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ITIu ©amecock’s I ^ ction w Baseball - 2 & 3 * Basketball - 4 Football - 6 % Olympic Sports - 9 &10 n Jeff Romig The Gamecock urew Meyer Is spending his summer In Chatham, Mass., playing for the Chatham Athletics of the Cape Cod League. This league Is a summer collegiate league where the players get their first shot at learning how to hit with wooden bats as compared to the aluminum bats they use In college. • A Summer on the Cape After tearing up the Southeastern Conference as a freshman, Drew Meyer decided to trav el to New England to display his talents in the Cape Cod collegiate summer league ^ by Jeff Romig Wk. The Gamecock South Yarmouth, Mass. - When Drew Meyer decided to ditch the Los Angeles Dodgers and attend the University of South Carolina, all thoughts of Meyer spending this summer clad in blue and white, hitting line drives with a wooden bat were diminished in the minds of your everyday Gamecock fan. 1- | Tlie truth is, Meyer knew he would spend this summer \ in Chatham, Mass., playing for die blue and wliite Chatham | Athletics on the Cape Cod League, where top collegiate players learn how to adjust to die wooden bat used by every level of professional baseball. “It was a tough decision,” Meyer said. “I made the de cision at the beginning of my freshman year, and I really did n't know what I was getting into, but 1 made the right deci sion career wise.” Meyer had the option of playing for the USA Team this sum mer, but passed to play on Cape Cod. “I had been invited, with a good chance to make the team, but playing time would be questionable,” Meyer said. “I wanted to come up (to the Cape Cod League) to be a better player this summer. 1 talked with some friends and other players around the country, and decided that playing for Chatham would be the best thing for me.” Last summer, Tommy Lasorda and the Dodgers wanted Meyer, as did Ray Tanner and the Gamecocks. This summer, Scliiffner got to have the player whose services were worth six figures a year ago for free. “We sort of out recruited Team USA a little bit,” Scliiffner said. “I spoke to Drew’s father, and 1 spoke to Drew. They said we were the first ones to contact him late last summer, and they felt compelled to go with the commitment they gave to us.” * A commitment wasn’t the only reason Meyer decided to spend his summer in New England. “Drew also felt that he’d been with Team USA,” Schiffner said. “He’d had that experience before, and he wanted to try the Cape Cod League and use thewooden bat against some of the best pitching ” Meyer’s decision might have been tough, but it was nothing com pared to what he was pondering more than a year ago. “You look around, and a lot of these players are top-round draft possibilities for next year,” Meyer said. “It’s interesting to take a step back and see how others are going through it and enjoy just playing the game.” What has been tough for Meyer has been the transition to hitting with a wooden bat. Meyer is hitting .212 with four doubles, two home runs and 13 RBIs through 29 games. “He started off just fine,” said John Schiffner, Chatham head coach. “He has to look at his hands to make sure that it’s not an aluminum bat, it’s really a wooden bat. He’s struggling a little bit.” Despite the struggles, Meyer continues to put in the work nec essary to succeed. “It’s just a little bit of mechanics,” Schiffner said “He’s flying open a little bit, trying to pull the ball probably a little bit more than he should. He is certainly trying in batting practice, and it’s starting to come around.” Meyer SEE PAGE 3 * Holtz is confident going into 2000 David Cloni nger The Gamecock 0-11. A 21-game losing streak. Eighteen straight Southeastern Conference losses. With all of these negative aspects staring him in the face, USC head coach Lou Holtz welcomed in die new season Thursday by showing off liis new ly assembled team to members of the media at Willi anis-Brice Stadium. But, the forecast for the upcoming season wasn’t as dreary :ls might be expected. “We have a chance to go from the worst to the * best, Holtz siiid. “We’re the only team in the na tion that can possibly do that.” Holtz described his team as “encouraging” and “special", which was backed up by several of his players. Each of lire players didn’t hesitate to praise other teammates and their leader, and promised a great many differences in the coming year. “If you did not know this football team was com ing off an 0-11 record, you’d really be encouraged,” Holtz said. “Confidence is a big factor. The good news is, that’s a great way to start. The bad news is, how do you keep dial moving forward?” Holtz addressed the major concerns of his team, such as the kicking game, lack of big players, com mitment from die upperclassmen on the team, and most importantly, how to rebuild the shattered confidence of the team. As for big players, Holtz jokingly told the room “I don’t know what to expect.” However, he fol lowed up that statement by saying, "We need to eliminate bad plays. If we do that, we won’t need as many good plays on offense.” Defense was a main issue for Holtz, who fielded perhaps the biggest surprise in the nation last sea son when linebackers John Abraham and Corey Atkins anchored a top 20 defense. The two seniors led USC in defense, but are both in the NFL now. However, returning to the defense will be an outstanding quartet of linemen in Kalimba Ed wards, Cleveland Pinkney, Cecil Caldwell and Joltn Stamper. Backing up those four will be Dennis Quinn, Willis Sams and Anthony Overstreet. “The biggest tiling we have to do is gain some con fidence,” Holtz said. The offense, one of the lowest-producing in the NCAA last year, is also a source of primary con cem. Bui, Holtz feels sure his pick for starting quar terback, Phil Petty, will be vastly improved. “Phil has developed as a leader, and as a person,” Holtz said. “He is very secure in the position, and 1 really and truly expect him to have a very good year.” Holtz did indicate the backup slot is wide open, and could be filled by any one of seven candidates, including two freshmen, Rodriquez Wilson and Dondrial Pinkins, who have shown great potential in practice. Also receiving much attention was last year’s woe ful kickinggame. Starting kickers Courtney Leav itt and Steve Florio are gone, and no set backup has come forward. “The kicking game has three freshmen we will keep through two-a-day practices,” Holtz said. “Those three will compete for the position with Tyeler Dean, Reid Bethea and Adam Holmes.” Derek Watson, one of the Gamecocks’ most uti lized players last season was the point of many questions, but many were about his off-the-field behavior instead of his performance on it. “He could range anywhere from ‘Derek Who?’ to “He’s the greatest’”, Holtz said. “His competi tivenss on the field is outstanding, but what he needs is a choke collar. "How good we are on offense will depend on how many big plays we get from our quarterback, tail back and wide receivers,” Holtz said “No one gives us a chance, but they’re not in our locker room.” Holtz’s players also took time out from practice to field questions, including Edwards, Watson Football seepages!