Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Pitchinq m By Johnny Boggs Coach June Raines only lost four regulars from last year's 45-13 USC baseball team that finished seventh in the nation. Problem is, three of those four were pitchers who combined for 35 wins. "You just don't have three of four pitchers like we had last year because those guys never walked anybody," Raines said of Don Gordon, Joe Kucharski and Dennis Lubert, who all signed professional baseball contracts. "I think we'll be OK when our pitching comes around. I think we'll hit the ball consistently, and our defense will be better. We are going to have to score some runs to give our pitching staff some confidence." THE LONE returning starting pitcher for USC is senior right-hander Mark Calvert. The Waldorf, Md., native compiled an 8-1 record last year and was the only pitcher to beat national champion Miami of Florida. Senior Mike Werner (3-2) and sophomore Larry Price (0-0) were used primarily in relief last year. Filling in for Gordon, Kucharski and Lubert will be two transfers from Middle Georgia Junior College. The Gamecocks signed Gary Parmenter and Bo Taylor, who combined for a 20-0 record in leading Middle Georgia to the junior college national championship. Other new pitchers include transfers Robby Coker and Brett Garland from DeKalb South Junior College and Roger Richardson from North Greenville Junior College. Freshmen pitchers include Mike Cook of Charleston and Casey Reed of Lancaster. Another new pitcher is Cornelius Jones, a sophomore from Columbia. AND WHILE Raines may be cautious about his pitching staff, he is confident about the other positions. "We're two deep at all positions," Raines said, "so it's just a question of who's producing, because you never know about slumps and injuries. "We've got our whole infield back, Robby Coker Gary Parmenter ajor concern Mill! li WB^BBBBMIM8Mh!BWIiwB8^^^^B^^^^^B . ffi&A-. ||8L. USC pitcher Gary Parmenter (left) and Assistant Co session at Sarge Frye Field. The Gamecocks open the 1 reserves included. We've got most of the Jan outfield back with five good players with hit. good arms who can throw the ball." & Among the everyday starters back for to i Carolina are Chris Boyle and Neil Fox, who (.34 shared the designated hitting and catching Ii 1 i ? ? .... cuui es last year ana win continue to do so. left Boyle hit .306 and led the club last year in forr home runs with 12 and runs batted in (59) as as a a sophomore. Fox, also a junior, batted .299 S< last year. fielt inb, AT FIRST BASE is sophomore Greg Ji Morhardt, a .330 hitter last year. Senior repl Five junior collegc to fill vacancies ii By Dennis Switzer <<( With only one starting pitcher returning our from last year's baseball team, Head Coach Hop June Ilaines will be looking for his five our' pitchers from the junior college ranks to defe step in and take charge right away. Senior right-hander Mark Calvert is the p, only starting pitcher returning. He had an 8- bee. 1 record and a 2.78 earned run average, and Raines said Calvert will be the No. 1 starter Coll or?H ic i^ 1 * 1 uuu io otucuuicu iu me mouna looay against Armstrong State. pro( To maintain maturity on the pitching lotc staff, Raines recruited five junior college A1 pitchers, two from Middle Georgia Junior Lari College, National Junior College Athletic uset Association world series champions. recc Rail GARY PARMENTER had a 12-0 record at goo< Middle Georgia, while teammate Bo Taylor q was 8-0. Left-hander Roger Richardson played for North Greenville Junior College, ?as and Robby Coker and Brett Garland, another southpaw, came from DeKalb South Junior College. It Raines said Parmenter would h#? a ctnrtop ? pOl( while Taylor and Richardson would be spot, the starters. Taylor will also be used as a long con reliever, and Richardson can be a short q reliever against left-handed hitters. ajw Raines said Coker, a sidearm fastball ^ad pitcher, is "very good in short relief, good wag for an out or two a day.'' scj1( Garland, who has a sore arm, will be ^Vai worked back into lineup, according to Raines. . Parmenter, scheduled to start Friday 13 against Methodist, is a fastball and slider T pitcher. Raines called him a competitive hustler. "He really knows how to play the game." cap RAINES SAID Taylor throws mostly snc> sinkerballs. "You get a lot of ground balls and double T plays/' Haines said of Taylor's sinkerball. bee "He knows what he's doing." "i I^ast year the Gamecocks relied on the h*?r, pitching of seniors