Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Inside: Schedule USC beats Clemson in women's tennis, ■ Basebal1 vs- UNC-Asheville, Tue. , , . , , uu ■ Men’s tennis vs. North Carolina, Tue. womens basketball teams season ends with _ 0 ,+. .. /rkLI. ... . ■ Softball vs. Furman (DH), Wed. tough loss to Vanderbilt ■ Swimming at NCAA Championships, Indianapolis, Thu.-Sat. j * ■ ;; ' PageB1 * » Undefeated Streak Continues to 19 Baseball Roundup Gamecock Sports USC continued its incredible winning streak over the weekend, tying the SEC’s longest win ning streak at 19 with a three-game sweep of Auburn. The Gamecocks have won their past five games at Auburn and swept the series the past two years. The Gamecocks return to Sarge Frye Field for agame Tuesday against UNC-Asheville before play ing host to conference foe Florida this weekend in a three-game series. The Tuesday game is slated for 7 p.m. USC 8, Auburn 7 With its third come-from-behind victory in as many days, the Gamecock baseball team improved to 19-0. Sophomore pitcher Chris Spigner start ed the game for Carolina, cruising to a 3-0 lead be fore getting into trouble. In the seventh inning, Auburn slugger Todd Faulkner stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. Pitcher Jamie Poston, usually reserved for closing duties, worked Faulkner to two strikes be fore serving up a gopher ball, which Faulkner promptly smashed over the fence for a grand slam and a 74 lead. USC loaded the bases in the eighth inning. Cen terfielder Marcus McBeth dribbled a grounder to second, scoring a nan while getting only one out on a force at second. Then, junior second baseman John McHenry clouted a three-run homer to give USC the final score and a comeback victory. Clint Collins got the win for the Gamecocks. USC 10, Auburn 9 First baseman Tripp Kelly started a double play to snuff out a seventh-inning Auburn rally and led off a six-run eighth inning with a home run as the Gamecocks won their school record 18th con secutive game. The Gamecocks, ranked ninth nationally in the USA Today/Baseball Weekly poll, took a 2-0 lead in the series, improving its record to 18-0, 2-0 SEC, while No. 4 Auburn dropped to 19-5,0 2 SEC. Ernie Bascuas (2-0) the fourth of five South Carolina pitchers used, was credited with the win,while fellow junior Scott Barber picked up his third save of the season and second in two days. Sophomore righthander Jacob Sumners (2-1) the second of five Auburn pitchers, took the loss. Auburn broke a 44 tie with a run in the sev enth and had the bases loaded with no one out when freshman Brett Burnham hit a hard ground ball to Kelly. The junior from Florence, S.C., gloved the ball and fired a perfect strike to catcher Bran don Pack for a forceout at the plate. Pack then threw to McHenry, covering first, to retire Bum ham and complete the double play. Pinch hitter Heath Higgins then ended the inning by ground ing to McHenry. Kelly hit a towering home run, his team-lead ing ninth of the season, on the first pitch from Sum ners to open the Gamecock eighth. Two walks, singles by shortstop Drew Meyer, outfielder Bren nan Dees and third baseman Chris Plummer, and a Pack double produced five more runs as South Carolina surged to a 10-5 lead. A three-run homer by Faulkner in the eighth cut the margin to 10-8, and Auburn scored once in the ninth on two hits. However, Barber started a double play and Mailon Kent lined to Meyer to end the game. South Carolina got homers Saturday from sophomore McBeth, his third of the season, and Plummer, also his third. Plummer, Kelly, Pack and Dees had two hits each, while Plummer contin ued his strong hitting after returning from an an kle injury, collecting three RBIs. Auburn’s Jonathan Schuerholz, the son of At lanta Braves general manager John Schuerholz, drove in four runs with three hits, while Faulk ner had three hits and three RBIs for Auburn, use 12, Auburn 6 Kip Bouknight survived a shaky first inning Friday night to pick up his sixth win as USC knocked four home runs to upset Auburn 12-6 and equal the Gamecocks’ longest winning streak ever at 17. The victory opened SEC play for both teams. Bouknight worked the first seven innings, al lowing eight hits and five runs, with only four earned. He struck out six while issuing no walks to continue his undefeated streak. Barber pitched two hitless innings, striking out three, but allowed an unearned run on a throw ing error. Tiger starter Brent Speigner (4-2) took the loss. The Gamecocks, ranked No. 11 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 12 by Baseball America, fell behind 3-0 in the first inning when Auburn col lected three consecutive hits with one out. A sin gle by Dominic Rich, a Faulkner double and a three nin blast from Gabe Gross put Auburn in the driveis’ seat. However, South Carolina scored once in the second inning and took a 5-3 lead in the fourth on a solo home run by senior Shane Nelson and a three-run shot from freshman Meyer, his fourth of the season. The Gamecocks added a two-run Pack homer in the seventh to lead 7-3, but Album countered with two runs in the bottom of thi inning, one of which was unearned. Barber’s