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KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK The USC softball team will try to continue its four-game winning streak this weekend when they travel to Lexington to take on UK. w ■ SPRING Continued from page 10 While Rathe is still waiting on his appeal to the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility, Spurrier is unable to give him much practice time. Heffner, who struggled in initial practices, is beginning to see more snaps. “Antonio Heffner hasn’t gotten a lot of snaps with the No. 1 offense, so we’re going to get him in there with those guys tomorrow,” Spurrier said. Nichols has been the biggest i surprise this spring, appearing to k rise to the No. 1 quarterback slot this past week. The junior from Simpsonville has been the most accurate passer so far this season and has rightfully gained the majority of the snaps with the first-team offense. It’s not the first time Spurrier has turned to a quarterback-deep in the depth chart. When the coach first arrived iin Gainesville, then-fifth stringer Shane Matthews became the player of choice for Spurrier. He later gained All-SEC honors and is still in the NFL. [Heisman Trophy winner, lacked an ideal arm, but Spurrier emphasizes quick decision making and football smarts — ’ traits Nichols has exhibited in practice. Part of the offensive struggles might have to do with the improved play of the Gamecock defensive units. The defense, and especially the defensive line, has been having its way with the Gamecock offense. One player in particular has caught the coach’s eyes on the defensive line .— De’Adrian Coley. “He has a chance to be a big time player,” Spurrier said. “The defensive guys are working hard. They look good.” Linebacker Ricardo Hurley has had a strong spring alongside defensive end Ryan Brown, who has shown excellent blitzing abilities thus far in practice. The secondary is looking to improve even more from a defense ranked third in the SEC in pass-defense efficiency and tied for first in interceptions. With the return of defensive back Jonathan Joseph from a broken leg that sidelined him almost the entire season last year, the Gamecocks could have the most potent trio of cornerbacks in the SEC. Patrolling the secondary again will be SEC Freshman of the Year Ko Simpson, alongside newcomer Mike West, who has been raising a lot of heads in spring practice. West, who signed late in the recruiting season with USC, finished junior college work a semester early. The strong safety from Florida has been clocked running a sub-4.4 40 yard dash and has been all over the field this spring, clearly benefiting from the leg-up he is receiving over most recruits. West could end up playing outside linebacker for the Gamecocks. Safety Chris Hampton has also had a solid spring and figures to compete witn west tor a spot alongside Simpson. As the team looks to its first full scrimmage Saturday morning, there is still plenty of work to do. Spurrier said he expects 90 percent of the offense to be in place as soon as possible, and the team has struggled at times with the extra work, particularly quarterbacks and wide receivers. After Wednesday’s practice, Spurrier said he was disappointed in the offense. “Assignment-wise, we are way off. We’re not blocking how we should. 1 was a little frustrated today, but it will get better. It didn’t look like we were well-coached offensively and I’ll take responsibility for that. We need to keep on them and yell at them a bit, and we need to pat them on the back a bit as well. We still have got a ways to g°-” The Gamecocks’ first scrimmage of the season will be open to the public and will be held in Williams-Brice Stadium. The scrimmage will begin at 10 a.m. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu ■ BASEBALL Continued from page 10 placed by its solid sophomore j^^ndem of Josh Morris and |Hitfielder Joey Side. The two are j^Btting .342 and .308, ^fcpectively, with 40 combined |Bls. Morris has been a force at plate, crushing the ball with a HB| slugging percentage, and the team with six home r^Band an astonishing 25 walks in only 73 at-bats. ' Carolina, on the other hand, won the SEC Tournament last year and has outfielder Jon Willard swatting with a .427 batting average. The sophomore l hits the base paths nearly half l the time, as his .468 on-base I percentage is the team’s highest. I Senior starting pitchers Aaron IRawl and Zac McCamie have Bgut up nearly identical numbers ^ftis season, with a 2.38 ERA 2.41 ERA, respectively. with Rawl going 5-2 and McCamie 5-1. The teams last met in May 2004. The Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs 8-2 to end the regular season on a high note, but the ‘Dogs won the series 2-1. Both teams represented the SEC in the College World Series last year, as Georgia lost to Texas, and USC fell to eventual champion Cal State Fullerton. Despite the potentially favorable matchup, there is no such thing as an easy SEC win, and the Bulldogs are on a roll, having won their last four games, including Tuesday night’s 7-2 victory against the Furman Paladins in Greenville. USC is going to have what promises to be an exciting border-war series on its hands this weekend. Game times are 7 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Comments %n this story? E-mail gamecochphrts@gwm.sc. edu Softball looks to continue streak By MIQUEL JACOBS STAFF WRITER