The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 02, 2001, Page 10, Image 10
Gamecock Sports Schedule
■ Baseball at Clemson, 2 p.m. Saturday
■ Softball at Ole Miss, 3 p.m. Saturday
■ Men’s basketball at Mississippi State, 3 p.m. Saturday
■ Baseball vs. Clemson, 1:30 p.m. Sunday
Clemson rivalry resumes this weekend
No. 7 No. 14
USC (12-0) Tigers (6-3)
Head Coach: Ray Tanner Head Coach: Jack Leggett
PITCHERS PITCHERS
B(XJ KNIGHT
Bell
Kip Boumght racked up almost
every National Player of the Year
award in 2000. Transfer Gary
Bel has won his first four starts
as a Gamecock.
FIELDERS
uo-captain
Brennan Dees
hits third in the
Carolina lineup.
He shares the
team lead in
home runs
with seven.
Leadoff hitter
Marcus McBeth
also has seven
homers on the
year. He is a
defensive gem
in center field
for USC.
McBeth
Schmitt
Jarrod sauna was 9-0 last year
as a freshman. Senior Kevin
Lynn was a reliever this past
year, but has the stuff to be a
quality starter.
FIELDERS
Center fielder
Patrick Boyd
can do it all for
tiie Tigers; In his
first three years
with Clemson,
he hit .341.
Boyd
Shortstop Jeff
Baker was
named 2000’s
ACC Freshman of
the Year. He hit
an extra-inning
home run at USC
this past year.
Baker
HISTORY
Overall series: Clemson leads 146-99-2
by Shawn Skillman
The Gamecock
It’s too early in the college baseball
season to label any game a “must win,”
but this weekend’s games between South
Carolina and Clemson come pretty close.
The tvw-game home-and-home series,
which starts at Clemson on Saturday, will
be the premiere college baseball match
up in the nation this weekend and a revival
of the teams’ bitter rivalry that dates to
1899.
Both teams come into the game highly
ranked. The Gamecocks have jumped to
a 12-0 start and are ranked No. 7 in the
country by Baseball America. The Tigers
(6-3) are ranked No. 14.
“There is definitely more electricity
in the air with the fans, the stakes and the
recruits,” USC head coach Ray Tanner
said of the upcoming series. “It’s just a
great time for college baseball and great
to be a part of.”
ine series will be a tour-game set,
with two games this weekend and two in
late April. This weekend, Saturday’s game
will be played at Clemson, while Sunday’s
game will be at USC.
The change to four games was
something Tanner and Clemson head
coach Jack Leggett had been working
toward for a while. For the past few years,
the teams have only played each other
twice in a season.
“Coach Leggett and I have talked
about increasing the series, but we were
never able to work out the date,” Tanner
said “Ideally, the best format is the three
game series, but because we are in different
conferences, it’s difficult to have a date
that works for both schools.
“But the Saturday and Sunday format
is good,” Tanner said. “There’s so much
emotion in this game that breaking them
Sean Rayford/The Gamecock
Gamecock players celebrate their 9-8,12-inning victory over Clemson at Sarge Frye Reid this past year.
Carolina swept the Tigers in 2000, also defeating them 6-3 at Clemson.
up is better for both teams.”
This past year’s College Baseball
Player of the Year, Kip Bouknight, is the
probable starter Saturday for the
Gamecocks. He is 3-0 on the year, with
a 3.22 ERA to go with 20 strikeouts.
“Honestly, [the Clemson games] are
some of the biggest games of the year,”
Bouknight said. “We want to do all we
can to win all our games, especially in
the SEC, but there’s no other game I’d
rather win titan Clemson.”
Though the USC offense has shown
power with 26 home runs this season, it’s
been the men on the mound that
Tanner feels are key to the Gamecocks’
great start.
“We are 12-0 and played pretty good
because of our pitching staff,” he said.
“We were in some dog fights with VCU
and Richmond, and George Mason had
us on the ropes a couple of times. We are
talking about (being) 8-4 or 9-3 if our
pitcliing staff doesn ’t give us a chance to
win. Our pitcliipg staff hasn’t let us down,
despite us being inconsistent on offense
at times.”
This past season’s Florida Junior
College Player of the Year, pitcher Gary
Bell, will get his first taste of the Clemson
rivalry this weekend and will start Sunday.
I
CLEMSON see page 11
Men’s Basketball
Gamecocks have trouble
pulling out the close games
■ USC to finish regular season Saturday at Mississippi State
by Michael Haney
The Gamecock
It’s been a grueling basketball
campaign this year for Carolina.
The Gamecocks have played many
close games and have a few wins to show
for it, but most of the games have ended
in heartbreaking defeats. Carolina has
dropped four of the past five contests,
• and the four losses were by a combined
total of 14 points.
USC is 6-10 in games this season
decided by eight points or less.
“Bad luck just happens to some
people, and hopefully it will change,”
Gamecock center Tony Kitchings said
after Carolina’s latest defeat at the hands
of Tennessee in overtime.
The last few grains of sand are falling
through the hourglass on the 2000-01
regular season, as Carolina will face
Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss.,
Saturday in its last regular season game
of the year.
USC (14-12,6-9 SEC) will look to
head into the SEC Tournament next
weekend with some momentum to make
a championship run, which, in all
likelihood, is its only possibility of playing
in the NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve been having a lot of games
like this,” Etchings said, referring to the
tough Tennessee loss. “The last couple
seconds, you draw up a play, and the shot
can go in or go out. Hopefully, we got all
the bad out of the way and can go into
the SEC Tournament like we did last year
and win it all.”
