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> l « Inside: Schedule USC basketball tries to extend two-game m Men s basketbal1 vs- LSU' 7 30 P-m Men’s tennis at ITA Indoors, today winning streak tonight against No. 15 a Softba|l w UNC-charlotte, 3 p.m. Louisiana State ■ Women’s tennis vs. Virginia Tech, Thu.: ■ Rugby vs. Clemson, Fri. Wednesday, February 23,2000 UTllC (SSITICCOCk ' * Page b* USC blasts Camels for ninth win % by Jeff Romig Special Correspondent Each time the USC starting nine takes the field to ob serve the national anthem, they line up in sets of three. The outfielders stand in center field. The second baseman, third baseman and shortstop stand at the back edge of the infield dirt. The catcher, pitcher and first baseman stand at the pitch ing mound. For the first time since his freshman year, Scott Barber was included in this group. Gamecock fans are used to seeing Barber come out of the bullpen to shut down an opponent, but on Tuesday they witnessed a role reversal as his outing led the Gamecocks to a 10-2 win over the Campbell Camels. “I’ve seen him sharper than he was today,” Tanner said. “You certainly can’t argue that he gave us a good outing. I’m happy with what he did.” Barber went 5 1/3 innings allowing only one run while striking out nine. “I thought I pitched pretty well,” Barber said. “In the first inning, I missed a few spots, but after that I settled in on hitters and was putting them away.” Tanner likes the versatility Barber adds to his pitching staff. “He could end up being a starter for us or a swing guy, Tanner said. If Barber had a choice, it would be the obvious one. “Ideally, I’d like to start,” Barber said. “But it doesn’t matter to me as long as we win. That’s the bottom line.” Tanner is still undecided on who will take the third slot in his rotation until Chris Spigner, who has tendonitis, is ready. “I think it’s too early to make a decision on what we’re going to do with him,” Tanner said. “All I know is this: lie’s a quality pitcher and we’re going to get a lot of innings out of him.” Barber proved how effective he can be out of the pen while playing for Chatham in the Cape Cod League last 1 summer. Barber was named to the league’s all-star team af ter going 2-0 with two saves and striking out 33 in 29 in nings while posting an 0.93 ERA. “I was fortunate that I got on it,” Barber said. “I had fun up there.” To put Barber’s accomplishment in perspective, he was named to the team while the Gamecocks’ No. 1 starter, Kip Bouknight, who went 6-2 with a 2.49 ERA for Chatham, was an alternate. “I thought he deserved to be on it,” Barber said. “I wish he could have been. Kip’s a good guy.” • Barber might not know where he’ll be in the Game cock rotation at the end of this season, but he knows where he wants to be at the end of the season. “To win the SEC Championship and make it to Oma ha-that’s the bottom line?,” Barber said. Barber also knows where he wants his next stop to be if that happens. “I’d like to go pro,” Barber said. “I hope I get drafted, sign and go pro, but we’ll have to wait and see what hap pens.” Notes: Tripp Kelly extended his hitting streak to nine-games with an infield single in the bottom of the seventh ... USC hit four triples on the day (Marcus McBeth, Nate Janow icz, Drew Meyer, Brennan Dees). This was one shy of the record of five set on April 17, 1986 against The Citadel... Jamie Poston is now tied for ninth place in school history with Colorado Rockies’ farmhand Jim Stoops with 64 appearances... McBeth was 2-for-4 with a home run, a triple and four RBIs. i---1 use 