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■ SCRIMMAGE Continued from page 10 “Our receivers are good,” he said. “They are fearless and they have heart. (Junior) Syvelle Newton caught a lot of passes today and that is encouraging. It was an encouraging day.” Junior Noah Whiteside finished the day with two catches for 23 yards and Newton finished with four catches for 89 yards. One of the day’s highlights came when Mitchell eluded a pass rush, scrambled to his right and, while on the run, found a | streaking Newton for a 42-yard pass completion. weanebuay a »iiiiiiiuage began with a quick three-and out led by Mitchell. However, on the next drive, Mitchell led the first team on a 14-play drive that drove down the field to the 4-yard line. The offense was unable to score on third down when Mitchell threw a fade pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Sidney Rice who caught the ball but was ruled out of bounds. Rice looked to have another touchdown catch later in the scrimmage before senior cornerback Tremaine Tyler ripped the ball from his hands in the end zone for an interception. I The offensive line played ' considerably better than in Saturday’s scrimmage, allowing five sacks Wednesday versus 13 Saturday. “The tackles, guards and the center need to improve, but when they do, we have a very good chance of having a pretty decent offense in the fall,” Spurrier said. Carolina’s defense has looked solid all year long, and Wednesday’s scrimmage was no exception. Carolina’s D combined for 11 tackles for losses from 11 different players. The biggest surprise this spring on the defense has to be sophomore defensive lineman Stanley Doughty. Doughty has come out to play, and he is extremely vocal. “Nobody can block Stanley Doughty,” Spurrier said. “He is all over the place making tackles.” The secondary also played well Wednesday, coming away with two interceptions — one by Tyler and the other by sophomore linebacker Dustin Lindsay, who returned it for a 43-yard touchdown. tjn tne injury rront, wmtesiae is fully recovered from his sprained wrist. Junior running back Cory Boyd, sophomore offensive lineman James Thompson and senior defensive end Charles Silas will not return for spring practice. “None of the guys who are listed on the injury list will play this spring,” Spurrier said. “They will have to learn how to play in the summer. But it hasn’t been that bad of a spring, injury wise.” The Gamecocks will practice again at 4:15 p.m. Friday at the Bluff Road, practice fields, and practice will be open to the public. Next week Carolina will practice Monday and Wednesday before taking off two days for the Garnet and Black game, which will be held Saturday, April 16 at 1 p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium. Comments tm this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gtvm.sc. edu ■ SOFTBALL Continued from page 10 repeats itself and that they are abli to defend Beckham Field as well a: I they did in 2003. With both team: desperate to wipe the bad taste o SEC defeats out of their mouths this midseason matchup i: guaranteed to be all the mor< exciting. The Gators are one of the SEC’: best-hitting squads, with a lineup that includes three players battinp well above .300 for the season Junior outfielder Lindsep Cameron, batting in the cleanup spot, is leading the way for Florid; with an impressive .378 mark Cameron is followed by Gato: sophomores Shelley Stevens (.353, and Melissa Zick (.333). In th< Georgia series, Zick extended he: career-long hit streak to 11 game: to set a new Florida sophomort record, and she is riding the third longest streak in school history. 1 The Gamecocks will also hav< to keep a close eye on junioi infielder Stacie Pestrak, who lead: the Florida squad with 17 stoler bases. USC can expect some heav) heat from Florida senior pitchei Mandy Schuerman (9-3), whc leads the team with a 1.55 ERA Sophomore Stacey Stevens ha: been the workhorse for th< Gators, logging 140.0 inning: pitched and 140 strikeouts on the season. Florida started this season with an 11-game winning steak, broken by Notre Dame Feb. 13. The Gators, third in the SEC Eastern division, have a 6-4 record, with all losses coming at the hands (or gloves) of SEC opponents. Florida will be in action Thursday night against in-state rival Florida State before heading north to Columbia. Before their matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs, USC went 4-0 last week with a pair of doubleheader sweeps against North Carolina and SEC opponent Kentucky. The wir against UK snapped USC’s four game conference-losing streak Freshman Jessica Josker led th< Gamecocks in hitting with a .6li average, while senior Alec; Johnson went 2-0 and recordec her fourth save of the year Johnson has 17 career saves and i: USC’s all-time leader in thi: category, surpassing Megar Matthews’ record of 16. USC will need its