Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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sports |,_' ' ' ** ' J Carolina first baseman W stretches for one of 15 putout Citadel Tuesday as the Bulldog Marquardt By MIKE HUNT Asst. Sports Editor One of the things that has made baseball so popular is that you don't have to be an overwhelmingly physical speciman in order to play the game. As it appears that basketball is geared more these days toward the 6-9 power forwards who can "gorilla dunk," and football toward the 6-7, 285 pound linebacker who can level a Wells Fargo truck, it is nice to know Marquardt there is a place left for the average sized person in baseball. Carolina third baseman John Marquardt is a case in point. He is not overwhelming at 6-0, 185 pounds, but his statistics from the plate are'14 homeruns,53 RBI's and a .380 batting average. "I'm making good contact this year, said Marquardt. "I m pretty strong for a guy my size. I lift weights in the off-season." A transfer junior from Temple Junior College, the Alamogordo, N.M. native said the switch to a ; ^^jHEHS^8B^B?^^HM^Bw J3||j \ ^ ^ / - ** ' ***" ' A es Westbrook the bag seconds I; .s against The thp 7-1 IISP win runner crosses single. t brings his I major college has helped his hitting. "Going to a major college has made me concentrate more," he said. "When you come to a major college from a junior college, you already have those two years' experience. You don't have to sit around two years behind an All America." MARQUARDT DECIDED to attend USC after being contacted by coach June Raines "because of its good baseball reputation and South Carolina had been in the World Series for the past couple of years." Being used to the "big West," he noticed several differences between the West and the South. "In Texas (at Temple), the facilities were unreal. When I got here, the school wasn't as big as I thought it would be. "But the field is great, and that's all you need; a field, a coach, and a tPflm " saiH MarnnnrHt After living in New Mexico all his life, Marquardt said the only problem he had with Columbia was the weather. "When we got here, the heat almost killed us. "In New Mexico it's dry heat; it doesn't make you feel like you're wrapped in a blanket like it does here," he said. A married man, Marquardt transferred to Carolina at the last possible moment in the fall, which resulted in a pretty bizzare schedule. Between studies, married life and baseball, he said he stays busy. "Playing ball makes me forget about everything," he said. PERHAPS USC'S opponents wished Marquardt would forget about baseball for a while. His 49 hits and seven game-winning RBI's both lead the team. ..iV * xx-x-i Leslie Erlckson -THE GAMECOCK ate. Westbrook contributed to with a two run homer and a rig bat east While he is helping Carolina to a rebuilding year after the team lost several key underclassmen to the pros, Marquardt said he may do the same after this season. "I'd have to get drafted awfully high and get a lot of money to go. I'd sign if the money was right," he said. With 12 games left, the person you see scooting around campus in a yellow Toyota pickup with New Mexico plates may be the next national homerun king. But more than just a power slugger, Marquardt has certainly helped a team that has been less than consistent this year. Perhaps Raines said it best after the Georgia Southern game: "Without Johnny Marquardt. . . whew!" y-WWW'XV. V/ . - ' - .,.. . . . . . . / ly MtHjlttHBI&niHttUfififBliSi^^^.'. ' ' yyyBl^l^v-' | ? :~'- -> - -g^iB^EB Aaron Scott delivers to the i Citadel batter Tuesday night. S< the USC staff, scattered seven hi Pitching, defense I propel Carolina I By MIKE HUNT g Asst. Sports Editor p Aaron Scott scattered seven hits and gave up just one unearned run |l as USC beat The Citadel Tuesday night 7-1 at the Spring Sports Center. ji| Scott picked up his sixth win of the year against one loss over the I Powerful Bulldogs and was pitching with only three days rest after his || Friday night win over North Carolina. "When he gets his curveball p over, he's verv effective." said fiamwiwlr r>nnnh inno RoinM : USC first baseman Wes Westbrook led the offensive attack for [.; Carolina with two hits in three at-bats; one being a homerun over the B right field scoreboard with Ray Messemer on base to put the g Gamecocks ahead for good in the bottom of the sixth. "The potential is p there (for Westbrook). He's just got to get it cranked up for us," said j Raines. | RIGHT FIELDER Paul Hollins, who was the second leading hitter H for the Gamecocks going into the game with a .355 average, homered over the center field fence in the eighth with Messemer and Johnny m Long aboard to five the game its final score. ?| Just a freshman, Hollins broke into the line-up early in the season fj and has been a consistent factor for Carolina at the plate this year. m "Hollins is going to be a good hitter. He's been swinging the bat too p good for us to leave out of the line-up," said Raines. m The Bulldogs cot their one anri nnlv rim ir? ?Vio */>?> A# ? ??44 ^ ^ u...^ 4 ui us Wiv lup v/1 UIC 111 91 OS OtUll walked lead-off batter Dennis Tarlton. He stole second, went to third I as Scott failed to tag first as he covered the bag on a throw from I second, and then scored as Marty Crosby drove him in on a fielder's I choice. 1 Crosby, a right fielder who doubles as The Citadel's quarterback in f i the fall, was the only bright spot for the Bulldogs as he was two-for- k three from the plate. There was no more scoring until the bottom of the fifth when p Westbrook and Bart Murphy scored on RBI's by Randy Rogers and I Greg Jonson. I THE GAMECOCKS received fine fielding from their double play I combo, Jonson and Tom Williams. The duo turned over three double I plays, one of which killed a Bulldog rally in the sixth inning. "Our defense was super. Those were tough double plays to turn," Raines . : said. p Carolina's slugging third baseman, John Marquardt, also turned in \2 a fine defensive performance with two excellent stops in the fifth. j Don Gordon, the Bulldog's starting pitcher, held Carolina to one f _ #? .i i i mneia nit until the fifth and sixth innings when USC touched him for j; four runs. Entering the game with a phenominal 0.87 ERA, his record I fell to 4-3. The Bulldogs, who began the season 17-0, dropped to 24-7, but still I are in the running to represent the Southern Conference in the Atlantic p Regionals later on this season. ( Carolina's record improved to 23-10, along with their chances for an I at-large bid to the Atlantic Regionals. "We've got to win quite a few more ballgames. I don't expect anything easy," said Raines. H I < >AV.'/^>Ay<A'>MVAa< v/^J^^^Hw'-?>-a>^ ,?/-,><<XvM'> &'j3? I ^x '^VjjH^^ '? fj Richard Vogal-TME GAMECOCK Jj >late against a Just one unearned run against the Bulldogs to I cott, the ace of raise his record to 6-1. M its and allowed