The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 21, 1986, Page 7, Image 10
1 Sports
Friday, February 21, 1986 ~j
THE GAMECO
[Experienced I
Gamecocks open year
at Baptist Saturday
By TRACY MIXSON
Staff writer
If great potential is a burden, June Raines isn't
showing any signs of strain.
In his 10th season as USC's head baseball coach,
Raines said he expects his 1986 squad to be as good
? if not better ? than last year's team that went all
the way to the College World Series.
The Gamecocks finished 47-22 last year with their
seventh consecutive bid to the National Collegiate
Athletic Association playoffs and fifth appearance
in the CWS at Omaha, Neb. since 1975. This
season, USC is ranked sixth by Collegiate Baseball
and seventh by Baseball America.
"Overall, our strength should be our power again
this year," Raines said. "We feel like we're going to
be a good hitting ball club ? we have several good
power hitters ? and we feel that should carry us
through the season."
Not only are the Gamecocks going to hit the ball
well, he said, they're also going to play solid defense
and enjoy above average speed.
In fact, the only questionable area the coach said
the forsees is a young pitching staff that features only
one senior.
"As usual, the key to the season is going to be pitching,"
he said. "We've got a young pitching staff
with only one senior in Casey Reed, and that's goina
to hold the key for the whole year."
Reed, a right-hander from Lancaster, had eight
wins as a sophomore, but slumped last year to finish
2-5 with one save. The only three-year letterman on
the squad, he's expected to start Saturday when the
Gamecocks open the season against Baptist College
in Charleston.
Raines said the losses of Mike Cook and Glenn
Jenkins could hurt the squad in the early going.
Cook, an All-America selection, was 16-2 while
Jenkins added an 8-2 record.
I "We lost two super pitchers in Mike Cook and
Glenn Jenkins, so that's 24 wins we don't have,"
Raines said. "But we've got some good arms and
talent out there this year, too. It's inexperienced
talent, but I think as time goes on, we'll develop a
fine pitching staff."
Raines said several newcomers will help the staff
this year, including junior college transfers Lee
Whatley and Rodney Richey, and Connecticut
freshmen Pete Meade and Dave Menhart.
Whatley was named Most Valuable Player last
year at Middle Georgia Junior College, where he
finished 8-3 with seven saves and a 2.28 earned run
w average. Kichey had a 12-3 record in two y^ffs at
Melon Run tffll
to be held
? By SHREWSBURY
sports
Th<* d "> anH
MUM iviviuii
Run, sponsored by the intramural
department, will start
Saturday at 9 a.m. in front of the H|^a|g9gp
Registration fees before race
day are $5 with a T-shirt and $2 BHHD^h ^
without. Fees may be paid in
room 102 of the Blatt Center, i
Race day registration is $7 with a f ;
T-shirt, $4 without. T-shirts may !|?||o
be picked up in the intramural ^rdepartment
on Saturday.
Refreshments will be served
and awards for the first place Hr
male and female students and iM* I
faculty member will be Riven. lar ' V i
The intramural department HbB it Jfi
released their fall points stan- VVMl jh
In the fraternity division, w|gj
Sigma Nu has taken a slim ST 1
79-point lead over Sigma Alpha *
gfe Epsilon at 2,213 to 2,134. SAE
has been the winner of this divi- Rnsbattmii u ? ? ??
sion for six of the past seven
years. Sigma Phi Epsilon is a dis- Delta in the worm
tant third with 1,408. 518-487, and Na>
commanding lead
Columbia Hall (270) has a dent/Gamecock
70-point lead over the Towers' No. 2 Baptist J
69ers (200) in the residence hall (416). Columbia H
division. Alpha Delta Pi has 420 lead over th
taken the lep.d from Delta Delta USC Co-Rec divis
Morrison gets "???US'ST
. a . Gator Bowl. His o
additional year usc is
USC officials announced IIQf* UUftlTI
Wednesday that head football ****** wwUIII
1. v a* * ^ -
i:oacn joc iviorrison s iour-year fanth CfrfS
contract has been extended an ad- WW III OII i
ditional year through the 1990
season. ROME, Ga.
Officials declined to discuss Southers and Mart
details of the pact. scored 19 points tc
Morrison compiled a 5-6 Gamecocks to a
record last season, his third at the over Berry College
university. He directed USC to its USC improved ti
ISC wants an
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Senior first baseman Joe Datin holds his teammate at thir
Spartanburg Methodist. Both will be used as long
relievers.
While the pitching staff is still questionable,
Raines said (JSC's power at the plate should be as
strong ? if not stronger ? than last year's squad.
The Gamecocks lose outfielders Rob Rinehart
(.390, 14 home runs, 60 runs batted in), Scott
i T?r* * > " -* - -- - -
imqvrh. anu tveun luinan (.304, 15, 53)
from the 1985 team, which hit a school record 144
home runs.
But Raines said most of that power will be returning
this season, led by first baseman Joe Datin,
shortstop Jeff Barns and outfielder Charlie Aldrich.
Datin hit .348 with a school record 23 home runs
and 88 RBI. The senior from Cincinnati was named
All-Metro Conference, All-Metro Tournament and
co-MVP of the 1985 Gamecocks along with Mike
Cook.
Barns, a junior, was also All-Metro and was named
to the NCAA East Region AJl-Tournament team.
