Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Baseball By BRANT LONG Staff writer So close. Those t\^o words accurately describe last year's Gamecock baseball team. The squad received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and just fell short of advancing to the College World Series, finishing second to Miami in the id. niau itiuiniii^ ai pitcher are Craig Goddard, relief ace Brian Beatson and Will Lewis. BeatPrice, Hu win over By JEFF NICHOLS Staff writer USC returned to winning form Wednesday night in an 81-70 win over Virginia Tech, evening its Metro Conference record at 4-4 and improving its overall record to 14-8. The Hokies came into the contest with a high-powered offense averaging more than 90 points a game and features the Metro's top two scorers Olympian Bimbo Coles and backcourt mate Wally Lancaster. Coles (28 points per game) and Lancaster (23 ppg) combine to average over 50 points a game for Virgina Tech, yet the Hokies continue to stay in the Metro cellar with only one conference win all year. So when USC, who leads the Metro in team defense, held Coles to 19 points on a six of 17 shooting mgni, wnne Lancaster was nmuea 10 16 points on a 4-17 performance from the field, the Hokies knew they were in dire straights. As Virginia Tech head coach Frankie Allen said, "We should feel good we only lost by 11 points." While Tech's backcourt was struggling, USC's guard tandem of Brent Price and Barry Manning seemed primed for a challenge. "It was a challenge for Barry and me," Price said. "Coles played on the Olympic team. You can't get much better than that. You feel like you're going against two of the best guards in the nation, and you want to see how you compete. Price also had some personal incentive to play well. The 6'1" sophomore was coming off the worst outing of his young career. Four days earlier, Price had missed all eight of his shots from the field against Memphis State. Price responded by leading all scorers with 22 points, grabbing a career-high seven rebounds and adding three steals as USC improved its home record to 12-1. Men's tenn By MATTHEW ROBERTS Staff writer The USC men's tennis team started it ing season on a winning note Tuesday victory over Davidson College at The E The Gamecocks dominated their first < of the season, losing only one set in nin The closest match of the day saw the U! Dave Herman and Jaime Frontera conn set down to defeat the team of Joey M John Beyer in a third-set tiebreaker, 5(7-0). This is the first time the Gamecock: their own indoor facility in which to p the indoor season, which lasts from Nc March 1. Kent DeMars, head tennis c this indoor facility has proved to be asset to the Gamecocks. "This facility allows us to practice ir get prepared for our indoor matches," h the past we have had to practice outdo door matches which was a major disad preparing for our indoor season." With the victory, the 9th-ranked Gam 1-0 on the season, while Davidson fell t Another reason for DeMars' optimis thusiasm about the team is the recent pe of USC's top two players, Steve Lc i? a! Atlantic Region. This year, with returning pitchers Joe Cardwell and Brian Rountree, second baseman Mark Taylor and sophomore Brian Williams, the team looks to not only advance to its 13th NCAA Tournament in 16 years, but to go even further. The Gamecocks begin their effort at 1 p.m. tomorrow in Charleston with their annual opener against Baptist College. USC head coach June Raines, beginning his 13th season at the helm of the Gamecocks, says he is pleased with his team's effort thus far in preseason workouts. "I'm very pleased with their performance," Raines said. "They're lookirig Very good" in practice." The Gamecocks will have an abundance of strength on the mound with Cardwell, Rountree and Williams. Cardwell, a left-handed senior, led last year's club with a 10-3 record and a 3.78 Earned Run Average. Rountree, also a senior and cocaptain of the team, had a 7-5 record and a 3.78 ERA. Williams, who was selected to both the Metro and NCAA All-Tournament teams as a freshman, was 3-1 a year ago, with one of those