The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 23, 1998, Page 8, Image 8
do bat;am
tries
defeat.
lmn.
:ocks wi
in a uoru nnmnotitivo nVivoinnl Knr- 1
*
^ The Gamecocks and Bulldogs
tie on ESPN.
^ The Lady Gamecock Softball t<
to bounce back from Saturday's
Shawn Singleton's weekly coll
Page 8
Gamec
asst. sports aft/or NATHAN BROWN
i
"Cardiac Kids." "Comeback Kids."
"Made-for-TV Kids."
All of these names were bestowed
upon the No. 13 Gamecocks (20-5,104
SEC) for their penchant of falling behind
and then storming back late in the
game to get the win.
In Saturday's contest against Florida
(13-11, 6-8 SEC), USC found
themselves in an awkward positionahead
by 20 heading into the last
nine minutes of the game. But just as
the Gamecocks had caught up to the
Gators in Frank McGuire Arena earlier
this season, Florida climbed its waji
back into the game cutting its deficit
to four. However, four points would
be as close as the Gators would get tc
the Gamecocks who held on to chalk up
a 79-74 victory.
"I congratulate my team on playing
with a lot of guts and heart here, tonight
Walvieb
up key f
sports editor BRYAN JOHNSTON
The Lady Gamecock basketball
team closed out its regular season with
a 67-65 victory over Kentucky Saturday
night at the Frank McGuire Arena.
In what was supposed to be a night
for the seniors, it was the underclassmen
who stole the show.
Junior Nikki Miars, sophomore Annie
Lester and junior Donna Carr combined
for 52 of Carolina's 67 points.
Miars scored 18 points, Lester scored
21 and Carr 13, eight of which were in
the final eight minutes.
"It was emotional, but we tried to
put it aside and come out and play
hard," Miars aid. "We just went out and
tried to do all the little things."
SEAN RAYFORD The Gamecock
Junior Nlkki Miars had 18 points
in the win over Kentucky.
Baseball wil
mark PIRAS
Columnist
"Holy Cow! What a great day for a
Cubs game!"
Every time Harry Caray stepped
behind a microphone, his childlike awe
and wonder of baseball came ringing
through, tangible and contagious, carrying
me like a child to a real-life
field of dreams.
He was every man and, more importantly,
every fan.
He was mythical and magical in the
city of Chicago, someone about whom
tales were spun, someone who came to
represent something much larger than
himself.
He was mythical, even as the years
progressed and his mental capacity
wasn't what it once was. Even as he
mangled the pronunciation of Mark
Grudzelanek ("Mark Grud-ZEL-neeak!"),
Harry was still loving every
minute of his job.
As the years have passed and baseball
has had its share of problems, such
as the greedy players, the greedier owners,
the strikes, no commissioner and
Pete Rose, Harry represented something
pure and wholesome, something
about the game that nothing could
touch.
Maybe it was the way he called the
game, the comfortability that you felt
when Harry was on the mike. It was
like having your best friend next to you,
pointing out the pretty girls or asking,
"Did you see that?" and second-guessing
the manager at every turn.
I* T VVmi/VVAVl ? fM.M.J KJM.^+y WM. j
derline, almost out of control game at
times," USC coach Eddie Fogler said.
'We played very well from the 8:00 mark
[ in the first half through to lOor 12min
utes to go in the second half. Then Florida
made some shots, and we fatigued
i a little bit. But I'm fairly comfortable,
and I'm happy with [the win]."
Coming out of the locker room,
1 the Gamecocks were leading by 12
points. In the ensuing 10 minutes, their
: advantage swelled to a game high of 20
i as USC outscored UF 21-13. With four
i dunks and off-setting technicals, these
10 minutes were frill of action. Getting
r in on the dunks were LeRon Williams,
Ryan Stack, Bud Johnson and Antonio
I. Grant, whose slam handed UF its 20>
point deficit at the 10:28 mark.
