The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 15, 2000, Page B1, Image 11
Inside:
Cloninger offers the best picks for the up
coming NCAA Tournament, equestrian team
places one in Western Tournament
Schedule
■ Softball vs. Furman (DFI), 5 p.m.
■ Swimming at NCAA Championships,
Indianapolis, Thu. - Sat.
■ Women’s golf at Lady Gamecock
Classic, Fri. - Sun.
_
Wednesday, March 15,2000 %\\t 0amCCQCk PageBI
Baseball squad wins 20th straight
by David Cloninger
Sports Editor
“I’m still not sure exactly what
happened,” coach Ray Tanner said.
“You’ve got to suck it up, and do
the little things that win ballgames,”
relief pitcher Jamie Poston said.
“It’s hard to get through [games
like this], but once you get through
them, it’s good,” catcher Brandon Pack
remarked.
With statements like these, people
would have reason to suppose the worst
for the No. 5 Gamecock baseball team,
who entered Wednesday’s matchup
with UNC-Asheville needing a victo
ry to set the SEC’s longest consecu
tive winning streak.
As they have most of the season,
the Gamecocks were led by clutch hit
ting and strong pitching.
Unlike the rest of the season, the
game boiled down to one play in the
seventh inning.
With the Bulldogs’ Stephen Hull
on third with one out and UNCA trail
ing 3-1, USC’s Jamie Poston (2-0)
threw an 0-1 pitch to Bulldog center
fielder Jason Ronai on his way to his
second victory of the season.
Ronai bunted down the first base
line, sending Hull in motion toward
the plate and the beginning of a pos
sible rally.
Gamecock first baseman Tripp Kel
ly scooped up the ball by the pitcher’s
mound and fired it to Pack, who caught
it and slapped the tag on the sliding
Hull.
Or so it seemed.
The ball fell out of Pack’s glove
onto the plate, which was still 18 inch
es away from Hull’s foot. Pack quick
ly nabbed the ball and tagged Hull out,
snuffing the rally and sending UNCA
coach Mike Roberts into a frenzy.
However, once the dust settled,
Hull was out, the Gamecocks had a 3
1 lead, and the Bulldogs were look
ing for answers as USC earned its 20th
consecutive win.
“ I did drop the ball, but I picked
it back up, and tagged him out,” Pack
said. “We have games like this, and it’s
real nice to get a win.”
With the win, the high-flying
Gamecocks notched yet another record
in the already heralded 2000 season
and cruised into their three-game week
end series with SEC East foe Florida.
“This game will humble you like
no other sport,” Tanner said. “We’re
just fortunate to be where we are.”
USC got on the board in the first
inning, jumping on Bulldog pitcher
Matt Corrado (0-3) from the first pitch.
Corrado, rated the top Major League
Baseball prospect in the Big South Con
ference, was shelled early with Pack
lining an RBI triple to left center field.
Junior third baseman Chris Plum
mer knocked in Pack with an RBI sin
gle four pitches later, making the score
2-0.
The Bulldogs got one run in the
third when Corey Mercer scored from
a Hull single to left field. But, Roberts,
father of former USC base-stealer Bri
an Roberts, saw his team lose an ex
ellent chance to score in the fifth when
Gamecock pitcher Brett Price wiggled
out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam.
USC added an insurance run in the
same inning when outfielder Brennan
Dees plated SEC Player of the Week
John McHenry on a dribbler past third
base. UNCA never recovered as it
dropped to 4-9 for the year.
USC will play the Gators Friday at
7 p.m. at Saige Frye Field. The Game
cocks will be looking to improve on
their 3-0 SEC record and avenge a 1
2 series with Florida last season.
Sean Rayford Gamecock Sport;
First baseman Tripp Kelly, 43, is congratulated by teammates Chris Spigner, 25, Steve Thomas, 15, and Tim
Whittaker, 26, after one of his team-leading nine home runs earlier in the season.
McHenry receives SEC award, schedule for 2001 changes
Baseball Roundup
Gamecock Sports
Gamecock second base
man John McHenry was
named the SEC Player of the
Week for his performance
against both Furman and
Auburn last week.