victories a 5-0 two-hit shutout of Georgia Tech in the NPAA Aim team set son led USC out of the bullpen with a 3-0 record, 12 saves and a team-low 2.13 ERA. Senior second baseman and cocaptain Mark Taylor heads up the returning defense for the Gamecocks. He's joined by junior shortstop Tripp Cromer, outfielders Hardin Brown and Skeets Thomas, catcher Tray Witt, and Williams, who was named to the Metro AllTournament team at both pitcher and third base. At the bat, the Gamecocks have a number of strong hitters returning. Thomas batted .338 last year with eight homers and 52 runs batted in. Williams hit .332 and added eight homers and 29 RBI. Other hitters returning are outfielder Hardin Brown (.265), Cromer (.269) and Taylor, who hit .244 after a slow start. "Thomas had a great year last year, and Williams has good power and speed," Raines said. "We also have Hardin Brown and some new recruits that we think are going to hit well for us." Raines will look to his seniors for leadership during the upcoming season. "Cardwell, Rountree and Taylor are looked to to give us some leadership." Raines said. Rountree is not unfamiliar to the leadership role. "I feel fortunate to be one of the co-captains of a group of guys such as this," Rountree said. "In junior college, I was a co-captain as well. I think I fit well into that position." The Metro Conference will hold many tough tests for the Gamecocks with Florida State already ranked in the top five in the nation. Other conrisnri Iparl Hokies With the two teams deadlocked at 40, Price hit a three-pointer with 16:11 remaining in the contest to ignite a 12-0 run and put the Gamecocks in the lead to stay. Three minutes later, after forward John Hudson hit two free throws, USC was up 52-40, and the Hokies were never able to get closer than seven. Credit that to a combination of Manning checking Coles on the perimeter, and Hudson patrolling the inside. Hudson ignited the crowd of 8,049 with six blocked shots, a career high for the 6'8" senior. He also scored 18 points and led the Gamecocks with 12 rebounds. Virginia Tech was plagued with foul trouble all night. Six Hokies finished the game with four fouls, not the least of which was Lancaster, who picked up his fourth foul just 4:30 into the second half. When Coles turned his ankle iust two minutes later and had to be helped off the court, the Hokies knew it would be an uphill battle the rest of the way. Allen still had five . players on the floor, but half of his offense was temporarily gone. "If you follow us, you know that we're not going to be too effective with those guys not on the floor," Allen said. "The kids played their hearts out," USC head coach George Felton said. "We've been going through some tough times, but they responded well tonight. We executed; we did the things we had to do, and we hit some clutch free throws." Senior Terry Dozier scored 12 < points for the Gamecocks, while Manning added 11 before fouling out. Freshman Joe Rhett had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Coles and Lancaster were the only doublefigure scorers for Virginia Tech. i Felton praised reserve Bill Vernau for giving the team "the hustle and spark" that he thought they needed. i is onens witl Stephane Simian, in the ITC Championships. This nation s 1989 spr- held in Minneapolis, Minn., with a 9-0 ted the top 32 players in th lubble. another. Both Longley and dual match quarterfinals in the singles c< ie matches, to make the semifinals in d< 3C team of e from one Longley defeated Luis Ru< lanibo and advance to the quarterfinals 7, 6-2, 7-6 Longley faced David Harki 6-3, 7-6 in a tight match. > have had Simian, a transfer from P; ractice for lege, easily defeated John Su >vember to 6-3 to advance to the quart oach, said the top seed in the tournamei a valuable in the country, Malivai Wa< in the quarterfinals. Simiar idoors and three hard-fought sets befor esaid, "In Later, Longley and Simia ors for in- together to make the semi vantage in competition. lecocks are Coach DeMars sees Long oO-l. formance in this national toi m and en- pie of the talent on his squad :rformance success, mgley and "Getting to the quarterfin i to begin ference foes such as Memphis State, Southern Mississippi and Virginia Tech look to be tough competition as well. "We will go far as a team," said Rountree. "We have a real good group of guys this year, and I think we could end up in Omaha (Neb.) for the College World Series." USC last went to the College World Series in 1985, where they finished eighth. The Gamecocks also went to Omaha in 1975, 1977, 1981 and 1982 ? finishing second in 1975 and 1977. 