10, Campbell 2 (Feb. 22, 2000) South Carolina (9-0) AB R H RBI SO PO A Nate Janowicz If 5 0 2 10 0 1 Drew Meyer ss 4 2 2 0 12 2 Brennan Dees rf 4 12 1110 Chris Plummer 3b 4 110 10 2 Brandon Pack c 3 2 1 3 0 12 2 Tim Whittaker c 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 Tripp Kelly lb 5 1 10 1 7 0 John McHenry 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 Bryon Jeffcoat 2b 2 0 0 0 0 10 TYey Dyson dh 2000000 Marcos Rios dh 0000000 Matt Riddle dh 1 110 0 0 0 Marcus McBeth cf 4 2-2 4 010 Scott Barber p 0000000 Lee Gronkiewicz p 0 00000 0 Jamie Poston p 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 IP H RER BB SO BF Scott Barber 51 8 2 1 1 9 24 Lee Gronkiewlcz 1.2 10 0 0 3 8 Jamie Poston 3.0 0 0 0 0 3 6 Campbell (1-2) AB R II RBI SO PO A TYavis Cobb cf 4 0 0 0 2 10 Keith Sears ph 1 0 0 0 l 0 0 Tony Della Costa 2b 4 0 2 0 2 0 4 Jeff Huff dh 4 12 0 10 0 Dan Krause lb . 4 0 2 0 0 8 0 Jeff Davis c 4 1 0 0 3 5 0 Nic Carter rf 4 0 1 0 2 2 0 Ray Caffee 3b 4 0 11111 Tom Bay rer If 3 0 10 15 0 Zac Hughes ph/lf 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Bradley Coates ss 2 0 0 0 10 0 Todd Goodson ph 1 0 0 0 10 0 Corey Byrd p 0000000 Matt Kleweno p 0000000 Bradley Stancil p 0000 000 Byron Batson p 000000 0 IP H R ER BB SO BF Corey Byrd 4.0 6 5 4 3 2 22 Matt Kleweno 2.0 2 2 2 2 3 10 Bradley Stancil 0.1 2 2 2 0 0 3 Byron Batson 1,2 2 11 1 0 8 Win - Barber 2-0 Loss - Byrd 0-1 Save - none WP - Barber 2 (3) BK-Byrd(l) Sean Rayford Gamecock Sports Senior Nate Janowicz is congratulated by third base coach Jim Toman after a home run against Delaware State Saturday. The Gamecocks improved to 9-0 Tuesday with a 10-2 win over Campbell. ---------------a ! i ,WV.VIV.M->.- ■ 5--!-- -E ! 2000 l.S< Baseball Slatistics (through nine games) ,, - Pitching Balling „ . IP H RED ERA BB SO AB R H HR RBI SB Ay*. 6 Jjrnlt Poston 50 J 0 0 0.00 0 8 4.1 Tripp Kelly, IB . 31 13 14 6 17 0 .452 4 Bretl Price 5.0 1 . 0 0 0.00 0 5 2 Nate jaomrlci. OF 2S 10 10 1 5 7 400 34 Sievrn Whetstone 2.0 1 0 0 0.00 0 2 9 Marcos Rios, C 5 1 2 0 1 0 .400 2® John Weslev 1.0 I 0 0 0.00 0 1 j 21 Brmndon Pack, C 29 9 H 3 11 0 379 13 Steven Bondurant 1.0 t 0 0 000 0 1 1 Chrts Plummet,3B 32 II 12 2 9 1 .375 21 Lee Gronkiewicr 102 5 2 1 084 1 13 7 Drew Meyer, SS 33 12 11 2 9 3 .333 3* Peter Bauer ’ 92' 3 2 I 0.93 2 8 ! 3 Matt Riddle, OK 6 3 2 1 3 0 .333 36 Scott Barber 130 12 3 2 1.38 3 18 | 15 Steve Thomas, IF 36 9 11 1 6 1 .306 32 gntfe BascuaS 6 0 2 1 1 lJO 2 9 12 Brennan liras, OF 5 20 2 4 2 t .200 14 Kip Boukidfht 20 2 14 5 5 2.18 3 24 8 Marrua McBeth, OF 34 9 10 2 8 l 294 10 Clint Collins 20 1 1 1 4.50 1 4 41 Bn Mobley. C 4110 2 0 250 , 27 John McHenry'. 28 25 3 6 0 4 1 .240 Totals 81® 48 U 11 1J3 13 97 29 Sham Nelson. OF 23 5 5 1 5 3 .21? * 10 OiM Collins, IE 5 1 1 0 * 0 0 .200 17 T«v Dyson. IF 13 2 2 0 2 O 154 18 Bryon JefTcoat. IF 13 2 1 0 1 0 .077 _ ! 20 Tim Whittaker, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 .000 ; 19 Rim Bravo. C 2 I 0 0 1 0 .000 ! Tank 322 96 10® 19 84 17 .311 JflMBBri** , tS __ ___ _ Lester, Bouknight receive awards Sports Roundup Gamecock Sports i- —-1 i."'.'■ BOUKNIGHT w wTwo South Carolina athletes received awards Monday for their performances over the past week. Annie Lester from the Lady Gamecock basketball team and the baseball team’s Kip Bouknight each were recognized as athletes of the week. Lester was named as the SEC’s Player of the Week for her play against Alabama and Kentucky last week in which she averaged 22.