The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 14, 2000, Page 9, Image 9
Inside: Schedule
USCmen’s tennis freshman Seth Rose wins a Men’s 9°lf at SEC Championships
... , .. ~ .. , „ . (Opelika; Ala.), today-Tue.
sixth match in a row, Carolina volleyball wel- i , . . .. , .... _
' 7 ■ Women s tennis vs. Vanderbilt, 2 p.m.
comes new assistant coach a Men’s tennis vs. Vanderbilt, 2 p.m.
■ Softball vs. LSU (DH), 5 p.m.
Bouknight, Meyer tame Tigers
by David Cloninger
Sports Editor
When he was tabbed as USC’s start
ing pitcher Wednesday, Kip Bouknight
made a deal.
“I made a deal with [USC reliever
Scott] Barber before the game,”
Bouknight said. “I said, ‘If I can give you
eight strong, I’ll giyg you the ninth.’”
Bouknight delivered on his part of
the bargain, pitching eight innings, giv
ing up seven hits, three runs, three walks
and striking out nine on his way to a 6
3 triumph over No. 7 Clemson. Barber
closed the door in the ninth, knocking
out the only three batters he faced, to
give No. 2 USC its 33rd win and break
ing a five-game losing streak to the Tigers.
Bouknight improved his record to
10-0* while Barber recorded his eighth
save of the year and notched his 53rd
strikeout. Bouknight also has not given
up an extra-base hit in 30 innings.
“He came down [to the bullpen] and
said, ‘I filled my end, and now it’s time
to uphold your end,”’ Barber said. “I
went out there, and luckily I was able
to do that.”
The game started out with a bad
omen, when Clemson head coach Jack Leggett
prepared for his pre-game ritual. Before every
Tiger home game, Leggett runs and dives on
to the ground in the middle of his players.
Leggett stumbled on the start of his run Wednes
day, perhaps foreshadowing what was about to
happen to his starting pitcher.
Clemson senior Scott Bemey came into the
game with a 7-2 record and an ACC-leading
1.46 ERA. Known for his pinpoint control,
Bemey bore down on leadoff hitter Nate Janow
icz. The senior outfielder belted Berney’s third
pitch through the middle for a single.
USC’s other hero of the night, freshman
shortstop Drew Meyer, stepped in next to face
Bemey. Meyer watched the first two pitches
miss the outside comer, and stepped out of the
batter’s box for instructions from head coach
Ray Tanner.
“I was half-heartedly giving him the take,
and it was not a good signal,” Tanner said. “He
thought I was telling him to take a look at the
third baseman.”
Meyer stepped back in and crushed Bemey’s
next offering over the right field fence for a
two-run lead.
“Getting that home run didn’t hurt,” Mey
er said. “We realized we could take control of
this game, and we did.”
The two-run cushion was all Bouknight
needed to fulfill his obligation, as he received
timely defense and clutch hits for the victory.
“It’s the first time in my career we beat
them here,” Bouknight said. “It was a big win,
and I’m very proud of our guys.”
Berney was chased from the game in the
fourth inning after loading the bases with one
out. The score was 3-0 at that point, stemming
from a Brandon Pack solo home run in the sec
ond inning.
After giving up a one-out double to Mar
cus McBeth, a Chris Plummer single and hit
ting John McHenry with a pitch, Leggett sent
Bemey to the showers and replaced him with
Thomas Boozer.
Janowicz welcomed Boozer in the same
way he greeted Bemey, rocketing a 2-2 pitch
to almost the same place as his first single. The
hit scored McBeth and Plummer, giving USC
a 5-0 lead.
Clemson (28-8, 6-3 ACC) clawed back in
the fifth when rightfielder Casey Stone drove
in Michael Johnson with a single. The Tigers
had runners at the comers with two outs, but
Bouknight struck out Khalil Greene on a called
third strike to end the rally.
USC tacked on an insurance run one inning
later when Meyer lofted a long fly to left, scor
ing Plummer on the tag-up.
The Gamecocks then found out that a lit
tle luck goes a long way, as Bouknight gave up
three successive singles in the sixth to Jeff Bak
er, Patrick Boyd and Brian Ellis to load the
bases with no outs. With the crowd of 6,134
all standing and screaming, Johnson knocked
Bouknighj’s
next pitch to
deep right field.
