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Inside: Schedule Two USC volleyball recruits receive nation- ■ Women’s 90lf at SEC Championships (Rogers, Ark.) today - Sun. al recognition, three athletes recognized at a Softbal| at Georgia (DH)i 5 p.m. Awards Day ' ■ Baseball at Kentucky, 6 p.m. ■ Track & field at VT Invite, Sat.-Sun. > Twice as nice Dyson, Rws provide offensive sparks as Gamecocks rally to beat Tigers in 12th inning Baseball from page 1 right fielder Brennan Dees for the first out, but walked catcher Brandon Pack. That set the stage for Dyson, who clob bered the second pitch he saw well over the trees behind the fence in right-center. “He threw a breaking ball on the first pitch and I thought he was definitely go ing to come back with it again.” Dyson said. “I was lucky it was a fastball, and I just turned on it. It got out of here pretty good.” Two innings later, in the top of the 11 th, Clemson shortstop Jeff Baker hit a home run to left-center off eventual win ning pitcher Scott Barber (6-1), giving the Tigers an 8-7 lead. In the bottom of the 11th, Dyson tied up the game by doubling home Brennan Dees, who reached on an error from Tiger rightfielder Justin Singleton. That set the stage for the bottom of the 12th inning. After a single by second baseman John McHenry, left fielder Nate Janowicz sacrificed him to second base for the first out. Clemson head coach Jack Leggett de cided to intentionally walk shortstop Drew Meyer to create a potential force out at second base, but a passed ball by catcher Brian Ellis moved the runners to second and third. Leggett then intentionally walked Dees to lead up the bases. And that brought to the plate back up catcher Marcos Rios, who had been inserted as a pinch runner the inning be fore. Rios, who had only 22 at-bats and eight hits going into the game, came through with the biggest hit of his college career, a game-winning single to left that scored McHenry. Rios, a senior who saw his playing time cut drastically this year with the ad dition of Pack, said it has been worth it to keep playing, even with a diminished role. 'There’s times when I look in the mir ror and I go, ‘Oh my God, we’re the num ber one team in the country right now,”’ Rios said. “We’re the best baseball team in the country right now and that’s just unbelievable.” USC took an early 1 -0 lead in the bot tom of the first, when Jahowicz scored on an error by Clemson first baseman Michael Johnson. Clemson tied the score in the third inning on a throwing error by first baseman Tripp Kelly. USC would not have the lead again until the game-win ning hit. Clemson scored again in the fourth, pushing two runs across on three singles against starter Peter Bauer. The Game cocks tied the score again at three in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run home run by Meyer. The Tigers came right back in the top of the next inning, however, to score three runs and take a 6-3 lead, forcing Bauer from the game. In the top of the seventh, Clemson scored again, giving the Tigers their biggest lead of the game, 7-3. The Gamecocks refused to die, though, scoring one run in the bottom of the seventh, one in the bottom of the eighth on a home run by third baseman Chris Plummer, and the two in the bottom of the ninth that sent the game to extra in nings. “These guys just refuse to go down,” head coach Ray Tanner said. “It was just agreat effort by a lot of different guys. It’s just a great feeling to be able to come back in front of a packed house at Sarge Frye. That’s a wonderful win for us.” USC now takes its No. 1 ranking to Kentucky for a three-game series against the Wildcats. Sean Rayford Gamecock Sports USC relief pitcher Ernie Bascuas (center) high-fives his teammates after their 9-8 12-inning win over Clemson Wednesday. The party began with a shaving-cream bath. Sean Rayford Gamecock Sports Senior Nate Janowicz, covered in post-game shaving cream, collects his thoughts for an interview with Greenville’s WYFF-TV. Oemsoa (32-10) ab r h bi Stone If 5 111 Ellis c 6 0 2 0 Greene 3b 4 0 0 0 Johnson lb 3 1 10 Calitriph 3 0 0 0 Baker ss 5 111 Boyd cf 6 0 10 Stanieydh 5 3 3 1 Riley 2b 5 12 1 Singleton rf 6 1 3 2 Totals 49 8 14 6 Clemson 001 203 100 010-8 USC 100 020 112 011-9 South Carolina (384) * r h W ianowiczlf 5 110 Meyer ss 6 2 2 2 Deesrf 6 10 0 Packc 3 0 11 Thomas pr 0 1 0 0 Whittaker c 0 0 0 0 Riospr 10 11 Dysondh 6 13 3 Kelly lb *5010 McBethcf 6 0 10 McHenry 2b 5 2 2 0 Plummer 3b 6 1 2 1 Totals 49 9 14 8 Losing pitcher - Glaser Winning pitcher - Barber E: Johnson, Singleton, McHenry. LOB: Clemson 13, USC 15 2B: Stone (6), Stanley (2), Pack (12), Dyson 2 (6), Plummer (7). HR: Baker (3), Meyer (8), Dyson (5), Plummer (4). SR Greene (7), Stanley (11). Janowicz (17). SH: Stone. Janowicz WP: Lynn (2) Bauer (5) Poston (1) Bar ber (7) PB: Ellis (5) HBP: Riley by Poston T: 4:02 A: 6,307 Coggins readies No. 17 women s golf team for shot at SEC