1989 USC Bast February 18?Sat. at Baptist, 1:30 p.m. 19?Sun. at Jacksonville, 1:30 p.m. 21?Tue. at Georgia, 4:00 p.m. 22?Wed. WINTHROP, 3:00 p.m. 23?ibu. LIMESTONE, 3:00 p.m. 24?Fri. at Mercer, 3:00 p.m. 25?Sal. CAMPBELL, 2:00 p.m. 26?Sun. MERCER (2), 1:00 p.m. 27?Mon. at Furr.ian, 3:00 p.m. March 3?Fri. at Southern Mississippi, 6:30 p.m. (CST) 4?Sat. at Southern Mississippi, 2:00 p.m. (CST) 5?Sun. at Southern Mississippi, 2:00 p.m. (csn 6?Mon. at Southern Alabama, 6:30 p.m. (CST) 7?Tue. at Southern Alabama, 6:30 p.m. (CST) 9?Thu. at Alabama. 1:30 p.m. (CST) 10?Fri. EAST CAROLINA, 3:00 p.m. 11?Sat. APPALACHIAN STATE, 2:00 p.m. 15?Wed. at Winlhrop, 2:00 p.m. 17?Fri. FLORIDA STATE, 7:30 p. m. 18?Sat. FLORIDA STATE, 7:30 p.m. 19?Sun. FLORIDA STATE, 2:00 p.m. 20?Mon. CFiORCIA SOUTHERN, 7:30 p.m. 21?Toe. GEORGIA SOUTHERN, 3:00 p.m. 22?Wed. ST. BONAVENTURF:. 7:30 p.m. 23?Thu. BAPTIST, 7:30 p.m. 24?Fri. XAVIER (OHIO), 3:00 p.m. 25?Sat. LOUISVILLE (2), 1:00 p.m. - yAjmr jr \ - /#*' WHHnL^'' V I^Pjlhfc .3^^M^^BjBrlj^Si^ jp| Pi-'* 5 ^ USC's Brent Price maneuvers against Bimbo Coles in the Gamecocks' 81-70 w Price led USC in scoring with 22 points Vernau had six points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 11 minutes of play. The Gamecocks hope this spark will continue as they begin their drive for a postseason appearance with the first of three remaining Metro road contests Saturday at Southern Mississippi. VIRGINIA TECH (70) Nottingham 2-5 3-4 7, Rivers 0-4 0-0 0, i Herbster 2-6 0-0 4, Coles 6-17 5-5 19, Lan- i caster 4-17 6-6 16, Moses 4-6 0-0 8, Sanders 1-2 2-2 4, Caesar 2-6 0-0 4, Cannon 1-1 0-0 2, Davis 2-3 0-0 5, Holland 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-67 16-17 70. Ii win over 1 A Singles and Doubles doors is rem lal indoor tournament, quarterfinals this past weekend, pit- players to do le country against one USC's next Simian made it to the Forest. ">mnptition and teampH 3ubles' USC-Davi ;tte of TCU 7-6, 6-2 to Singles: . In the quarterfinals, No. 1 Steve L less of BYU and lost 6-1, 6-3. No. 2 Steph aim Beach Junior Col- (D), 6-0, 6-1 llivan of Clemson 6-2, No. 3 Johan erfinals. Simian faced 6-2,6-2 it and the No. 1 player No. 4 Dave H >hington of Michigan, 6-2, 6-2 i took Washington to No. 5 Erick S e losing 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. 6-1 n successfully teamed No. 6 Jaime 1 finals in the doubles 6-1,6-1 Doubles: No. 1 Lc ley and Simian's per- Koch/Dale Vc arnament as an exam- No. 2 Sydc and their potential for Gowin (D), 6No. 3 Herma als at the National In- (D), 5-7, 6-2, season | "Our goal every year is to go to I Omaha. It's the goal of every team in ^ the country. We need an excellent season to get there. It's a long year, but our first goal is to win our first game against Baptist College." USC will then travel to Jacksonville Sunday and Georgia Tuesday to complete a three-game road swing to open the season. The Gamecocks' first home game at Sarge Frye Field is at 3 p.m. Wednesday against Winthrop College. ?>hall Schedule 26?Sun. LOUISA II.I.K, 2:0() p.m. 27?Mon. GEORGIA IHII 3:00 p.m. 28? Tue. at Coastal Carolina. 7:00 p.m. H .11?Eri. at C'lemson, 7:00 p.m. April 1?Sat. at Clenison, 7:00 p.m. 2?Sun. at Clemson, 2:00 p.m. 3?Mnn. Illl. CITADEL, 7:1(1 p.m. 4?Tut. COLUMBIA METS (Exhibition), 7:10 p.m. 5?Wed. FURMAN, 7:10 p.m. 7?Eri. at Cincinnati, 2:00 p.m. 8?Sat. at Cincinnati, 2:00 p.m. la 9?Sun. at Cincinnati. 2:00 p.m. g 11?Tue. MERCER. 7:30 p m. 12?Wed. CEOKOIA. 