> The technicals took place after a
basket by Florida with 13:50 to go in
i the contest, when Bj Mckie cut down 1
: the lane to get the inbound pass. As he !
all picks
win
The Lady Gamecocks finish the regular
season at 12-14,4-11 in the SEC.
"If you ask any of the girls in the
locker room, I don't think any of them
would tell you that they're satisfied
with that," said first-year coach Susan
Walvius. "They all feel we could legitimately
have won every game except
II
one.
The Lady Gamecocks shot only 33
percent from the field, but owned the
boards and forced 26 Lady Wildcat
turnovers.
Carolina finished with 22 offensive
rebounds and scored 22 second-chance
points.
The game wasn't decided until the
final minute, as both teams battled back
and forth.
Carr scored on a layup with 45 seconds
left to put USC up 66-65. UK's
Laura Meadows missed a jumper with
19 seconds left, but the Lady Wildcats
got the rebound.
UK missed another shot with eight
seconds left and Carr grabbed the rebound.
She was fouled and made one of two
free throws to put USC up by two at
67-65.
Meadows had once last chance, but
her 15-footer clanked off the side of the
rim to give Carolina the victory.
Up next for the Lady Gamecocks is
the SEC Tournament, where they will
1 face the No. 6 seed, which has yet to be
determined.
1 miss Caray
Maybe it was the seventh-inning
stretch, when he would teeter toward
I the edge of the broadcast booth, swing
his beer (spilling it all over the adoring
fans below) and bellow out some of
the lines to "Take Me Out To The Ballgame."
Maybe Harry was truly the master
showman, bringing something to life
in baseball that made it America's pastime
for decades before football and
basketball grabbed the spotlight.
Maybe it was the sound of his voice,
well-worn like an old pair of shoes, soft
J J :l
aiiu niaueauit! uespiu: lis graveieu exterior.
Every spring when the season started
and I would turn on the television
during the afternoon to hear Harry
complaining about what a jerk an op- s
posing player was or preaching the future
stardom of an unproven Cubs rookie,
I would know that summer was right 1
around the corner.
Harry brought people to the game s
who wouldn't have found it otherwise,
and he kept them there, excited and E
anticipating, wondering whose name ^
he was going to try to say backwards **
today. *
Baseball will miss Harry Caray, but E
hopefully not all that he came to symhnliTo
in fhp wnrlH nf snnrfa Hp ncrn. C
? " " to- r
nized over every loss and celebrated L
through every win.
I just know that sometime this sum- u
mer, when Mark Grace lines a two-run d
single to right to knock in the winning
run with two outs in the ninth, I'll hear s
Harry yelling, "Cubs Win! Cubs
Win!" and, for a moment, everything '<
will be all right again. ^
Spor'
The Gamecock
n physica
put up his arms to slide past a de- points with les
fender, Mckie clipped a Gator player in maining in the
the jaw with an elbow and was called "Basically, I
for the foul. Afterwards, UF's Brent do this [when I
tir i_ i- i j _ a- i: , ,, m.
wngnt siucjs. llls urau mtu me v^aiuu- back], Lelvon V>
aa huddle and then was pushed out by thing happenet
Recus Nix. Both Wright and Nix were jea(j iast year,;
?iven technical fouls. won j was ^
"It was a very physical basketball t_ tb j th
?ame," Mckie said. 'Probably one of the ^ fang will b
most physical weVe played in this year. , j wa8 just h<
We played physical, and they played m aw with
phys,caL Williams w
Mckie finished with a game-high 31 ,, '
points shooting 8-for-ll from the field . . 0ri(T'm<
and 4-for-6 from behind the 3-point arc. m Gamesville si
But Mckie's hot hand cooled down when coc^'
be stepped to the free throw line where ^at was r
be drained 11 out of 18 shots. During f?r wai
the last nine minutes of the contest, "Just S? ahead a
Mckie missed five free throws. from the fans] o
From the 8:57 mark to the final going to be fans,
buzzer, Florida outscored Carolina 35- were like 'Go L
23 and slimmed its deficit down to four And now it's tra
I
Softball teai
sports editor BRYAN JOHNSTON g
"To defeat a team like South Carolina takes a
Herculian-like effort," Georgia State coach Bob
Heck said.