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game. In these two games, Lester surpassed her season average in several categories, including points, minutes played, rebounds, assists and steals. “It’s nice to be recognized by the conference for your hard work.” Lester said. “I would like to give credit to my teammates for helping ntc win this award. Kelly Morrone and our guards really shot well from the outside and that opened up the inside for me. This is my first Player of the Week award during my four years at South Carolina and I think it will mo tivate me to play even better at LSU and going into the SEC Tournament.” Lester became the first Lady Gamecock to win the award since Shannon Johnson during the 1995 96 season. Johnson won the award three times and is now the only other Lady Gamecock besides Lester to win the award. “We are all excited for Annie Lester to be named as the SEC Player of the Week,” head coach Susan Walvius said. “She certainly deserved the award af ter what she accomplished last week, scoring 32 points versus Alabama and for her defensive perfor mance on Sunday against Kentucky. Everyone knows about Annie’s impressive offensive abilities but now more people are starting to realize that it’s also her defensive skills that make her such an all-around player.” The Norcross, Ga. native moved to 11th place among the USC all-time scorers on Sunday by scor ing her 1,465th career point and is only 35 points away front the 1,500 point plateau. She is now in seventh place in career rebounds with 778 boards and is in ninth place in career steals. During her fi nal home game Sunday, Lester became one of only five South Carolina players to score 1,400 points or more, grab 700 or more rebounds and make 200 or more steals. Bouknight was named by Collegiate Baseball as the national pitcher of the week for his perfor mance Friday against Delaware State. The Gaston, S.C., native pitched six innings in the Gamecocks’ 19-0 win over the Hornets, allow ing only one hit and no Walks while striking out 11 batters. The win was Bouknight’s third of the sea son and the 21st of his USC career. Bouknight has also helped the No. 18 Gamecocks (9-0) start off with their best record since 1994, when they began the season 12-0 under coach June Raines. The junior righthander already set a USC record last year when he became the only pitcher to win 18 games in his first two seasons. Bouknight is the primary starter in coach Ray Tanner’s pitching ro tation, and will next take the mound Friday against the College of Charleston at Sarge Frye Field. The game is scheduled to stmt at 3 p.m. Volleyball signs lour Sports Roundup Gamecock Spouts South Carolina head volleyball coach Kim Christopher has announced commitments from four student-ath letes, including three letters of intent and one transfer. Two are from Ari zona, one is from Michigan and an international player is coming to USC from Brazil. - ■ “This is a great class for us because they add size, athleticism and experi ence to our team. This class will help to get us to another level,” Christo pher said. “We will be a young team next season, but this is the most ath letic team we have had at South Car olina.” Donisa Curry, a 6-foot-3 middle blocker from Kalamazoo, Mich., hails from the same club program as current Gamecocks Cally Plummer and Sant Alban, as well as former All-SEC set ter Ashley Edlund. Jack Maggelson, the head coach of the Dead Frog’s club program, is also Curry’s high school coach. Curry attended Portage Northern High School, the same school as Ed lund. Curry’s high school team won the state title in 1997 and 1999 and , was the state runner-up in 1998. Curry is the daughter of Victor