7:10 p.m. 14?Eri. at Virginia Tech. 1:00 p.in. 15?Sat. at Virginia Tech 2:00 p.m. 16?Sun. at Virginia Tecli 2:00 p.m 18?Tue. COASTAL CAROLINA, 7:30 p.m. 20?Thn. CLEMSON, 7:30 p.m. 21?Eri. CLEMSON, 7:30 p.m. 22?Sal. CLEMSON, 2:00 p.m. 24 Mon. a! I lie Citadel, 7:30 p.m. J 25?May 3 EXAMS J May 4? llni. JAC KSONVILLE, 7:30 p.m. ? 6?Sal. MEMPHIS STATE (2), 6:00 p.m. 7?Sun. MEMPHIS STATE, 2:00 p.m. ?|; 8?Mon. at Georgia Tech, 5:30 p.m. 9?Tue. CENTRAL FLORIDA, 7:30 p.m. 10?Wed. CENTRAL FLORIDA. 3:00 p.m. Gi 12?Fri. at Georgia Southern, 7:00 p.m. ^ 13?Sat. at Georgia Southern, 2:00 p.m. 17?21 METRO TOURNAMENT AT COLUMBIA, SC fjc fu Fc na I A1 so I 77 8W ut Ai ch te; v /ha si on re< re: __ m: ca sa th< he th ad ty^ , Pri &* co m au K th( KENT BROOME/The Gamecock j^j Virginia Tech's All-American guard dr; in over the Hokies Wednesday night. wh roi USC (81) in Dozier 5-7 2-2 12, Rhett 2-6 6-8 10, Hudson 5-12 8-11 18, Price 7-15 6-7 22, sio Manning 4-8 3-4 11, Glover 0-0 0-0 0, hnglish 1-2 0-2 2, Roulston 0-1 0-0 0, Ver- an nau 1-4 3-5 6. Totals 25-55 28-39 81. wa Halftime ? USC 38, Virginia Tech 36. the 3-point goals ? Virginia Tech 6-24 (Not- trie tingham 0-1, Coles 2-7, Lancaster 2-10, the Caesar 1-4, Davis 1-2). Rebounds ? in. Virginia Tech 34 (Rivers 12), USC 48 (Hudson 12). Assists ? Virginia Tech 15 als (Coles 5), USC (Hudson 4). Total fouls ? Wi Virginia Tech 33, USC 14. Attendance ? 8,049. an< Staff writer Dave Kay also con- all tributed to this story. thr i rv i ov< Oavidson tin tarkable. It is like getting to the of the NCAA's, and we had two it." JL_ match is set for today against Wake a dson results Fr() ongiey a. seoastian Kocn (U), oa; thi ane Simian (USC) d. Curtiss Zabell up: W< Karlen (USC) d. Tom Hagood (D), pu; [erman (USC) d. Charles Jordan (D), drc 1 iydow (USC) d. John Beyer (D), 6-2, La< pla Frontera (USC) d. Joey Manibo (D), US poi DU mgley/Richard Lynch (USC) d. ass )eks (D), 6-4, 6-1 Mi( )w/Gloria (USC) d. Zabell/Elijah Ma 0, 6-2 eigl n/Frontera (USC) d. Manibo/Beyer 1 7-6 (7-0) out 111 . Preseason Ail-American Brian Wi st season. The Gamecocks open t aptist College in Charleston. Williams oreseaso) f PHILIP O. CARDACI iff writer To know anything about amecock baseball is to know erything about Brian Williams. Even before the baseball season of:ially starts for USC, Williams is in 11 swing. The 6-foot-2, 181-pound >rt Lawn native has already been med to three preseason Allmerica baseball teams as a phomore. The latest to honor Williams was le Sporting News, which selected "n to a first-team outfield spot. Earlier, Collegiate Baseball made illiams a first-team selection as a ility player on its preseason AIInerica team, and Baseball America ose him as a pitcher on its third im. The All-American nominations ve#come to mean quite a great deal Williams. "It feels really great because this is e of the biggest honors I've ever :eived, and I'll cherish it for the it of my life ? no matter if I never ike pro ball, or if my baseball reer ends after college," Williams id. "It will always stay with me for ; rest of my life." Beginning his 13th year as USC ad coach, June Raines doesn't feel ; flood of publicity will have any verse effects on Williams'' play. "Any time you get positive publiciit's a good thing," Raines said. Irian Williams can handle any sitive or negative publicity. He's ry mature for being so young." But as impressive as Williams' ;season honors are, they fall send to Williams' greatest baseball :omplishment thus far ? he was ; highest-picked high school senior the 1987 major league baseball aft t6 choose college over pro ball len he was picked in the third and by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Perhaps the most-asked question Brian Williams' career has been, Vhy didn't you go to the profesnal ranks?" "I figured at the time I got ifted," Williams said, "Pittsburgh s in a financially insecure state, so :y didn't offer me the amount of rney that I wanted to go play for :m for the round that I got drafted rhe chance to gain a little maturity 0 played an important role in lliams' decision to attend USC. 'I figured that if I go to college 1 mature a little more and work on my basic skills, then maybe in ee years I'll be worth more." \nother reason he chose college ;r the pro ranks is that he wanted a le more time to choose a position. 