Either that or a lackluster effort from the Lagg
dy Gamecocks.
The Lady Gamecock softball team got a strong
wakeup call Saturday when it was upset by the
Lady Panthers of Georgia State in the second game
of a doubleheader.
Carolina dominated the first game, winning 50,
but looked like they were asleep at the wheel in
the second game, losing 4-3.
USC was trailing 4-1 heading into the seventh
and final inning and managed to score two to
pull within one run. With two out, the tying run
at third and the winning run on first, junior Kim
Pietro grounded to second to end the rally and the
game.
The effort in the second game had USC coach
Jovce ComDton verv unhaDDV.
"We shouldn't have let it get to the last inning,"
Compton said. "We were very lethargic the whole
second game. They did a good job of jumping on us
and putting pressure on us. We were just going
through the motion, and you can't do that against
a good team."
In the first game, Carolina jumped up 2-0 in |
the third inning when sophomore Kim Schultze
and Pietro were driven in by senior Carrie Elliott- r
Hoshour's single up the middle. The RBI were Elliott-Hoshour's
sixth in three games.
After freshman Kendra Meano scored on
Schultze's single in the sixth, Pietro came to the A
plate and accomplished something no other Lady s
Gamecock has managed to do m the 33 prior games 13
at the new softball complex: hit a homerun. s
Pietro jacked a two-run homerun to straightaway
centerfield to give Carolina the 5-0 lead it
would end up with. 0
"Petey's got the capability to be an excellent
hitter," Compton said. "I think she showed it on ^
that one at bat she had." g
Senior Sky Brown (W 2-0) picked up her 22nd ^
consecutive victory since 1996. Brown went the v
distance, giving up five hits while striking out three.
After the successful start to the day, things d
quickly turned sour in the second game. t
The No. 6 Lady Gamecocks (3-1) fell behind for
the first time this season in the fourth inning when d
GSU scored two runs on two hits. But USC came t
back, picking up a run in the fifth inning. t'
Junior Nikki Beers (L 1-1) led off the inning t
with a single up the middle and moved to second
on Karri Peters' sac bunt. After moving to third on
Meano's groundout, Beers was driven in by fresh- n
man Megan Donohoo's infield single.
But the sixth inning proved to be disastrous, b
Georgia State scored two more runs on three hits g
and one USC error. s
USC baseball te
taff writer JOE QUINN DerickUrqul
run in the first i
With a 10-1 victory over Cleve- season, and Eric
and State on Sunday, the Gamecocks the bases empb
wept the Vikings 3-0 in their weekend third of the seas
eries. Stanton also
Mike Curry and Adam Everett, the gle as South C
inal two players in South Carolina's hits off losing pil
latting order, had seven hits between and reliever Ma
hem Sunday to grab the win in a game USC starter
hat was called after six and a half in- 7-0, left the gam
lings due to rain. his pitching han
By sweeping the series, the Game- bat of the Vikinj
ocks improved their record to 8-2 while fourth inning.
Cleveland State dropped to 1-5. Senior rightCurry
went four for four, singling 1-0, came on to i
a the first, second and fifth innings and Cleveland ?
loubling in the fourth. scored in the fif!
He stole his eighth base of the sea- lash's second he
on and drove in a run. Lillash also had
Everett singled in the first, second half of Clevelan
md fourth innings, driving in a run Russ Gladis
vith each hit. nia had singles
rs
Wy agair
^15 seconds re- importantly, they ct
now
was like'aw God, don't In iq
^-deitscome- TOia^S^
^whentheyp-; fi&KdE
^ to came back and Next up fiTthe
w, tins can't happen, the Georgia Bulldog;
' are going to kill me. lumbia on Tuesday
all over us.' Basical- at 9'30 p.m. and wj
)pm? we'd hold on and ESPN as the second i
1 a wm [which we didj." dayho
transferred to USC In their last me
e his first appearance cocks defeated the
mce becoming a Game- capture their first w
joining the SEC in 1
two losses from last
ny purpose [in coming But the Bulldog!
m-ups]," Williams said. j0t since their conte
ind get [the harassment na on January 18
ut of the way. Fans are first four SEC cont
When I was here, they bounded to win si
eRon, you're the man.' contests. The Dogs
tding all this. But most against Mississippi
n splits wi
. _
.
