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SEC AWARDS Tl Southeastern Conference Th champion Auburn dominated As the 1999 SEC coaches' postsea- Gi son awards, as coach Cliff Ellis co was voted Coach of the Year. Re Tiger forward Chris Porter was th< selected SEC Player of the Year. Friday, March 5, 1999 Spigner. by Todd Money ar Sports Copy Editor af In a matchup of freshmen start- w] ing pitchers Wednesday, South Car- se olina's bats came alive early and fast, p. and the Gamecocks shredded Wofford, sc 13-3. Chris Spigner, making his second ^ collegiate start, got his first win in a te Carolina uniform. The Hopkins na- ba tive muted the Terriers (1-6), pitch- je( ing five scoreless innings for the vie- hi tory. "It's a dream come true," Spigner st said. "Everybody backed me up, ga they were loud, they stayed behind ^ me the whole time. That's all I could ask for." ca "For being a true freshman, [Spign- te: er] was really good," USC coach Ray ca Tanner said. "He's had two good outings in a row now, and that's en- to ujuictgmg. 1C2 Wofford hurler George Lehr, mak- le; ing the first start of his college career, didn't have the same good fortune, ho Lehr was bombarded for nine runs, frc four of them earned, in just 3 2-3 in- ba nings. Though there were two errors gn made behind him, Lehr certainly hurt gl< his own cause, hitting three batters coi and walking two, throwing three wild in pitches, and making an error himself, wi The Gamecocks (9-3) took ad- an vantage, scoring 10 runs in the first four innings on just eight hits. in{ In the bottom half of the first, cen- be ter fielder Nate Janowicz took a Lehr an pitch high over the left center field wall for his second dinger of the sea- br son, a solo shot. th He wasn't done, though. Coming m; nn a pa in in the second with two outs tei and Shane Nelson on second and Clint th Collins on third, Janowicz hit a hard single to left, scoring both runners, aft "I'm just trying to let the ball get er deep in on me, see it all the way in in Winthrop loo by Pete lacobelli Associated Press thej But With tickets to sell, hotels to ^ book and tubas to tote maybe halfway c across the country, athletics director Tom Hickman needed fast advice on Winthrop's first NCAA tournament e*T appearance. an Who better to call than his coun- ers', terpart at the College of Charleston, ^anc Jerry Baker? "I want to get as much knowl- awaedge of this as I can," Hickman said, ^ laughing. "We haven't gone through ^ac^ this a lot." v But the College of Charleston has. ^CA When both Winthrop and ^ Charleston locked up NCAA bids, some Hick officials gladly deepened the relation- sPen ship between the two schools since for- cials mer Cougars assistant Gregg Marshall their took over at Winthrop this past April. B Sort of like a big brother watching Wint out for a little brother? any s "In a sense, it is," Charleston as- ^ sistant athletic director Tony Ciuffo looki said. I," B; USC begins ser by Jared Kelowitz coul Assistant Sports Editor sivei sett< This afternoon, the USC men's base- scor( ball team begins a three- game series sh0u with Duquesne. The Gamecocks will outfi host the Dukes as part of a 10-game team homestand that won't end until the St. 12 st n i , j t\ c i , i-ii ratty s L?ay nnaie against unon. Today's contest at Sarge Frye Field will be Duquesne's first game of the 1999 campaign. Coach Mike Wilson ? puts a team on the field that includes one preseason Ail-American and. k eight returning starters. In all likeli- ^ hood, the Dukes will make a run at the Atlantic 10 Conference title. Junior B.J. Barns has rewritten the Duquesne record books in just two years. Last year, Barns, who both pitches and plays the outfield, hit a school-record 20 home runs, knocked in 58 RBIs, scored 55 runs and compiled 71 hits, while also leading the team with a .420 was batting average. Pago: Last season, the Dukes broke a T school record with a tally of 22 wins and stop j got their first-ever berth in the Atlantic Kip 1 10 championship. USC Stalls is an All-Atlantic 10 senior son \ catcher who, with Barns and Swished, know combined for 53 round-trippers, and said, was on the top three on the team in "I RBIs and batting