throving error led to an Auburn ran in the eighth inniix, cutting the lead to 7-6, but South Carolina capinfized on an Auburn error to add five insurance runs a the ninth, topped off by McHenry’s third homer. McBeth had three hits, including stwo-run triple in the ninth inning, use 13, Furman 2 Three different Furman pitchers gavt up home runs to the first batter they faced Wedneslay night and USC collected five round-trippers in U to de feat the Paladins. Coach Ray Tanner used six differentoitch ers, starting with sophomore southpaw BretPrice, 2-0, who worked the first four innings ad got the win. Rusty Putnam, the-first of six Fuinan pitchers, took the loss as the Paladins droppd to 5-12. Senior Nate Janowicz led off the bottorrof the first with a home run for the third time fis season. In the fourth inning, Pack greeted relief pitcher Tom Mastny with a two-run homer, his fifth, while Dees homered on the second pitch from Brian Beaumier in the sixth. Kelly also hit a dinger in the fourth, and his was followed in the sixth with Bryon Jeffcoat’s first homer of the season. USC collected 16 hits in all, with Janowicz and Pack getting three each, Dees and Meyer two each and six other play ers totaling one hit each. Furman scored in the fifth inning on a walk, a wild pitch and an error, and in the ninth on a dou ble by Adam Etherington, an infield out and a wild pitch. Clint Hill had two of seven hits for the Paladins. ' USC 13, Radford 1 USC banged out 14 hits March 5, including home runs from Meyer, Pack and sophomore Trey Dyson, to defeat the Highlanders and give the Gamecocks a sweep of the three-game weekend series. Barber pitched 6 2-3 innings, allowing four I hits and one run, to improve his record to 3-0. Trey Brasington (1-2) was the losing pitcher, sending Radford to a 3-7 record. The Gamecocks took a 3-0 lead on four hits in the second inning, but Radford closed to 3-l*on a solo home run by Keith Brunst, his second of the season, in the top of the fifth inning. Meyer got tie run back with his third homer in the bottom o\the fifth. ‘ Carolina added one run in the sixth, two in the sevfcith and six in the eighth, including a three-run homr from Pack and Dyson’s solo shot. kelly had three hits for South Carolina, iiw cludirt a double, and drove in three runs. Meyer, Dees ad McBeth had two hits each, and senior Marco:Rios chipped in a pinch-hit double. Racford had five hits, two by Bill McCarthy Thegame also saw the Gamecock return of Spigner, vho made his first appearance of the sea son, pitthirig a scoreless ninth inning. The Streak see f*ge B2 Jacquelyn Poston Gamecock Sports Senior outfielder Nate Jaiowicz, 2, crosses home plate after his first-inning hone run earlier this season, while pitcher Chris Spigner, 25, looks on. TheGamecocks extended their undefeated streak to 19 Smday at Auburn, sweeping the No. 4 Tigers. Davis, Gamecocks go out in style USC beats No. 8 Tennessee, takes Auburn to wire in SEC toumment Men’s Basketball Roundup Gamecock Sports USC’s men’s basketball team used a late-season suige to win six of its last nine games, but fell to Aubum in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament to finish the season at 15-17. The Gamecocks pulled together and played perhaps their finest basketball of the season as they finished the regular season by defeating No. 25 Vhn derbilt in Nashville, then beating Alabama and No. 8 Tennessee in tournament play in Atlanta USC also took No. 4 Auburn to overtime before falling by only five points. Auburn 77, USC 72 (OT) In lone senior Herbert Lee Davis’ last collegiate game, the Gamecocks used resilient play throughout regulation to hold close to the Tigers, but a two-minute scoreless drought in overtime ended USC’s hopes for a ®faculous SEC Tournament championship and an au tomatic NCAA Tournament berth. Aubum, playing without suspended All-American Chris Porter, received 15 points from junior guard Scott Pohlman to advance to the finals of the SEC Tourna ment for the first time since 1985. Pohlman, the hero of Auburn’s 65-61 victory over USC on Jan. 19, fought off a touch of the flu to lead the Tigers in scoring. Davis scored 10 in his final outing and was helped with 10 more from redshirt freshman Tony Kitchings. Kitchings, one of the heroes in USC’s win over Ten nessee, also nailed a short jumper in overtime to give the Gamecocks a 70-68 lead. However, Aubum center Mamadou N’diaye scored five consecutive points on a free throw, a sky hook and a layup to give the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish. N’diaye finished with a double-double, scoring 14 and grabbing 10 rebounds. Fellow seniors Doc Robin son and Daymeon Fishback scored 14 and 12 points, re sratively, to help the Tigers. USC leading scorer Antonio Grant (16 points) tied the game at 68 when he hit a 10-footer with 5.5 seconds left to play. Following a Fishback miss, the horn sounded the end of regulation and breathed new life in to the Gamecock faithful. However, too many missed opportunities in over time sent USC home with a tough loss, yet an other one that fell into the characterization ol itsentire season - playing a ranked team ex