Don Gordon and Dennis yea Lubert and junior Joe Kucharski, all of yea whom turned professional. This year Raines will be looking for hitting and defense to win sop games. thei i fnr hncol - MMMMF jjjtiffiT ,l|| Photo by Ainte Hastings ach Johnny Hunton smile after a practice 1983 season today at 3 p.m. at home. tiey Thaw returns to second base. Thaw 234 last year. Dphomore Kent Anderson (.255) returns shortstop, while junior John Sullivan 1) is back at third. l the outfield, Phillip Wilson is back in . Wilson, brother of New York Met and ner USC standout Mookie Wilson, hit .305 freshman last year. jnior Larry Hernandez moves from right i to center after leading last year's team atting average (.244). jnior Jim St. Laurent is expected to ace former center fielder Robby i pitchers n USC bullpen )ur offense and defense will have to give pitchers some wins under their belts, efully we can get off to a good start with bats because I think we can make plays nsively," Raines said. ARMENTER SAID he came to USC ause of the successful baseball program because Carolina has gone to the ege World Series for the past two years. They have a really nice baseball jjram. I liked the facilities, :md I met a >f nice people here," he said. Iso returning from last year's team are td?: ? 1 ** ? "? ly nice aiiu mute werner, wno were i mainly as relievers. Werner had a 3-2 >rd, and Price did not have a record, ties said Price has a good arm and is a i pitcher. arolina also recruited two high school hers, Mike Cook from Charleston and ey Reed of Lancaster. AINES SAID Cook has "excellent intial. A good arm an^ a good body. In next couple of years he'll become a good ege pitcher. He'll help us this year." oker, who is from Sumter, S.C., said he ays wanted to play for Carolina, but "I to settle for DeKalb South because that i the only offer I had (after high [)ol)Coker said DeKalb ?? ??-"* ?"p> rd, a USC pitcher between 1972-75, was rumental in bringing Coker to Carolina, t DeKalb, Coker said he had around 12 or aves last year with an ERA around 1.67. aylor said much is expected from this r's pitching staff. "Every pitcher on the rn this year will have to play up to their abilities. We've got some pretty big esto fill." AY LOR ALSO said he came to USC ause of the winning tradition. Coach Raines is one big reason I came e. They've been to the regionals three rs in a row and the World Series two rs in a row. I was real impressed. This is a young ball club with a lot of homores and juniors. Next year a lot of tn are still going to be around/' sail team . Vollmer, who graduated. St. Laurent a -) V? transfer from Manatee Junior College, batted .410, leading Manatee to a runner-up title to Middle Georgia in regional play. Other Gamecock returners include senior second baseman Jeff Swindell, who shared duties with Thaw until a stress fracture in his lee forced him out of the linpim W T * JUNIOR THIRD baseman Harvey Heise * is also back, as well as senior infielder Art Finley, sophomore second baseman Wade Hatcher, sophomore catcher Derek White and sophomore outfielder Scott Mackie. Other new faces on the Gamecock team include freshman catcher John Kay, junior transfer second baseman Pete Fisher and freshman infielder/outfielder Mark McMillian. This year's schedule includes 36 home games, with USC facing perennial powers Clemson, The Citadel, Georgia Southern and Miami. "Basically, we play the same teams," Raines said. "The only new team is Ten nessee. we aon t nave as many home dates as I would like to have. Four teams canceled on us, and that makes the road trip a little longer. "This year's goal is to win," Raines said. "WE'RE PLAYING for the national championship," he said. "When you're in a conference, you can play for the conference title, but when you're an independent, every # game is important. "We can't take anybody lightly. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) looks down upon you when you lose to a non-Division I school, but a lot of those NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) schools are pretty good. "Winthrop, Wingate and Newberry have some pretty darn good clubs." r?_: ? : j ? * ... - rallies saiu ne is comment ne will have a good team. He said, "I think if you talk to the players you'll find they are confident of having a good year, also." ^ The Gamecocks open their campaign at 3 p.m. today when they face Armstrong State at Sarge Frye Field. C2S3F V V'.y'V* ':S&8s Mark Calvert gki ; ;;i^;-A \ :,. ' ::' ;^V:-\:-:: '-'::-V. ' - Bo Taylor