average as well, port Though the club is filled with great hit- pitch( ters, much of their success last season ;> V IACK AND FIELD le United States Track sociation selected imecock track and field ach Curtis Frye as its igional Indoor Coach of 2 Year. | , Janowii id just try to cover it," Janowicz said I USC got another run in the third, len catcher Marcos Rios scored from cond base-on Terriers' shortstop MMl anny Slade's error. That made the J ore 5-0, Gamecocks. The game wouldn't get out of hand itil the fourth inning, however. Afr the Terriers failed to get past first Lse in the top half, the Gamecocks i off with Brian Roberts, who was t by a pitch. With Janowicz batting, Roberts ole second, his 18th swipe in 12 tmes, and then reached third on a ild pitch by Lehr. After Janowicz walked, Roberts me home on a misplayed pickoff atmpt that saw Janowicz seemingly ught between first and second. Lehr muffed the ball when he went mmm. cover first, however, letting Janows reach second and USC take a 6-0 AH am Pno pamo lm novf fnr fVio 4 AVAUXXJ. X VV VUlilV U^/ UVAI/ 1U1 tliU j, me club, drawing another wild pitch >m Lehr, which gave Janowicz third m After a sacrifice fly by Poe and a LgfcJj oundout by Tim Angiolini, Rios sin- f|H id to left. Lehr walked Bryon Jeffat, the next batter, and was removed favor of Irmo native B.J. Turner th Gamecocks on first and second d two out. Turner didn't fare any better, walk- ? I the first batter he faced, Mic Knox, fore Nelson singled home Rios Game< d Jeffcoat. and 2: When Carolina's Clint Collins ought home Knox with a liner up pjtche e middle, the score was 10-0, and my fans, likely fed up with the blus- strucj. *y winds and chilly temperature of makir e night, headed home. jn Wofford got its first run of the game three ter a pair of consecutive throwing seconc rors by USC third baseman Collins er whe the sixth. ks to Charlesl We know they accomplished what HSU r did without help from anyone. I feel there's a relationship there." does Hickman. Since Winthrop won the Big South erence tournament last Saturday, ;sentially had to arrange four days three nights for a party of play- pBjfek coaches, officials, cheerleaders, ||^H| I members and support staff trav- *? r as close as Charlotte to as far w?ES Y as Seattle. ' lickman had already called on 1 brd athletics director Greig Denvhose Highlanders went to the *q-uI As last year. sports ir iaker, traveling to Colvunbia, said earlier t man came down in midseason and tions. t a day trailing Charleston offi- But and asking about how they run clean of sports programs. experier laker said they're glad to help ^ J12 ;hrop, but just as happy to help and^g school asking for guidance. gtoj iVe mostly get calls from schools coverag( ng to move to (NCAA) Division Spend a aker said. ies with Duquc ^ KA + A ATfVAfl 4/\ UAAI: atuiuutcu i?u men aggico- tu uatr less on the basepaths. The Dukes go as 1( 3am records in steals (85) and runs necessj 3d (326). USC catcher Marcos Rios So : Id have his hands full with junior have co elder Rocky Kravetz, who was the starter t's leading larcenist a year ago, with each, eals on 15 tries. Close at his heels Aloi Hadde have a for the I really don't 2 0 an now what to Bauer' < ? the tea xpect today." ?Ea in whi< Kip Bouknight pitcher use Pitcher and ke Tannei done g pleasec The senior second baseman Jaime kave b' ne, thieving 10 bags on 13 attempts. eorge he man who will have the task of scores ( ling this potent offense today is fx^Jrve Bouknight. Bouknight, arguably Woffon 's best pitcher, is 2-0 on the sea- team so vith a 1.00 ERA. "I really don't gi01 what to expect today," Bouknight Tti? is well-( guess I'll look at the scouting re- seven Y and just try to make some good were ba 3S. I know our defense will be there seven c (5ami spt me nam :z prop ^ % ^^BWPy lj| iflii" -. cock designated hitter Tim Angiolini 2 RBIs. USC's record is 9-3. The teai len, in the eighth, Gamecock on a r Brett Kondro came on and got olina st two outs before the Terriers most for four hits and two more runs, in foi tg the score 10-3. A the bottom half, USC added lineu runs, two of them on Nelson's the g 1 homer of the year and anothn J ay Lambert