'This is sort of like an experimeng stage to see what I really want to ,ady Gamecc gainst ranket im staff reDorts rhe 18th-ranked Lady Gamecock iketball team won their first game s year against a ranked opponent, setting No. 12 N.C. State 67-62 ;dnesday night in Raleigh, rhe win over the Lady Wolfpack shed USC to 17-5. N.C. State >pped to 18-5 with the loss, balanced scoring was a key to the dy Gamecock victory as five yers scored in double figures. C was led by Beth Hunt, with 17 nts and 11 rebounds, while Lisa iz followed with 16 points and 12 ists. Schonna Banner and Karen ddleton added 11 points each and rtha Parker had 10 points and [it rebounds for USC. The win was USC's third in four ings against Atlantic Coast Con File photo lliams takes a swing during a USC game heir season tomorrow at 1 p.m. against receives n honors do with the rest of my life ? be a position player or a pitcher." In his freshman campaign, Williams played all positions on the field and did so with limited preparation. Raines said he plans to continue taking advantage of this facet of Williams' play. "He'll do everything, just like last year," Raines said. "He's going to pitch his turn this year. Last year we had some unfortunate injuries, and he had to play short, third, first and in the outfield, but we're going to pitch him every fourth or fifth day. He's going to play an outfield posi tion when he's not pitching if he's able to do it." Williams didn't express any hesitation in the rotation of his talents, seemingly taking the whole process in stride. "Changing positions doesn't screw me up as far as pitching," he said, "but when I pitch a game, I can't play the outfield the next day because my arm's sore and recuperating. The outfield doesn't affect my pitching; the pitching affects my outfield." When Brian Williams' accolades are coupled with his professional draft history, a natural question is whether he'll complete his four years of college eligibility or not. At this stage in his career he's as uncertain as those around him. "I can get drafted again next year ; at the end of my junior year. Where 1 ; get drafted and how much money they offer me will determine if I stay I my four years or leave at the end of 1 my third year, so I can't really say ; until the end of (next) year." If pro ball is in the cards for Williams, he feels his best chance of OPttino thprp ic thrrmoh hie cl-illc r?n the mound. "If I continue pitching and do real well at it, and if my arm doesn't give me any trouble, I think my first choice in the pros will be pitching." For now, however, Williams is committed to USC and the upcoming ; season. His goals are straightforward. "Pitch games and try to help the team the best I can on the mound. Hit at least the batting average I did last year or higher, hit the RBI's that I did or higher, and equal or better my home runs." All in all this boils down to one goal. "Equal what I did my first year, if not better." Raines said this set of goals shouldn't pose any type of for- ! midable problem for Williams. In fact, when it comes to Williams' play ' and ability on the baseball field, Raines sums up pretty well what everyone is saying about Brian Williams. "He's unique." ! $ icks victorious : i N.C. State > ference teams. The Lady Gamecocks defeated North Carolina and split with Clemson earlier this season. CSC (67) Hunt 7-13 3-3 17, Parker 5-11 0-1 10, ; Rannpr S.IO 111 n^viH H.1 (1.(111 nio-, 6-14 4-4 16, Middleton 4-11 0-0 11, Hawkins 1-2 0-0 2. N.C. STATE (62) Kilburn 1-4 3-4 5, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Mapp 10-17 0-0 20, Robuck 0-0 0-0 0, Stinson 7-17 4-4 18, Manning 3-7 0-2 6, 1 Hobbs 3-4 0-2 6, Hancock 0-0 0-0 0, > Lehmann 3-7 0-0 7, Bertrand 0-0 0-0 0. Halftime ? USC 37, N.C. St. 27. ; 3-point goals ? USC 3-8 (Middleton 3-8), N.C. St. 1-5 (Lehmann 1-5). Rebounds ? USC 30 (Hunt 11), N.C. St. 35 (Mapp 14). Assists ? USC 23 (Diaz 12), N.C. St. 19 (Kilburn 6). Total fouls ? USC 12, , N.C. St. 14. Attendance ? 2,729.