and Emma Longe. “Donisia is big and physical,” Christopher said. “She is exactly what we need physically to complete this team. She will be a huge force in the middle.” Amy Pratt, a 5-foot-8 setter from Chino Valley, Ariz., comes from a very athletic family. Her father, Tom, is a pitching coach with the Chicago Cubs organization, her brother Andy plays in the Texas Rangers organization and her mother, Peggy, is an assistant coach with Amy’s high school volleyball team. She attends Chino Valley High School and played volleyball under coach Jim Ward. She also plays bas ketball and softball. Pratt, the daugh ter of Tom and Peggy Pratt, plays club ball for coach Terry Smith and the Volleyball see page b2 Spring Spots USC’s spring Olympic sports teams are off to a good start, with all eight of the programs ranked in the top 20 on national polls. The Game cocks’ men's and women’s indoor track, men s and women’s golf, men’s and women's tennis, 1 i 11_-_1_LaJ_LI_ - -1 Women’s track leads the list with a No. 2 rank ing, followed by men’s golf at No. 9. Men's track and men’s tennis follow with No. 13 and No. 14 re spectively, wiiile women’s tennis is also No. 14 and women's golf is No. 17, The USC softball and base ball teams are both ranked No. 18. Men’s golf USC’s men’s golf team shot rounds of 295 and 308 Monday and stands in 10th place with a 27-over par 603 score after die first two rounds of the Mer cedes-Benz Collegiate Championship at the Saw grass Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla. ( Florida posted a two-under, two-round score of 574 and leads host and No. 14 North Florida by three _ - - - • —— Carolina, playing in its first tournament of the spring season, could not overcome poor performances from its top players in posting its highest single rotind team score of the 1999-2000 season (308) in Mon day’s second round. Individually for the Gamecocks, jmior All-Amer ican Kyle Thompson had rounds of 70 and 75 Monday and is tied for 10th place with a one-over 145. Senior All-American Eric Ecker had a two-round tally of 153 (nine-over par) and is in 37th place af ter the first day. while juniors John Bloomfield, Lars Cederqvist and freshman Michael Maness are tied for 44th place with identical 154 scores through two rounds. Althoqgh posting a 27-over 603, tlie Gamecocks Softball Hie No. 18 Lady Gamecock softball team will take on the 49ers of U1C Giariotte today at 3 pan. at Beck liam Reid. Hie Lady Gamecocks look to even out their recmfgtingintothe doubkheaderat 3-4. USC is coming off back-to-back no-hitters. Megan Matthews and, Joyce McMiJIin bhmked the Panthers of Geoijria State and recorded the onlybuck-to-back no-lut tets in USC history. Hie 49eri of UNCC are 2-2 this season. The 49ers Iiad a big win over No. 22 Blinds-Chicago. UNCC also defeated Radford at the Triangk Classic before falling to Vnginia Tech and Kansas. After taking on the4te.,USCliasa4uickmmaround to prepare fdtlieGkkone'sTotiMiment in Tampa, Fla. Basebajl Saturday’s baseball game between South Car olina and the Collie of Charleston has been moved to a 4 pan. start time to accommodate the men’s basketball game against Georgia, which is sched uled for a 2p.m. tipoff. The baseball game had been slated for a 1:30 first pitch, but was moved to allow fans to attend both games. The men’s basketball team, as well as senior guard Herbert Lee Davis, will be playing their final home game this season in Frank McGuire Arena. The matchup will be televised by Jeffer son-Vilot. > The No. 18 Gamecock baseball team will play three games against the Cnno-ars hen-inning Fri-_