The junior from Sparks,
Nev., hit .500 last week with
five runs scored, five RBIs, a
double, a triple and a game
winning three-run blast in the
eignin inning oi -nuay s MCHENRY
game at Auburn.
McHenry has been in
strumental in the Gamecocks’ success this season, play
ing in all 20 games and starting in 19. The Gamecocks
have received solid defensive play from McHenry and
have benefited from his hitting in several games.
With McHenry’s support, USC has moved up to
No. 5 in both the Collegiate Baseball and Baseball
America polls, up from Nos. 11 and 12 last week.
Also, the USA Today poll lists USC as No. 4. The
squad is one of two undefeated teams in the Top 25.
The USC baseball team will also return to a pre
vious form of scheduling next season when it plays
arch-rival Clemson four times a year instead of two.
Head-coach Ray Tanner has cited schedule con
flicts as the reason for the Gamecocks and Tigers play
ing each other only twice in the past three seasons,
but the two teams did play each other four times in
1997.
Tanner also said he and Clemson head coach Jack
Leggett plan to play each other four times a year as
long as the schedule permits.
In 2001, the teams will play at Columbia’s Saige
Frye Field on March 4 and April 18, while Clemson’s
Doug Kingsmore Stadium will play host to the annu
al grudge match on March 3 and April 25.
“I love the environment, and we want to play each
other,” Tanner said. “But both teams have a tremen
dous responsibility to our conferences.”
This season, USC goes to Clemson on April 12,
but returns to Columbia on April 19. The Tigers, re
cipients of the nation’s best recruiting class, are cur
rently ranked No. 4 in the Collegiate Baseball poll
with a 15-2 record.
Tuesday’s win over UNC-Asheville not only set
a record for most consecutive Southeastern Confer
ence wins, but also a personal mark for Tanner. His
previous best winning streak was 19, set in 1990 while
at N.C. State. That team finished 48-20 and went to
the NCAA Tournament.
Also, UNCA is coached by Mike Roberts, the fa
ther of former Gamecock, shortstop Brian Roberts.
Brian Roberts set a USC single-season stolen base mark
last year for USC, and was picked by the Baltimore
Orioles in the major-league baseball draft.
The USC baseball team is now hitting an average
.314, while holding an average 2.05 earned run aver
age. Opponents hold an average 8.88 ERA.
Softball captures Speedline crown
k
Softball Roundup
Gamecock Sports
The No. 18 South Carolina softball team reached
the finals of the USF/Speedline Classic for the second
time in as many years Sunday with wins over No. 24
Mississippi State, 2-1, and Florida, 9-2.
In 1999, Carolina advanced to the finals only to
fall to Michigan. The win was Carolina’s second straight
tournament crown. USC captured the Gladstone’s Tour
nament at the same place in February.
After going 2-2 in the first two days of the tourna
ment, the Lady Gamecocks rebounded to win five straight
in the final two days of the tournament. USC moves to
18-9.
In game one, Carolina faced Southeastern Confer
ence foe No. 24 Mississippi State in the semifinals.
►n.'^Lady Gamecocks stopped the Bulldogs in eight in
nings. With the win, USC moved on to the finals to face
Florida. Carolina faced three consecutive SEC teams to
end the tournament.
Despite six hits, the Lady Gamecocks had to go eight
innings to score a run. In the top of the eighth, Jodi Fit
tro was placed at second and Joyce McMillin walked.
Senior Sondra Hall came up with a game-winning two
run single to give USC a 2-0 lead going into the bot
tom of the eighth.
In the bottom of the inning, the Bulldogs cut the
lead in half with an RBI single by Karrie Rider, but Megan
Matthews made the final out for her 10th win of the sea
son.
Carolina took on the Gators in the final after UF
took care of ViiginaTech in the other semifinal, 7-0. The
Lady Gamecocks jumped out to an early lead against UF
with tournament MVP McMillin taking the mound.
McMillin ended the four-day tournament with a 4-0
^record.
* Carolina scored two runs in the first inning and put
the game away with three in the fourth and sixth innings
and one in the seventh. In USC’s past four games, the
Lady Gamecocks have scored 30 runs.
