horn behind wins this year, including two in the Regional Tournament. With the three wins, USC is now 36-2 at Sarge Frye Field in 2000. . Sean Rayford Sports Photo Editor Tripp Kelly takes a throw from Kip Bouknight in the Gamecocks 6-4 win over Liberty on Friday. TQ>S of Columbia 3722 River Drive 779-0000 18 Years and Up Welcome • $5 off Cover after 7 pm w/ College ID. OPEN MON-SAT 4PM-4AM • HAPPY HOUR $1.50 Domestic Beer 4-7PM NUDE I J NUDE If you are under the age of 21, it is illegal to buy alcoholic beverages. All ABC regulations enforced. USC from page 1 “It’s going to be a huge advantage with our crowd,” freshman Drew Mey er said. “Crowd noise has a big affect on people, so this ought to be an interesting weekend.” Louisiana Lafayette might not ring a bell with most college baseball fans, and before Monday, the USC players knew about the same about the school’s baseball program. “I know they’re in the Sun Belt con ference,” Meyer said. “I’ve never seen anything about them.” In 1999, the Ragin’ Cajuns faced off against Rice the Super Regional. They took the first game from the then No. 1 ranked team, coming within game of a trip to Omaha, before losing to the Owls on Saturday and Sunday. “They're one of these schools that you never know what they’re going to do,” Meyer said. “We just have to get ready and play our greatest. Whatever happens, happens.” Peter Bauer, who was the MVP ot the regional, didn’t know much more about UL-L than Meyer did. “I knew they were laying ECU in the finals,” Bauer said with a smile. “I have no idea.” Bauer knows more after spending time with the scouting reports on the Ra gin’ Cajuns. “I know a little bit more,” Bauer said. “I know they’re a good team. I know they’ve been solid pretty much all year.” Throughout the 2000 season, USC’s pitching has been its strength. On paper UL-L has the slight edge. The Ragin’ Ca juns’ team ERA is 3.19, just a little bet ter than USC’s 3.52 ERA. UL-L counters the Killer B’s with left-hander Justin Gabriel (9-2,2.65), who will face off against Gamecock ace Kip Bouknight on Friday night, Scott Dohlmann (10-5,3.17) and Nick Webb (7-2,3.69). Their bullpen boasts Aaron Wfelboume (8 saves, 2.25) and Trey Bullinger (5 saves, 2.22). “They have a great pitching staff,” Bauer said. “That’s going to be good. I think it’s going to be two or three solid games. Check out GamecockCentral.com for message boards, chat rooms, football, baseball, basketball, and more!!