sluggers tc connect at the plate. Josker ha: been one of the most consisten: players at the plate, recording hit: in two of the three Georgia games Junior catcher Ashley Smitl ■ TIGERS Continued from page 10 increased his streak to 12 games. Both have taken the pressure' off senior Steve Pearce (eight home runs, 26 RBIs) and junior Steven Tolleson (28 RBIs) to lead the offensive attack. Other players I have also taken on increased roles after injuries to senior Brendan Winn and junior Cory Vanderhook — namely junior Mark Stanley, who has started four of the past five games at right field. Each player has performed well and will continue to vie for playing time when everyone returns healthy. “I’m proud of these guys,” Tanner said. “No one has made excuses. Vanderhook went down, and (sophomore Ryan) Mahoney is only 10 months removed from surgery, but (junior Ian) Paxtor has stepped up. We’ve beer missing Winn, and Mark Stanlej has stepped in to do a good job. I you’re going to be a good program you’ve got to find a way to win.’ LSU will greet the Gamecock with three left-handed pitchers beginning with senior Lam Mestepey (5-3, 2.93 ERA) Saturday’s starter will b( undefeated sophomore Clay Dirk (7-0, 3.02 ERA), with junior Grej Smith (4-1, 2.98 ERA) taking tht mound Sunday. Mestepey ha: been LSU’s No. 1 pitcher ir rotation since arriving in Bator Rouge in his All-American 2001 season. “He’s been at LSU longer thar I’ve been at Carolina,” Tannei joked. “It seems like we’ve facec him 10 times. He’s a qualit) pitcher.” The series begins at 7:30 p.m Briefly , Track teams succeed at USATF tide meet USC track and field competed in the USATF State Championship Wednesday, finishing with an impressive performance that included top finishes in both track and field events. The Gamecocks swept men’s hammer. Freshmen Tyler Trout, Jacob Minskey and Anthony Faulkner finished first, second and third, respectively, in the event. use also swept the discus event. Sophomore Joseph Schroeder finished first with a throw of 157 feet. Trout finished second with a throw of 151-3, and Jason Cook was third at 137-10. Schroeder was also first in the javelin throw with a toss of 192-9. Cook finished third in men’s shot put with a distance of 43-3. Freshman Derek Pressly was second in the triple jump and finished fifth in the long jump with a distance of 21-9. Sophomore Trey Bell finished second in pole vault with a regional-qualifying height of 16-7. 1 AMY SANCETTA/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Defending Masters champion Phil Mickelson tees off on the 9th hole during first-round play of the 2005 Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. Mickelson finished at 2-under-par. ■ MASTERS Continued from page 10 out of whack before players even arrived at Augusta National — tee times were pushed back five times as more than an inch of rain fell, leading to a 5 1/2-hour delay and players starting from both tees. Along with picking up three birdies on the front nine, Singh twice saved par with 10-foot putts. His only bogey came on the 11th hole, the last one he played before the round was suspended, leaving him at 2 under. Mickelson was all smiles when he stepped to the first tee, looking not much differently from when he left the Masters last year wearing a green jacket. He opened with a bogey, but kept himself out of trouble most of the day and gave himself ample birdie chances. Goosen, the forgotten figure in all the hype over the “Big Four,” made a rare birdie on the par-3 12th, then recovered from a tee shot into the azaleas on the par-5 13th to escape with par. It wasn’t the fast, fiery course most players wanted to see, conditions that have not been around since the course was super-sized three years ago. Even with the greens soft and holding approach shots, only 10 of the 92 players were under par, and already there were five scores at 80 or higher among those who finished. Woods hasn’t broken par in the first round of the Masters since he won in 2002, and that’s where he was headed this year — some of that because of bad shots and bad judgment, some from sheer bad luck. He reached the par-5 13th in two with a risky shot out of the pines, leaving him a 70-foot eagle putt. But he misjudged the speed so badly that the ball raced by the hole, tumbled down the bank and went into Rae’s Creek. He looked as though he might get that shot back when his approach into No. 1 descended on the flag, but Woods turned away in shock when it hit the bottom of pin and spun off to the side into a bunker, turning birdie into bogey. He wasn’t alone in his misery. Paul Casey, who tied for sixth last year in his Masters debut, took a 10 on the 13th hole and shot 79. David Toms stood over a 20-foot putt on the 14th hole until a gust blew his ball down the slope and into the fairway. He made a double bogey, and shot 41 on his outward nine. Still, nothing