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Spirit in s | SHAWN SINGLETON | At the beginning of this semester, I had no reason to attend any Carolina baseball games. That is, until my friend Jay woke me up on a Saturday morning to go to one. Now I have five reasons to attend _ n l! l i__n t n a baroima Daseoaii game?uay, *jreg, David, John and Gary. Along with yours truly, we form a sextet that puts fear into the hearts of opposing teams, fans, umpires, and, on one occasion, our esteemed governor. If you haven't figured out who we are by now, we are the World Famous Third Base Hecklers. Like corn flakes, we are the original and best. There is no such thing as a boring game at Sarge Frye Field; we just won't allow it. Win or lose, we will ' s always have something to say, and if s never good. Unlike other colleges' hecklers, we use original material, and it changes from game to game. Heckling is a situational art, one that takes Softball rallies BRYAN JOHNSTON Sports Editor It wasn't supposed to be a tough doubleheader for the third-ranked Lady Gamecock softball team, but Georgia Southern wasn't about to go down without a fight. It took a run in the top of the seventh inning to slip by Georgia Southern in the nightcap of the doubleheader to complete the sweep Tuesday, 6-4 and 4-3. South Carolina (53-3) jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage in the first fnrvmcr rcf fKo nnorvrn?T onmc nnH afvwori runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth to defeat GSU, 6-4. The Lady Eagles fought back in the sixth inning. With USC leading 6-4 and GSU having the bases loaded, Carolina coach Joyce Compton brought in AilAmerican Trinity Johnson to slam the door shut The nation's ERA and strikeout leader held the Lady Eagles scoreless to earn her fourth save of the year. Senior Chanda Lee was 4-for-5 with three stolen bases and senior Carrie Lyons went 3-for-4 in game one. Sophomore Nikki Beers (W 121) struck out four in 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win. In game two, freshman Sondra Hall drove in Lyons with a single to left field in the seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie and give the Lady Gamecocks the 4-3 victory. We n Bills! by not c. a tn: W ? K H A K I S cliool spir great timing and savoir-faire so we use the heckles that work the best at the right time. Then, we use the fake heckle, which is total silence. After a bunch of noise during every pitch, this can totally throw off a pitcher. At Wednesday's massacre of Clemson, we exhausted all of our known heckles and made new ones, such as mooing at the Clemson ballgirl and singing our version of "Paradise City," where the grass is green and the arms are -bleep. Gov. Beasley called us "a disgrace to this university." For those who dent know, he is a Clemson graduate, which makes him an automatic tool, and that's good heckle material in and of itself. Mike McGee thinks the same way, Dut men again, ne minKs mat way about anyone who openly shows support for the Gamecocks. Magoo (McGee in Heckler lingo) is the only politically correct athletic director in the country. With his henchmen, the speech police, he does whatever possible to suppress school spirit at the University of South in seventh for USC scored j a run in the H fourth and two EJHh in the fifth to I take a 3-0 lead, I but GSU^^^H^^H battled back in I the bottom of P the fifth, scoring I three unearned I runs on one hit I two USC errors to tie the game at three, fl Though pP? giving up only two GSU hits, | junior pitcher Sky Brown was I relieved by 1 Johnson in the H finish the game, pp Johnson took control of the game, striking Senior Chanda Lee s out five of the the first game Tuesdi last six Lady breaking the school Eagle batters Saturday, the No. 3 she faced to evep SEC championsl improve her record to 28-2. Sophomore center fielder Kim Pietro was 2-for-3 with two doubles while Brown and Hall each had two singles to lead the Lady Gamecocks. Up next