“When it
went up, it
looked like a
grand slam,”
Tanner said. “If
you noticed, the scoreboard put up four runs.
It stunned the runners.”
The ball missed going over the fence by
three inches, instead ricocheting to right
fielder Brennan Dees. Dees fired back to the
infield to hold the runners, but was too late
to stop Baker from scoring from third.
Jarrod Schmidt hit a sacrifice fly to cen
ter field for the first out, scoring Boyd. Then,
with the score 6-3, Bradley LeCroy knocked
a grounder right to Bouknight. Even though he
didn’t have to, Ellis tried to score and was tagged
out by a throw from Bouknight to Pack. In
stead of a one-out, bases-loaded jam, the Game
cocks had a two-out, two-runner jam. A Stone
fly to third ended the inning. The Tigers would
be shut down the rest of the way.
“That was huge,” Tanner said. “It feels aw
fully good to come in here in front of a packed
house and get the win.”
Tanner wouldn’t comment if Bouknight and
Barber would have a chance to make another
deal April 19 in Columbia, when the rivalry
begins again at 7 p.m. at Sarge Frye. Field.
USC (33-4, 12-3 SEC) will travel to Van
derbilt for a three-game series beginning today
at 8 p.m. Junior Peter Bauer (6-0) is expect
ed to start for the Gamecocks.
i jc.__am ■■_m_«»
Sean Rayford Gamecock Sports
Pitcher Kip Bouknight high-fives teammates after his 1-0 victory over Mississippi State last weekend.
Against Clemson Wednesday, Bouknight struck out nine and won his 10th game of the season.
Special to Gamecock Sports
Shortstop Drew Meyer drove in three runs in USC’s 6-3 win over
Clemson Wednesday. Meyer collected two runs with a home run.
Win over Tigers
proves mettle of
Carolina baseball
Charlie
Wallace
| Senior Writer
For Gamecock fans in every cor
ner of the world, Wednesday couldn’t
have come at a better ume.
At a time of the week when jobs
start to feel like a burden, students lose
their beginning-of-the-week zeal, and
teachers don’t feel like guiding the na
tion’s youth, there finally was a rea
son to look forward to Wednesday.
Also commonly referred to as
“hump day,” Wednesday would be the
stage where two old rivals would meet
on the diamond. It’s commonly said
that if one can get past Wednesday, then
the rest of the week is clear sailing.
Enter the Clemson Tigers, USC’s
hated intra-state rival. A never-ending
war that dates back to 1899 would
showcase perhaps the most anticipat
ed matchup in its history. The hatred
between Carolina and Clemson would
be on display once again.
USC pitching ace Kip Bouknight
would take the mound for the Game
cocks. Bouknight, who usually is re
served to pitch on Friday nights that
open SEC series, asked manager Ray
Tanner on three separate occasions
to let him pitch against the Tigers. Tan
ner obliged.
The rest of the story is now his
tory. Bouknight pitched a gem of a
*■
game against the No. 7 team in the na
tion, and reliever Scott Barber came
in to help his teammate and hold on
for a 6-3 Gamecock victory. The Tigers,
long having been a thorn in Carolina’s
side, succumbed to the magic that is
taking place this season for the Game
cocks.
And in the back of every Carolina
fan’s mind lingers the thought “This
might be the year...”
Could it be? Could getting past the
stiffest test so far for the Gamecocks
prove how good this team actually is?
As if a gaudy No. 2 national ranking
and first-place status in the SEC, ar
guably the nation’s toughest confer
ence, weren’t enough, USC is starting
to raise more than eyebrows.
Expectations, general tan interest
and even ticket sales are also on the
rise. All of these ingredients stirred to
gether make an interesting brew that
tastes like this: What would this town
do with a national champion ?
No one knows. USC has never had
a champion before. Never in its long
history of participating in athetics has
USC ever been “the best.” It’s come
close before, but close only counts in
horseshoes and hand grenades. How
ever, of all the sports at USC, baseball
has been the closest to accomplish
ing that unreachable dream. And this
year just might be something special.
There’s a certain spice in the air.
Tire fans feel it. The coaches feel it.