JShHIL*
, 4%
SEAN RAYFORD The Gamec
Jbove: Senior Sky Brown picked up ti
econd victory of the year Saturday
rame 1 of USC's split with Georg
outhern. At right, sophomore Sondra pu
a a pop up.
But once again, Carolina staged a comebai
nly this time they didn't have enough.
With one out, Brown drew a walk and mo\
0 second on freshman Adrienne Genovese's s
;le. Both advanced when Meano drew a walk Doi
too reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Bro^
dale Genovese was forced out at third.
Schultze came to the plate and singled to rig
[riving in Meano, but Pietro's groundout end
he game.
Schultze held the hot bat for Carolina Sati
iay, going four for seven in the doubleheader. j
er moving from the No. 9 spot to the No. 2 sp
he Upton, Calif., native had two RBI and scoi
wo runs.
"Schultze did a nice job today," Compton sa
1 thought she did a good job in the second sp
loving up in the lineup."
Up next for the lady Gamecocks is a 3 p.m. d<
leheader Tuesday against Louisiana Tech. i
ames are at Beckham Field and are free to U!
tudents with an ID.
:am pounds
lart hit a two-run home Tripp Kelly had
inning, his third of the five South Carolina j
Stanton homered with each, including Urq
ir in the third, also his Jay Lambert hit a d
son. In Saturday's coi
had a double and a sin- three-run home run;
arolina collected 17 Gamecocks homered
tcher Randy Gray, 0-1, Cleveland State in t
tt Porras. the series.
Clint Collins, leading Kelly, a freshim
e after being struck on ter, hit his first career
d by a line drive off the a 1-1 tie in the four
gs* Adam Miller in the another three run
Gamecock sixth inn
hander Patrick Sexton, Adam Poe hit h
claim the win. sixth home run of t
State's only run was runner on base in tl:
;h inning on Keith Lil- Derick Urquhart
ime run of the season, men aboard in the sb
a double to account for
d State's four hits.
h and Sean Manffedo
for the Vikings.
*
Nate says the U.S. women's Olympic
hockey team will be featured on an
upcoming box of Wheaties. General
Mills, makers of Wheaties, made the
decision Saturday.
Mnnrlau Cahrnarv 93 1 QQfi A
ist Florida
in eat their words da, No. 15 Arkansas, Vanderbilt and
Alabama.
of playing time, The Dogs took on the No. 8 Ken)
10 points, six of tucky Wildcats on Sunday. At one point,
ior-6 shooting from Georgia had a seven-point lead, but the
jr rebounds. 'Gats came back to win 85-74.
jramecocks will be Carolina returns home, after two
5 who travel to Co- tough road games against Florida
. The game starts an(j Arkansas, for a two-game home
111 be televised on taking on the Dogs on Tuesday
part of Super Tues- ^Kentucky on Saturday.
,, p "It's nice to get back home," Fogler
Bulldogs 68-60*to sai* "Certainly Georgia is playing as
in in Athens after wel1 aS m our lea&ue here m
992 and to avenge the last two or three weeks- They a*?
season playing probably to the capabihties of ^
3 have improved a a team w^? returns everyone from an
ist against Caroli- NCAA team. Georgia has always played
After losing its well against us and has played well in
;ests, Georgia re- Columbia."
x out its next 10 In the overall series, Georgia has a
grabbed victories 36-33 advantage, but in the ColiseState,
LSU, Flori- um, the Gamecocks lead 17-12.
th Ga. state
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USC page nine swept Cleveland State