McMillin was the Lady Gamecocks’ offensive leader
as well as a leader on the mound. McMillin hit her team
leading fifth home run of the season with a two-run shot
to deep left field. Fittro al
so added two RBIs to advance
her nine-game tournament
total to seven.
The Lady Gamecock
names were prevalent on the
All-Tournament team, as
McMillin was named Most
Valuable Player and
Matthews earned Most Valu
able Pitcher honors for the
second time this season.
Freshman Fittro joined
seniors Kim Schultze and
Hall on the All-Tournament
squad.
Carolina broke through
on Saturday, winning three
games to advance to the semi
finals. With an 8-3 win
over Hofstra, USC advanced
out of Pool C with a No. 2
seed. Carolina then stopped
Georgia and host school
South Florida in single-elim
ination play.
In game one, USC fin
ished pool play with a strong
win over Hofstra. Matthews
settled down after allowing
a three-run homer in the first
inning to pitch six scoreless
innings for her first win of
the weekend.
The USC bats caught fire
on Saturday as Carolina
scored 19 runs and allowed only four. Against the Fly
ing Dutchwomen, USC scored three in the first, one in
the second and two in both the fifth and seventh innings.
Fittro led USC with two hits and two RBIs. USC also
got single RBIs from Schultze, McMillin and Debralee
Troesh.
In game two, McMillin pitched her second
shutout of the tournament with a 2-0 complete game
J11UIV/U1 M Ul V/IVA 1VV l
only two hits in seven innings and struck out seven. The
junior matched her total wins in 1999 with a 7-1 record.
McMillin also lowered her ERA to 0.65, allowing only
one run in her three wins of the tournament.
The USC offense came out in the top of the third
inning. Schultze led off the inning with a walk and Fit
SOFTBALL SEE PAGE B2
Special to Gamecock Sports
Third baseman Sondra Hall was an important player this weekend as
USC won the Speedline Invitational tournament
.. .. err f—
UCFs Lounsberry
fills coaching spot
Football Roundup
Gamecock Sports
Entering into what Gamecock fans
will hope to be a second-chance sea
son in fall 2000, there will be a new
face on the Carolina sideline.
USC hired Central Florida’s Paul
Lounsberry on Monday to be one ol
its two offensive line coaches.
He will join Dave DeGuglielmo,
who coached the Gamecocks’ offen
sive line last season. This also means
tight ends coach Dave Roberts will
switch to coaching defense.
Lounsberry, 48, spent the past 13
seasons coaching the offensive line for
the Knights and became the offensive
coordinator last season.
Lounsberry said the move to USC
was a difficult decision, especially be
cause he had been with Central Flori
da for so long. But discussions with
Gamecock head coach Lou Holtz per
suaded him to do it.
Holtz was out of town and un
available for comment on the hiring.
The new addition to the Gamecock
staff was described by Central Florida
head coach Mike Kruczek as part ol
the foundation of a program that made
the leap from Division I-AA to I-A
He also is credited with the recruit
ment of former Central Florida All
American quarterback Daunte Culpep
per.
Lounsberry will fill a position cre
ated by the departure of defensive ends
coach and special teams coordinatoi
Jon Fabris, who took a job with the
Cleveland Browns.
Notes: The Gamecocks will wear
black pants on the road next season ...
Spring practice begins Saturday and
is open to the public. Practice fields
are on Bluff Road, across from
Williams-Brice Stadium ... Guard
Kevin Rivers, academically ineligible
for the 2000 season, will practice with
the scout squad next season ... Rich
land Northeast product Jonathan Mar
tin will get a look at defensive back
this spring.
2000 USC football schedule
(Home games in CAPS)
September
2 NEW MEXICO STATE
9 GEORGIA*
16 EASTERN MICHIGAN
23 MISSISSIPPI STATE*
30 Alabama*
October
7 Kentucky*
14 ARKANSAS*
21 Vanderbilt*
28 TENNESSEE*
November
11 Florida*
18 Clemson
♦denotes Southeastern Conference
game »