Fresh off a doubleheader sweep of UNC, USC’s softball team (22 14, 5-5 SEC) travels to Lexington this weekend to take on the Kentucky Wildcats. After ending its four-game losing streak, the Gamecocks look to come out with a series sweep and keep their conference record better than .500. Game play begins with a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by the Sunday finale at 1 p.m. Carolina has played four games in the last two weeks because of cancellations caused by inclement weather. After dropping the first two games, Carolina’s downtime began with a rained-out series finale against Tennessee on March 16. The Gamecocks then missed a twinbill at Coastal Carolina on March 22, followed by two losses to No. 25 Auburn and another rained-out finale last Sunday. Despite the time away from the game, the Gamecocks responded by outperforming the Tar Heels to build momentum for a return to conference play. “When you put hits together and get good pitching performances like Melanie (Henkes) and Aleca (Johnson) did, that gives you confidence,” USC coach Joyce Compton said. “They both continue to pitch well, and we’ll use whoever has the strong arm this weekend.” In addition to strong pitching performances, the Gamecocks will rely on senior Meghan Cornett and freshman Jessica Josker to lead on the offensive end. The players, both former SEC Players of the Week this season, are Nos. 1 and 2 respectively in team batting average, on-base percentage and fielding percentage. Strong performances by both will be needed as USC attempts to continue its dominance against Kentucky with a 23-7 all-time record against the Wildcats. Cornett has been Carolina’s strong bat with a .383 batting average, placing her No. 12 in the conference. Josker is hitting .349, an average that was higher before she fell into a hitting slump beginning with the series against No. 12 LSU. “Meghan has been consistent for us, and she’s been a leader,” Compton said. “Jessica started off hot. She’s turned it around recently and made pretty good contact (against UNC). I can see her popping out of the slump she’s in, as prior to it she was making things happen.” The Wildcats (15-27, 2-13 SEC) last hit the field Wednesday against No. 4 Tennessee, sandwiching one win (2-1) around two losses. Despite the Wildcats having registered only two conference victories so far, Compton points out that they defeated the nation’s No. 4 team earlier this week — a feat the Gamecocks failed to accomplish — as a sign that Kentucky’s record is deceiving. “They beat Tennessee. That’s a wake-up call for us,” Compton said. “We need to swing the bats well and keep up the good pitching.” Led by first-year coach Eileen Schmidt, an assistant coach to Compton during USC’s 53-win 1995 season, the Wildcats are having difficulties making things happen on both sides of the ball. The team posts a 3.88 ERA and a league-worst .207 batting average. It has become difficult tff pinpoint the source of Kentucky’s problems, as the team has struggled offensively, defensively and mentally, yielding a league-high 58 errors. Sophomore Brook Martiniz is the lone regular starter hitting better than .300. If the Gamecocks are able to avoid hitting into double plays and stay in the game mentally, they should be able to prevent the timely hitting that Kentucky relies on to stay in games. No Wildcat has more than 14 RBIs, a feat six Gamecocks have surpassed so far this season. Sound defense and pitching, coupled with hard hitting by Cornett, jpsker and sophomore McKenna Hughes, are Carolina’s keys to earning its third SEC series this season. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu “They beat Tennessee. That’s a wake-up call for us. We need to swing the bats well and keep up the good pitching.” JOYCE COMPTON use COACH Red Sox. Yankees to renew rivalry ■ Boston looks to open with same momentum as they had in 2004 By BRIAN SAAL FOR THE GAMECOCK Major League Baseball will start the 2005 regular season this weekend with none other than “The Rivalry.” The last time the Boston Red Sox played the New York Yankees, the Beantown team won us ursi pennant since 1700. The World Champion Boston Red Sox will square off against the team that intends to knock the crowns off their heads at 8:05 p.m. Sunday night on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball.” So how exactly does a team that fails to win the pennant, despite having a $184 million payroll, bounce back? First, it revamped three-fifths of its rotation, saying goodbye to Jon Lieber, Javier Vazquez and Orlando Hernandez. Donning the pinstripes this season will be Jaret Wright, Carl Pavano and ace Randy Johnson, all acquired in the offseason. Last season was just the third time Wright was able to stay healthy and pitch more than 100 innings, as he finished with a 15-8 record and 3.28 ERA for the Atlanta Braves. Pavano has a career losing record at 57-58 but posted just his second double-digit win total, going 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA for the Florida Marlins in 2004. Wright signed for $7 million a year, and Pavano for $10.5 million. Johnson will anchor the team, starting the 2005 push for the 27th Yankee World Series trophy. The Yankees added relievers Mike Stanton and Felix Rodriguez to an already-stacked bullpen. New York bolstered its bench with left-handed first baseman and former Yankee Tino Martinez. General manager Brian Cashman took some heat