for the SEC-leading Lady Gamecocks is two games against Alabama and Auburn this weekend. made setter clanging Lng.? iiaii 3RITT0NS -/2818 Devine St. 771-2700 Mon-Fri 10-7 pm Sat 10-6 pm it being e Carolina. He lobbied the SEC for a rule that makes the two rows directly behind the opposing players' dugout for the opposing fans to keep us hum sitting there. It obviously hasn't worked. You see, he comes from the left coast, where there are no real fans, and everyone sits at a game quietly so they don't offend anyone. Now he wants to bring this insanity here, but as long as the Hecklers and other real fans are around, this won't happen. This is OUR GAME, and we cant let McGee or those like him take it from us. It's happening all over at the professional level; this is our chance to make sure it doesn't happen here. Besides, if a player can't handle the heckling at this level, how will he be able to handle it on a pro level? McGee would make a great candidate for the Forrest Gump "Stupid Is As Stupid Does" Award for this week, but I think his idiocy has been well-stated. Instead, I will give the award to a group of guys who, at this writing, have found 13 sweep of Geoi " ^ jHEp^VSp lE ilides safely into second against Ge ?y against Georgia Southern. USC L record for most victories in a seas Lady Gamecocks will capture the i lip won by a women's team at South USC takes on the Crimson Tide Saturday at noon and the Lady Tigers Sunday at 1 p.m. Saturday will be a big day for the Lady Gamecocks. If Carolina beats 'Bama, it will give them the inaugural SEC regularseason softball championship and Gamecock Size Chj 3 Bedroom 1 Bdr $464 Grea ' r? n>iw $300 " /J UUI ^<JkJ I 3 Bdr $640 (exP! 15 Mir $10 OFF RNv" |r]JSliil?! 10 17 Sun 739 Min. Age 18 Years Wide Range of Cars, Trucks and Vans Daily, Weekly & Monthly Rentals Free Local Pick-Up & Delivery Competitive Low Rates ; ?ongratulatioi (let us rtiaVce I BETTER C The only car wash good en I Full Service and Self-Service Car Wash I 2404 Augusta Rd (at Jiffy Lube) ^Receive $3.00 Off Any Car \ liminated ways to lose ball games. And as always, I come here to buiy stupidity, not to praise it, as the movie suggests. They may be the Chicago Cubs, but they have played like the Bad News Bears. While in the midst of a record-setting losing streak to start the season, the Cubs committed more errors than they hit home runs. They are atrocious in every facet of the game, from pitching to hitting. mi a 1 i 4 j i i ney are euner last or near tne bottom of the National League in every major category except errors, and they lead the league in that. Dating back from the end of last season, they are 4-30, which could actually get you into the playoffs in the American League, but not where real baseball is played. The Cubs' sad and sorry opening performance has given Harry Caray a new reason to get drunk by the seventh-inning stretch. This gives him a legitimate excuse for forgetting half the words to "Take Me Out To the Ballgame." *gia Southern ^ a he we Sa Fe th At po th la BRYAN JOHNSTON The Gamecock orgia Sunday. Lee went 4-for-S in so s now 53-3 and two wins away from Tr on. Also, with a sweep of Alabama Pi regular-season SEC title, the first- en Carolina. w< the top-seed heading into the SEC o.( Softball Tournament, to be held May in 9 through May 11 in Columbus, Ga. ga Two wins will also give them 55 th wins, the most-ever in USC softball W{ history. th The current record is 54 wins, set ^h by the 1992 squad. to ;mneyIt Ridge T M fc N T fl I jl Jl H O M IS t Summer Savings off First Month 4/30 Some rest, app.) l. from USC 356-800011 3DHYRENTHL I 2770 No Credit Cards Needed But Major Credit Cards Accepted Cash Rentals Welcome Over 400 Locations Worldwide 16, Graduates! j >u realty shinef) AR WASH i ough to be named BETTER! (803) 739-5687 | (Offer Expires 5/09/97) | Nash Package With This Ad!j _ Bordenick pounding i BASEBALL continued from page 1 USC Athletics Director Mike MbGee one was inspired to shout "He: Mike! We gonna get a nev smrphnarH^" hn'ntrintr Imiphfl fmn the crowd. Even with USC up by 24 run! entering the ninth inning, Gamecod Coach Ray Tanner admitted, "Witt aluminum bats, I'm neve: comfortable until the last out ii made." "Tm happy to win," Tanner said "but 38-16, that's not a basebal score. The pitchers are not tha bad." USC had the second-best scoring offense in the country until th( game, behind only Arkansas; th< team is now the most-Droductivc offense in the NCAA. The win is the second by the Gamecocks against Clemson this season, evening the season series at 2-2. South Carolina's record is Carolina tracl AFF REPORTS Senior Dawn Ellerbe, who broke sr own American record last jekend in the hammer at the Mt. c Relays, was named the Trackwire male Track and Field Athlete of e Week Thursday. The Trackwire hlete of the Week is selected by a ol of college coaches from around e country. Ellerbe tossed the hammer 210breaking the record she shattered st year at the NCAA Outdoor lampionships by more than a foot. "I had been a bit frustrated lately, it it really came together for me ohnson hor AFF REPORTS For the third time this year, USC ftball senior Ail-American pitcher inity Johnson was named the SEC tcher of the Week for the week ding April 20. Johnson hurled a near-perfect jek, posting a 3-0 record with a )0 ERA while striking out 42 batters 19 innings. She also tossed a perfect me, a no-hitter and a shutout in ree-consecutive performances. It is Johnson's third perfect game of e season (fourth of her career) and e two no-hitters brought her total six on the year (ninth of her career). REALLY! uonaie piasma ioaa> and receive up to $1< per month. Stop by ti NABI BioMedical Cen become a plasma do New Donors Earn An Exti AND $5 on 2nd Donatior 254-2280 BE A PLASMA DONOR...E LIFE IS EVERYBODY'S B 215 Ass Ac leads USC's }f Clemson now identical to Clemson (30-16). South Carolina still holds second i, place in the Eastern Division of the / Southeastern Conference with an v 11-10 record, second to only i Tennessee's 13-8. 3 IIAW4 ftOIMA 3 ncAi yainc c The Gamecocks travel to play 1 Florida this weekend in a crucial r SEC series. Florida entered the 3 season ranked third in the country, bus has seen their stock fall rapidly J of late. Their record is 10-11, one t game behind USC, after last weekend's three game sweep of r Kentucky. \ Tanner said, "Every game looms , large. You go back to Monday, ? against Wofford, that was a big game we had to win. In the Florida ? series, we've got to try to position 3 ourselves down there to stay in that 3 top 3. Every game's big and I guess 3 that's the way it should be." l star honored last weekend. I felt I had a good series of throws. It's a nice feeling to receive this type of recognition," Ellerbe said "Lisa [Misipeka, Ellerbe's teammate] and I go head to head in every meet She beat me the week before so there was added incentive. I don't think either of us is finished yet." Ellerbe's toss puts her at No. 1 in the NCAA, with Misipeka a close second at 204-4. Misipeka is the only person to defeat Ellerbe in the last three years in the hammer. Even more impressive, the duo has thrown over 200 feet in two different meets, a first on American soil Lored by SEC On the year, Johnson is 28-2 with a 0.23 ERA. She has struck out 313 batters in 185 1/3 innings of work. She leads the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (11.8) and her ERA stands second-best in the country. Johnson leads the SEC in six of 10 categories and is no lower than sixth in the other four. Softball ranked No. 3 The USC softball team (53-3,211 QTPP\ ia ronlrod Mn ir> fV?ia Tironl^a BioMedical Center embly St. Columbia, SC 29201 toss from Whaley's Mill A UUV; U X U11XVVAA XIV. v AAA UXJ0 TTVAJVO USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll, garnering one first-place vote. SOFTBALL page 9 so |avl ter and nor. ra $10 On First Donation ^ i Within 30 days. BECAUSE Xl>?LJT USINESS <8> The Quafty Souce