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DAVID DDTSONfThe Gamecock
several winter intramural sports
;n's division at Nole:\JSC's women's rugby
vy (969) has a match on Saturday with the
in the Indepen- University of Georgia and Reedy
division over Creek, out of Raleigh, N.C., has
student Union been moved to A.C Flora High
[all has a 481 to School in Columbia. The round
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w ivuga hi mc iuuiii iiiaimcN arc scneuuieu lor
ion. noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.
in 1984 with a 10th straight win. Berry, ranked
a trip to the seventh in the latest NAIA poll,
verall record at dropped to 23-5.
The Lady Gamecocks' other
three starters also hit double
m figures. Sharon Gilmore scored
1611 Will in' P?,nI ^uar(1 Ml,,(1y Hallou added
16 and forward Tammy
linht Harvey contributed 10.
liyill |ecJ a|| Jjic way anJ |)cj(J a
48-30 lead at halftime.
? Brantley USC will be in action again
ha Parker each Monday night for their final
i lead the Lady regular-season contest against
96-65 victory UNC-Asheville. Tipoff is
scheduled for 5 p.m. at Frank
o 16-10 with its McGuire Arena.
lother trip to
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RAY GRONBERG/The Gamecock
d as the opposing catcher yrabs a loose ball last season
He averaged .351 with 10 homers and 43 RBI, and
became the first Gamecock to collect 100 hits in a
season.
Used mostly as a designated hitter last year,
Aldrich batted .325, hit 14 home runs and drove in
47 runs. His homer in the final game of the East
Regionals assured USC the victory and a bid to the
College World Series. Aldrich will again bo hattino
W --0
DH in the cleanup spot for Carolina this year.
All totaled, the returning Gamecocks combined
for a .314 average, 107 home runs, 103 doubles, five
triples, 408 RBI and 25 stolen bases.
Raines said the heavy-hitting offense could overshadow
a solid defense, as it did last season. USC
turned a school record 68 double plays with the
keystone combination of Barns and second
baseman Riley Polk. The Gamecocks also set team
records for putouts and assists, and the .961 fielding
percentage was among the best in the nation.
The defensive accomplishments could continue
1 jrpnrrn/\
ME. 1K5J 'v/J
CHAMP!
SWIMMING & DIVING
FEB. 26, 27, 28,
MARCH 1
' Ticket Information:
$5.00 / All Tournament Pricc for Adults
$3.00 / All Tournament Price for
Children, High School &
! r^.ii ??
Ix^uuege ocuuenis witn iu card.
$2.00 / Daily Pricc for Adults
$1.00 / Daily Price for Children,
I High School & College Students
with ID card.
WOl
MAE
Ticket
/ \vctW $100?
A $ 5.00 )
\ w
$ 4.00
$ 2.00
For further infori
Gamecock Ticket (
si /> no
* l-j a,LL
World Series
this year, as the entire infield, most of the outfield
and Carolina's top three catehers return.
"That's why we feel like we'll be a good defensive
team," Raines said. "We have our three catchers
back, and we think we've got quality depth in both
the infield and outfield.
"Our infield is solid and in the outfield wc have
three lettermen back and a couple of new outfielders
who will help us."
Dave Smyth, a transfer from Middle Georgia
Junior College, will crack the lineup as a Gamecock
for the first time Saturday, starting in right field.
Jeff Morris, a tri-captain this year along with
Polk and Reed, will start in centerfield, while Garret
Carter, a reserve outfielder last year, will take left
field.
Third baseman Dave Hollins completes the
Gamecock infield, along with Datin, Polk and
Barns. Hollins started as a ireshman last season,
and finished with eight homers and a .282 average
after a one-for-nine start.
At catcher, senior fsrntt l atr<K/?r? ?..;n ?-?
, I ??11 IIIC Mill "
ting call Saturday, ahead of veterans Jeff Churchich
and Mark Nelson. Lambert batted .282 with seven
home runs and 21 RBI.
Churchich shared the starting role with Lambert
in 1985, hitting .294 with seven homers and 23 RBI
in 41 games. Nelson appeared in 27 games last year
and batted .323 in 31 at bats with one home run.
Raines said he's excited about this season's
60-game schedule, which includes 34 games at home
and contests with preseason top-30 powers
Michigan (ninth), Maine (12th), Georgia Tech
(22nd), and North Carolina (24th).
"It's a top-notch schedule," he said. "Eleven of
/>,.r r:?* i ^ ?
v/u. iii 10 panics arc on tne road against quality
competition. We're excited for our fans, too,
because they'll be able to see some really good
baseball."
USC won the Northern Division of the Metro
Conference last season and finished second to
Florida State in the league championships for the second
consecutive year. Raines said he hopes to win
the 1986 tournament, although he said the
Seminoles will be tough to beat.
"Florida State is ranked number two in the country,
and we figure Florida State and South Carolina
will go neck and neck again for the title," he said.
"But Virginia Tech and Memphis State are also very
good.
"We fitfliro thnce fr*lir loomf liniio n * *
c v. ivuino imvfc a Vlldlltc ill 11. 1
guess because Florida State is hosting the tournament
down in Tallahassee (May 8-11), they'll be
considered the favorite, unless something happens
in the immediate future."
The Gamecocks open at home Sunday against
Newberry at 2 p.m. Junior righthander Steve Boley,
who went 3-1 with a 3.96 ERA last year, will get the
start.
ing J *!
NffiRBTCE
UNSHIPS
vlEN'S BASKETBALL
tCH 1-3
Information:
/ All Tournament Pass for Adults
' All Tournament Pass for Children,
High School & College Students
with ID card.
/ Dailv Adult Prir#>
/ Daily Price for Children, High !!
School & College Students jj
w/ID card. j j
mation contact: il
Office at 777-4274 |
(2oms! I