scored from third we gc r* -? -r /-^ A :on tor 1NCA made Jfl ^ J| namei SE MARSHALL bigges Me 5y're looking around for those Kresst is that have had success, and H e 1 us." Charlt fo had called on Winthrop team e iformation director Jack Frost orativi his week to offer congratula- hind h Ma Frost picked Ciuffo's brain things all NCAA requirements and ter ices before they hung up. ^ ney is been a busy time for Frost Charle staff. TT .... Hp Sports is visiting campus to ies and footage for its NCAA w 1 i. The Los Aneeles Times will tor are week with the Eagles, Frost ^( samep mse today : me, so I'm just gonna try and H Dng as I can and do whatever's n ary to help the team." far this season, the Gamecocks mpiled a record of 9-3, with three s recording at least two victories ng with Bouknight, junior Randy || n and sophomore Peter Bauer lso helped to pick up the slack Gamecocks' offense. Hadden is d has an ERA of 1.35, while 3-1 on the season, is second on m in strikeouts, rly on, there were a few games :h we did not hit well, but the s picked their game up a notch pt us in the games," coach Ray said. "The pitching staff has Teat so far. I am extremely I with them." ; last few games, Carolina's bats egun to wake up. USC swept Washington last weekend by )f 6-0, 9-2, and 15-10. Wednesrning, the Gamecocks blew out 113-3. The leading hitter on the far is senior outfielder Tim AnGamecocks' offensive arsenal iistributed, though, as the first litters in Wednesday's lineup itting over .300, with six of the tearing the .400 plateau. tcock A irts ecock el USC Hb Sr xgptifa x V * iH9 is hitting more than .500 so fai m wilt host Duquesne at 3 p.m. t Tate Osterman wild pitch. Car's bullpen did well, just as it has of the season, giving up two runs lr innings. lso, Wofford's 1-2-3 hitters in the p went a combined l-for-15 in ame, with eight strikeouts. Ve really swung the bats well, >t some runs on the board," TanA Tournan or a diary of one of the tourna- i ; longest shots. 1 offo has dealt with the onslaught rear since 1994, when Charleston j the first of its three previous . appearances. en the Cougars were the tourit darlings whose coach, John ^ ;, moved South from New York ? d a former NAIA club to the t t dance in college basketball, irshall spent eight seasons on 0 ;'s staff. i was an assistant on ^ iston's first NCAA tournament r ind keeps a painted, commem- 1 } basketball on a high shelf beis desk. k irshall said one of the hardest e was calling Kresse in 1997 af- n ; Marshall Thundering Herd, j team, missed the NCAAs while ^ iston made it. t said the emptiness was overing. Now, both he and his men- ^ in. i be wonderful if we were in the Is lflpp sn fYwrh Krps?p mnlH mmp f: V ; v ' * J:, > f? * < /.-:' ** ^Ll? ie USC softball team made its d< r the first time this season at iter today's game against Alabar SCHEDULE < Baseball vs. Duquesne, p.m. today, Saige Frye Fi Softball vs. Alabama, 3 and vs. Maryland, 5 p.m. today, at Tampa, Fla. F/\ IU Will "WiT ; - ' . . &- ' I *:: -: Sean Rayford Photo Editi r this season, with two home rur oday. ner said. "I'm extremely pleased wit our pitching staff." Box Score by inning R H E WOFFORD 000 001 020 3 7 5 CAROLINA 131 500 03x 13 11 3 lent advice n our locker room and I could go ii lis," Marshall said. "It'd be great. Baker and Ciuffo say Charlestoi las rolled out its plan for NCA^ irrangements. There was such a lull, Baker wa eaving the office for a few days befon mnday's bid party at the USS York own. "There's only so much you can g< iver," he said. Meanwhile, Marshall an< Vinthrop have had trouble keeping ocus just on basketball. Practice on Wednesday started 3( ninutes late because of all the cam ras and reporters. "It was worse thai nedia day," Frost said. Hickman had to plan for NCA/ ootball playoffs while an administra or at Ferrum (Va.) College betweer 985-88. That prepared him for some of th< ICAA logistics rush, "but this has beer airly time consuming," he said. V. 1: " I an? > ? Scan Rayford I'hoto Editor 3but in the 1999 L/SA Today poll No. 13. The Lady Gamecocks na in Tampa, Fla., at 13-4. ? NATE SAYS... 3 Nate says the airplane leld. Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie," the title p.m., of the Don McLean song. Page 5 NASCAR hopes for i closer racing in Las Vegas by Mike Harris Associated Press LAS VEGAS ? Mark Martin suspects I it might be the same old thing, new rules or no new rules. Martin won the inaugural Las Vegas 400 last March, leading a rout where Ford captured 13 of the top 14 places. NASCAR didn't likp thp lnnlr of that rarp ? nlnncr with some others ? and changed the aero... dynamic rules before the last race of the season in hopes of evening out the competition. But Martin, coming off a victory in Rockingham, N.C., says additional downforce won't necessarily make the Winston Cup series more competitive or bring slower cars closer to the front. "The spoilers and air dams making better races is yet to be seen," he said. "I think you will be able to run side by side," where before it was difficult to do. "If you had a lOth-place car at Las Vegas and eyerybody just put spoilers and air dams on, you'd still have a lOth-place car. So I think you've got to figure out how to get your car driving as good and going as fast as the guy that's leading." sr But Rusty W allace's crew chief thinks is the move mandated by NASCAR before the final race last year to raise the rear ^ spoilers and lower the front air dams ? giving the cars more traction in the turns ? could make the second Winston Cup trip to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway a memorable one. "The likelihood of a driver being able to run away with the thing is not too great," Robin Pemberton said. "The tire grip I and driver-control aspects really make me feel like this could be a race that they talk about for many months to come. "We're all just hoping that it's us that they're doing the most talking about." It won't take much for that to happen. Wallace finished third last year in the ? inaugural Las Vegas race, when Martin ^ led a Ford sweep of the top seven positions. ^ "The new air dam and spoiler rules now in effect are going to make the competition really tight," Pemberton said. "The s cars are going to be able to race two abreast and maybe even three abreast in some instances." That might help the General Motors 3 cars, badly outrun in Las Vegas and not much of a factor for most of 1998. The j only Chevrolet to prosper last year was that of Winston Cup champion Jeff Gor don, a winner in a record-tying 13 of 33 races. Bobby Labonte's Pontiac won twice, but there were only three more GM vic1 tories. Fords won the other 15 races. "Hopefully, with the new spoiler rules, ^ all the GM cars can be better," Gordon said. "I know the Fords haven't slowed up any." j Gordon is seeking to tie a record with his third straight championship and fourth overall. A year ago, he finished 17th on the 11/2-mile Las Vegas oval. 1 "It was just a matter of not being able to run the car competitively under the t circumstances. We iust weren't verv eood" he said. This is the third event of the 34-race season. The first two races do not reflect what's in store at many tracks. At Daytona International Speedway, where cars always run with power-robbing carburetor restrictor plates, Gordon won the season-opening Daytona 500. Chevys took four of the top five spots there. At the Dura-Lube 400 two weeks ago at North Carolina Motor Speedway was perhaps a better example of the aerodynamic rules. Fords took four of the top five spots, but GM managed a top-10 split. But speeds on that 1.017-mile oval are about 12 mph slower than those in Las Vegas, where downforce will be a bigger issue because the track is banked at just 12 degrees in the corners. At The Rock, the banking ranges from 22 to 25 degrees. Gordon's crew chief, Ray Evernham, called the Las Vegas finish last year "embarrassing," and vowed a massive effort to solve the problem. If he is to make a move toward the top of the standings, Gordon can't have another Rockingham. After winning at Daytona, he fell to 10 spots by finishing 39th at Rockingham ? the victim of a rare Hendrick Motorsports occurrence, a blown engine. "Nobody who is competing for the championship can afford two bad races in a row," Gordon said. "We just hope we're as competitive in Las Vegas as we think J we will be."