And most importantly, the players feel
Wallace SEE PAGE 10 I
m
Gamecock track & field takes 13
events at state championships
Track & Field Roundup
Gamecock Sports
Entertaining the crowd in the last home outdoor
meet of the year. South Carolina junior Terrence
Trammell automatically qualified for the 100m
and then led the 4x100m relay to an NCAA provi
sional time.
The Gamecock women won nine events and the
men won five at the South Carolina State Collegiate
Championships Wednesday at the Weems Baskin
track.
The Gamecocks return to action this weekend
when the team travels to Knoxville to participate in
the Sea Ray Relays.
Trammell ran a 10.17 in the 100m, qualifying
automatically for the NCAA Championships May
31-June 3 in Durham, N.C. It is the first time Tram
mell has run the 100m outdoors in 2000 as he has
run all relays the last three weeks. He will make his
2000 debut in the 110m hurdles this weekend at the
Sea Ray Relays.
On the women’s side, Mechelle Lewis won the
100m at 11.50, an NCAA provisional time. Kanisa
Williams was second at 11.80, and Takoya Thomas
was third at 12.30.
Candy Mitchell continued to lead the Game
cocks in the javelin, tossing an NCAA provisional
mark of 154’ 10 in capturing the win. Kylene Nixon,
the SEC indoor and outdoor record holder, won
the pole vault with a vault of 11’ 7. Lori Tvarkunas
was second at 11’ 1 3/4.
On the men’s side, Patrick Tvarkunas won the
men’s vault with a mark of 15’ 11.
Lisa Barber stepped in for twin sister Miki to
win the 400m at 53.93, as USC finished 1-2-3-4-5
6 in the event.
Joyce Peebles won the 800m at 2:16.22. She lat
er anchored the 4x400m relay to victory at 4:06.67.
The men’s 4x100m team (Clint Crenshaw, Tram
mell, Jimmie Hackley and Corey Taylor) edged South
Carolina State at 39.67 to 39.78.
USC and S.C. State both posted NCAA provi
sional times.
6 «
Taylor later won the 110m hurdles at 14.01, just
.01 from an NCAA provisional time. Shontel Pow
ell won the 100m hurdles at’ 14.50.
Gerald Pressley of Greenville won the 200m at
20.90 and was second in the 100m at 10.47. The
Gamecocks went 1-2-3 in the 200m as Jimmie Hack
ley was second (21.03) and Shamus Singletary was
third (21.39). Jarred Johnson was second in the 400m
hurdles at 53.13.
Men’s team moves in polls. South Carolina’s track
and field women continued to sit at No. 4 in the lat
est poll released by Trackwire and the Gamecock
men moved up two spots to No. 15.
Arkansas’ men and Texas’ women are No. 1 in
their respective polls.
The SEC has eight
men s teams in tne top
25 including: No. 1
Arkansas, No. 3 Aubum,
No. 4 Florida, No. 7
LSU, No. 9 Tennessee,
No. 15 South Carolina,
No. 18 Alabama and No.
21 Geoigia.
The SEC has seven
women’s teams in the
top 25 including: No. 2
LSU, No. 4 South Car
olina, No. 5 Arkansas,
No. 12 Florida, acid
Aubum and Geoigia are
tied at No. 20.
S.C. State Championship
USC Winners
Men
4x100m relay Crenshaw,
Trammell, Hackley, Tay
lor 39.67**
110m hurdles Corey
Taylor 14.01
100m Terrence Tram
mell 10.17%%
200m Gerald Pressley
20.90
Pole Vault Patrick Tvarkunas 15m 11
Women
100m Mechelle Lewis 10.50**
4x100m relay USC 44.27
Javelin Candy Mitchell 154’10**
Discus Alana Robinson 159’ 8
100m hurdles Shontel Powell 14.50
Pole Vault Kylene Nixon 11 ’ 7 3/4
800m Joyce Peebles 2:16.22
3000m Katie Orr 10:28.35
4x400m relay USC 4:06.67
** - NCAA provisional qualifying time
%% - NCAA automatic qualifying time
Special to Photo Editor
Junior Terrence Trammell automatically qualified for the NCAA
Championships at the S.C. State Championships this weekend.
* 4