for replacing second baseman Miguel Cairo with Tony Womack from the St. Louis Cardinals. The Yankees, like most baseball teams, will live or die by their starting pitching, who must prove their collapse in the ALCS was a fluke. The Boston Red Sox will start the 2005 season trying to defend their world championship. The Red Sox entered the offseason seeking a facelift with 17 players eligible for free agency. They parted ways with men they knew could lift the Curse in pitcher Pedro Martinez, now a New YoA Met, and shortstop Orlando Cabrera, now with the Anaheim Angels. The Red Sox replaced the two with Matt Clement, former Chicago Cub, and Edgar Renteria, former St. Louis Cardinal. With the additions of pitchers Wade Miller and David Wells to starting positions and Matt Mantei and John Halama to relief, the Red Sox’s pitching staff might be better than last season’s. As for batters, thi other nine hitters will be returning as well as outfielders Jay Payton and Ramon Vasquez. Sunday’s matchup will start the American League season off and could be another postseason preview, as both are the favorites to return to the American League Championship Series. Johnson was supposed to face former teammate Curt Shilling in yet another chapter of the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry at famed Yankee Stadium, but Schilling will not be able to return from back surgery in time to pitch. The last time Boston lost a game that mattered was game three of the 2004 ALCS to the New York Yankees. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu CHARLES KRUPA/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez jokes with third baseman Kevin Youkilis during the fourth inning Wednesday. _ -r* 11 . /■* . __ KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK Seniors Carlos Powell and Josh Gonner cut down the nets at Madison Square Garden after winning the NIT championship. ■ CHAMPS Continued from page 10 solid free-throw shooting by the Gamecocks before disappearing on Gonner’s hot hand, as he nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 43-42 advantage midway through the second half. Both teams stayed within 2 points of each other down the stretch. Carolina looked to be in control late, as Trice hit two free throws to go up 3 at 52-49. Powell hit a clutch hook to keep Carolina up by 3, and after a Hawks miss, Kinsey hit two free throws to put USC in apparent control, 56-51. St. Joseph’s rallied and rallied hard. Chet Stachitas kept the Hawks in it, hitting a 3 to make it a 2-point game. Trice was immediately fouled and managed to go l-for-2 at the stripe, setting the stage for an amazing finish. Up 3, the Gamecocks played tight defense only to see Hawks guard Carroll finally do what they feared he might — make big shots. He trailed a 3 in the face of the defense, to tie the game at 57. “So much irony goes into championship games,” USC coach Dave Odom said. “The irony of this is that they score a 3 to tie the score at 57, the clock stops, I was very tempted to get Josh in the game. Had I called a timeout, I would have taken Tarence out and put Josh in.” Odom’s patience proved to be the difference between overtime and a championship. Kinsey’s shot was nothing but nylon, and the Gamecocks were nothing but champions. “I just figured that if I don’t make this shot we will go to overtime. Luckily I made it,” Kinsey said. With two NIT Final Fours in four years and three more-than 20 win seasons in four years, Odom has built this program into championship contenders. “That was truly a championship game,” he said. “I think a championship team won it. A lot of things went into winning that basketball game.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu ' ■ HILLYARD Continued from page 10 division. Two years and twc tournaments later, the Gamecocks have established thertiselves as a force to deal with on a much more permanent level. The 2004-05 season saw the Gamecocks give numerous teams in the national spotlight all they wanted. After losing heartbreakers at national powers Kansas, Pittsburgh and Kentucky, we all should have realized that we had something going for us. In what has been described by one of my fellow classmates as “the best night of his college career,” USC made us all feel like giants against the mighty Wildcats in February. We all should have realized as we stormed the court that we have a special coach and what could be a special program. In front of disappointing crowds, these Gamecocks play their hearts out night in and night out. Despite feeling the hurt of losing what was one of the most painful losses in their careers in the SEC Tournament, this team didn’t quit. An invitation to the NIT is just an excuse to get some extra practice for some teams. Not the Gamecocks. Just ask teams like Notre Dame, Marquette and that’s right, Clemson. The tournament was live-or-die for Powell and three other seniors, and they just didn’t want to quit. What do they have to show for it? Pride. Invaluable experience for underclassmen. A chance to play in New York City on national television. Most importantly, these Gamecocks have what no other USC basketball team has ever had — a championship. $262 Roundtrip! London - Paris - Amsterda Frankfurt - Rome Fares are roundtrip from ATI A subject to change. Taxes are addttiona Space won't last...Don't Wait! . BouodtjHp student B yeufeb Airfare Sale aifeb tie Travel CITS ^k I 8»o-59a-CUTS(28g7, |