quite compared with Casper. A 51-time winner on the PGA Tour who got overlooked in the Big Three era of the 1960s, the 73 year-old got plenty of attention in his return to Augusta National. He hit five balls into the water on the par-3 16th and took 14, the highest score on any hole in the Masters. By the time he finished 12 holes, he already shot his age. His score of 106 would also go down in the record books, except that Casper declined to turn in his card. “That’s going in the scrapbook,” Casper said. First- and second- round coverage j Third-round coverage (all times EDT) i April 9, 3;30 p.m. to 7 p.m,, CBS April 7-8, 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., 8 p.m. I Fourth-round coverage to 11 p.m. (replay), USA Network ; April 10, 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., CBS YARDAGE AND PAR (7,290 yds. • par 72) HOLE ' 1 l 2 3 4 5 6 7 j 8 9 OUT YARDS 435 575 350 205 455 180 [410 j 570 460 3,640 PAR 4 54 J3I4”g " | 36 HOLE «JllJl2lj3N4jj?Tl6jl7T^ IN YARDS 495 490 155 510; 440 500 170 425 465 3,650 par "4 5 3 4' f 4 ^ 36. SOURCE: Augusta National Golf Course AP displayed her hitting prowess in the third game against Georgia, batting in both runs in the Gamecocks’ 9-2 loss.. . USC also needs to do a better job of bringing Gamecocks around the horn, having left 18 players stranded on the bases in the Georgia series. This weekend’s series is crucial for both' teams with the SEC Tournament only five weeks away. The first pitch of Saturday’s doubleheader is set for 1 p.m. Sunday’s game is set for a 2 p.m. start. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu Friday at Alex Box Stadium in Louisiana and continues 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. “There’s not too many teams that go out to The Box and survive,” Tanner said. “It’s a great environment for college baseball and our guys are looking forward • » to it. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu ■ HILLYARD Continued from page 10 a few years ago — it has taken eyes off Tiger and spread fan support of young people to other golfers. After taking the world by storm in 2000 and 2001, the phenom has cooled down. Or has he? Golfers have stepped up their game a notch and are rto longer scared of Tiger. Now, the 29-year-old golfing legend seems to have picked up the slack. Could we be witnessing a return to supremacy? Mickelson’s tournament winning putt last year at Augusta drew a roar Tiger has never felt. When Mickelson and Woods were matched up in the final day of the Ford Championship at Doral this year, golf couldn’t have asked for a better finish. “Lefty” will now look to become the first back-to-back winner since Woods in 2001 and 2002 and will also look to win his fourth tournament of the season. Mickelson has already won more than $3.5 million this year. Singh lurks behind Mickelson and Woods in popularity but quietly is still the No. 1 player in the world. The Fiji native can play with anybody when he’s hot, and this week should be no different. A three-time major champion, Singh is no stranger to pressure. Then there’s Els, the “Big Easy.” Why have we forgotten about Ernie Els? Do we not realize that this guy was the best player in the world just last year? The quiet South African could shock us all this week and re-establish himself as the man to beat. i nen mere s tne a ractor. Augusta National. Where a 6-foot putt can be just as difficult as a 150-yard bunker shot. It’s the Masters, where just a slight miscalculation could turn a birdie into a double bogey (just ask Tiger, who on Thursday saw a slow rolling putt pick up speed and plummet into Ray’s creek). So who will it be? I’d love to see a four-way playoff between these giants. Then again, it might not be any of them. We could see another Mike Weir creep out of the shadows and into the spotlight. That’s what is so great about this game. But as you watch the tournament this weekend, keep an eye on the Big Four, the oldest of which is Vijay Singh at 42, and just think about what a ride we could be in for. It should be fun. 2005 Faculty/Staff and Student Baseball Ticket Distribution^^ Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday April 11,12,13 ^ Pick-up w/ ID @ the use Box Office 8:30am-5:00pm Clemson Baseball Game i i 'I, April 20,2005 f @Sarge Frye Field The University Studies Abroad Consortium, with programs in 24 countries, allows students to master languages and study disciplines — including business, fine arts and history — at distinguished, overseas schools. Soak up the vibrant culture and be transformed by the experience of living in a foreign land. • Summer, semester and yearlong programs • Wide range of academic courses • Internships • Language classes at all levels • Field trips and tours • Small classes • University credit • Scholarships • Housing ssssf" TTTQ A(T* sssasnuM'UataL □=r~ . 7.i . (jtrieWtZyrhrKe KAjer^Ji