tremely well until the last minute, but falling short. Guard Chuck Edson, who was named to the SEC Coaches’ All-Freshman team before the tournament, was held scoreless on four shooting attempts. Edson finished the season as the SEC’s leader in steals with 93, a new South Carolina single-season record. USC 75, Tennessee 68 USC finally pulled off an upset over a ranked team, and it couldn’t have come at a better time as the fifth-place Gamecocks topped SEC regular season co-champion Tennessee on Friday in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tour nament. Sophomore guard Jamel Bradley contin ued his strong season with a career-high 20 points, including 15 in the second half, as USC clawed back from a 40-29 halftime deficit to beat the Vols. Tennessee, which shared the regular-sea son title with Florida, Kentucky and LSU, lost the chance to beat USC for the third time this season when it couldn’t score in the final 4:23. USC pulled to within six points six dif ferent times in the second half, but couldn’t overcome the Vnliinlper’c inside duo of junior Charles Hathaway and freshman Ron Slay. However, the Gamecocks received unexpected help front Kitch ings to advance to their third SEC semifinal in four years. The freshman from Aiken, S.C., exploded for 16 second-half points and brought the Gamecocks to with in four with 7:51 left. Kitchings converted a three-point play when he was fouled by Hathaway on a putback, giving USC the momentum it needed for a late rally. Bradley broke loose on a fast break and was fouled by first-team All-SEC member Tony Harris on a con verted layup. One free throw later, and the Gamecocks held a 67-66 lead with 4:40 to go. After Tennessee’s C.J. Black scored and gave the Vols the lead, Kitchings made two free thows antw^ fouled again on a reverse layup with 2:6 remaining Kitchings made the ensuing free throw,then watched as Eidson stole the ball with a minute teft, flew down court and dunked with emphasis to seal the USC vic tory. To add insult to injury, USC inbounded the ball to Grant with 1.2 seconds left. Grant tossed up a long bomb from midcourt, that somehow banked off the backboard and in to give USC the final maigin. USC 69, Alabama 59 Bradley scored 15 points and Eidson added 12 on Basketball see page B2 Special to Gameock Spirts Sophomore guard Jamel Bradley played a vial partin USC’s tournament success. Women s track barely misses national title Track & Field Roundup Gamecock Sports South Carolina’s women’s track and field team nearly brought home the first team NCAA championship in school history after the NCAA Indoor Championships on Thursday and Fri day, finishing second to UCLA. Only USC’s baseball team in 1975 and 1977 and its men’s soccer team in 1993 have finished second while play ing for an NCAA championship. USC scored 41 points, Arkansas had 39 to finish third and LSU had 37 to finish fourth. UCLA won with 51 points — its first indoor title. “Everything in the meet was ex cellent. Our girls fought back after some adversity. They didn’t put their heads in a hole,” USC head coach Cur tis Frye said. “We had a very outstanding meet. We thought we needed 42 points to win, but UCLA had a great meet.” The USC men were eighth with 20 points, bettering Clemson (which finished one point better than USC in 1999), which finished 10th with 16 points. Arkansas won the men’s title with 69.50 points— its 35th NCAA title. More good news came when ju nior Terrence Trammell was named ’’■e National Indoor Track and Field 'thiue of the Year by the U.S. Track ‘“l Field Coaches Association Wednes daThe award was voted on by NCAA ^'sion I track and field coaches and-as “not even close”, according to thuSTCA. T’nmell left the competition be hind frat-he start t0 wjn tjie 5^ and became the first 60m-dash/60m hurdles double winner in the history of the NCAA. “Terrence’s efforts today. Wow,” Frye sad. “It has never been done be fore ard that’s why he was MVP. There’s nothing else I can say. Terrence is the greatest collegiate track and field athlete in America, maybe the best ath lete in any sport. I am glad I had this chance to be involved in his develop ment.” Trammell also won the hurdles with a time of 7:57 at the USATF Champi onships in Atlanta on March 4. Trammell avenged a fourth-place finish last year to claim his first USA national title. Sophomore Miki Barber was the runner-up in the women’s 400m and might have won the title if not for a push by a runner later disqualified. Bar ber later anchored USC’s relay, at 51.6, as the Gamecocks finished as the run ner-up in the 4x400m relay, shatter ing the school record. Also, former USC standout Dawn Ellerbe won the 20-pound weight with a world record toss of 77 feet, 5 inches, on her last throw. Ellerbe, who won four national titles and five SEC titles at USC, and is now an assistant coach at Wyoming, won her ninth US ATF title. USC volunteer coach Melissa Mor rison won the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.86, while freshman Antoninette Wilks was third in the long jump with a mark of 20’ 2”. The USC track teams will next compete March 17-18 in Columbia at the Weems-Basbjn Relays.