Championship amecock Sports The USC women’s golf team (L-R): First row: coach Kristi Coggins, assistant coach Clarissa Childs, Stefanie Reynolds, Kristen Ruble, Dallas Ambrose. Second row: Abby Women’s Golf Roundup Gamecock Sports SEC Action The No. 17 USC women’s golf team heads to Rogers, Ark., this weekend to compete in the 20th edition of the SEC Women’s Golf Championships at the Pin nacle Country Club. The Lady Gamecocks are looking to build on a strong spring season and are searching for the first women’s golf league title in Carolina’s nine year SEC history. Last year, Car olina finished 10th in Opelika, Ala. SEC History This is the Lady Gamecocks’ ninth appearance in the SEC Championships. Carolina is coming off a 10th place finish last year after an eighth-place finish in Birming ham, Ala., in 1998. Before then, USC had finished in the top five of each of its first six tourneys, jncludin^^econd-placenwkhi_ the 1995 classic in Franklin, Tenn. National Rankings Carolina enters the 2000 SEC Championships ranked 17th in the latest MasterCard College Golf Foundation and Golfweek/Sagahn computer na tional polls. The Lady Game cocks have been in the top 20 of both polls all season and have reached as high as 11th in both listings. Kristi Coggins In her sixth year as the head coach of USC, Kristi Coggins has taken the squad to new heights. In her first year, 1995, the Lady Gamecocks achieved their highest national ranking ever and finished in fifth place or better in eight tournaments, while posting a school-best ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Coggins led the Lady Gamecocks to the NCAA Cham pionships in her second season as well, the first time in school his tory the squad participated in back-to-back NCAA Champi onships. In 1998, Coggins took over a rebuilding process, as the Lady Gamecocks entered the season with a young and inexperienced squad. With only one senior and no juniors, Coggins scheduled a challenging slate of tournaments for the young squad. Coggins said she believes that in order to be the best, you have to play against the best competition. This experience proved valu able as USC improved signifi cantly late in 1998. Last year, USC made its move back into the upper echelon of women’s golf, spurring Coggins to 1999 SEC Coach of the Year honors. Coggins has experience in the postseason, having led Texas Christian to five NCAA Tourna ment appearances and three show ings in the NCAA Championships in nine seasons with the Horned Golf see page ti Created... ' two heroes by David Cloninger Sports Editor As USC finished its incredible 9 8 comeback over Clemson Wednes day night, a deliriously happy bunch of Gamecocks piled on one another at home plate. A can of shaving cream, handed to a player by a fan, was thrown into the mix for one of the wildest cel ebrations since Y2K. However, as the applause and the “We’re Number One!” chants rang out, two heroes quietly sat and drank in the moment before being swept up by their teammates and drawn into the cele bration. Trey Dyson and Marcos Rios, both used primarily as “the 10th man,” received their chances to shine Wfednes day, and did so admirably with three clutch hits to turn back the pesky Tigers. uybuu, a Mailing uesignaieu niuer on Wednesday who normally splits time in the batting order, delivered those hits to tie the game - twice. Rios, a starting catcher in 1999 but a pri mary pinch-hitter in 2000, lined the game-winning single to left field, scor ing John McHenry for the winning run. * Dyson faced down Clentson pitch er Nick Glaser, the ACC Player of the Week, in the ninth as USC looked at a 7-5 deficit. Down to their last two outs and with one man on base, the Gamecocks needed a miracle. Four times this season, South Car olina had faced a deficit in late innings. Four times this season, USC had pre vailed. Why not make it five? Dyson echoed these sentiments as he took a strike, squared his shoulders and drove Glaser’s next offering over the right field fence for a deficit-eras ing homer. , “That’s the pitch I like, down and ' in,” Dyson said. “I don’t think he want-,; ed to put it there, but he did.” Carolina’s sophomore DH deliv Heroes SEE PAGE tl USC team deserves top ranking IJ Mark P i r a s Staff Writer There’s an adage in baseball, that any team can beat any other team on any given day. There are reasons for this, too. You never know when an oppos ing pitcher is going to hit a groove ahd just shut you down, or an opposing bat ter is going to start hitting every thing you throw at him, or a ball will bounce an inch fair instead of an inch foul. The Gamecocks don’t seem ttj* worried about an adage, though, as they continue to post win after win. After the win Wednesday against Clemson, USC has won 13 in a row. And this is after it started the season by winning 22 in a row, setting an SEC record. So what is causing this team to be good enough to defy conventional Gamecocks see page n