Senior co-captain David Ross also
said he thinks the team can make a run
at any time.
“Even though we’ve been close and
haven’t been able to get a ‘ W’ each game,
this team comes and gives all it’s got,” he
said. “There’s not a team in this conference
that’s better than we are. There’s not a
team in this conference we can’t beat on
any given night.”
The Gamecocks will face a team in
their same situation on Saturday. The
Bulldogs are 15-11 overall, 6-9 in the
league, and are also trying to make a
run for a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Mississippi State has won three of the past
four contests and is tied for fourth place
in the SEC Wfestem Division with Auburn.
Mississippi State brings the country’s
sixth toughest schedule into Saturday’s
contest. The Bulldogs will depend on
senior All-SEC candidates Tang Hamilton
and Antonio Jackson, who lead the team
with respective scoring averages of 13
and 12.8 points per game.
■ LOCATION: Humphrey
Coliseum, Starkville, Miss.
■ TIME: 3 p.m. Saturday
■ RADIO: WVOC 540 AM
■ RECORDS: USC (14-12,
6-9 SEC), Miss. St. (15-11,
6-9)
This past season, Carolina defeated
the Bulldogs 68-67 in Columbia. The
win snapped a nine-game USC losing
streak. Antonio Grant had a game-high
16 points.
Tip-off for Saturday’s game is set for
3 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum.
Mississippi State leads the overall series
5-4.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
L___. • —-_W : J
Travis Lynn/The Gamecock
Jamel Bradley scored a team-high 23 points against Tennessee
Tuesday night, but Carolina lost in overtime, 68-67.
Former Gamecocks come up big in World Cup qualifier
■ Substitutes Wolff and Mathis
team up to clobber Mexico, 2-0
by Kyle Almond
The Gamecock
Two former Gamecocks paid big dividends for
the U.S. National Soccer Team Wednesday night.
Josh WWIT scored a goal and an assist and Clint
Mathis added an assist in the United States’ 2-0
defeat of Mexico, their first Wrrld Cup qualifying
match of this year.
Things looked bleak for the United States in
the first half, when star players Brian McBride and
Claudio Reyna went down with injuries, but
WollT and Mathis, who played together at USC in
the late 1990s, replaced the
two and teamed up for the
game’s opening goal in die 47th
minute.
Mathis, who replaced
Reyna in center midfield, led
WblfT with a long ball down die
middle of die field after stealing
a Mexico pass shortly alter
halftime. The Mexican
defenders were caught off
Wolff
Mathis
he U.S. a 1-0 lead.
“I wasn’t sure if
Campos] was able to get to it.
le might have hesitated a bit,”
\blff said. “I was able to touch
he ball and scoot it past him.”
Wolff’s goal revived
in American offense that
sputtered in the first half.
Die United States failed to
register a single shot on goal
guard, and a streaking WolIT raced behind them. It
came down to a foot nice between WbllTand Mexico
goitlkccpcr Joigc Gunpos, ;utd die former Gamecock
won out. He beat Gunpos to the ball, dribbled around
him and slid the ball into the back of the net to give
the entire first 45 minutes of Ihcgamc, which was
held at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus,
Ohio.
Wolff’s efforts also pul away ;uiy chance of a
Mcxiciui comeback late in the game. Dribbling deep
in the Mexican third in the waning minutes, Wolff
slipped by a pair of defenders in the comer, dribbled
into the box and centered the ball to midfielder
Earnie Stewart, who put the ball away for an
insurance goal in the 87th minute.
U.S. head coach Bruce Arena was impressed
with the way Wolff responded as a substitute.
“We talked to Josh the last couple of days,
and we really emphasized to him that his speed
could make a difference in this game,” Arena said.
“Josh is very good at running off the ball, and I
thought he was a factor as soon as he stepped on
the field today. I was pleased with his performance,
;uk1 hopefully he c;ui continue to fill a void we’ve
Soccer see page 11
Softball
splits two
with VT
■ Johnson's pitching
crucial to USC's 2-1
win in second game
by Darrah Densmore
The Gamecock
Following a lengthy road trip that
saw it play 17 games in three tournaments,
the Lady Gamecocks softball team
returned home and split a doubleheader
with Virginia Tech on Wednesday
afternoon at Beckham Field.
The split runs Carolina’s record to
12-8-1. Vuginia Tech is now 6-7.
Carolina lost the opener 4-1 in
nine innings, but rallied to win 2-1 in the
nightcap behind a strong pitching
performance from Stacey Johnson (6-3).
The first game saw both pitchers
dominate early, as Carolina’s Megan
Matthews (6-5), the reigning SEC Pitcher
of the Week, struck out five Hokies in
the first 4 2/3 innings. She then ran into
some two-out trouble, as Tech’s Mary
Lowzinski doubled and scored on a single
by Bronwyn Blair to give VT the early •
lead at 1 -0. After another hit by Carmen
Farmer, Matthews squeezed out of the
threat by forcing Clarisa Crowell to fly
out.
i nc uamecocKS lieu me game in uie
bottom of the sixth with a two-out double
by Debralee Troesh and a single by Joyce
McMillin, scoring Nancy Crane, who
pinch ran for Troesh. That would be all
Carolina could muster against Crowell
(2-2), who scattered seven hits in nine
innings of work. Her counterpart
Matthews would finish with 11 strikeouts,
but it would not be enough to claim her
7th victory of the year.
Tech won the game in the top of the
ninth inning, when errors by Baggetta
and Matthews led to three Hokic runs.
The normally sure-handed Gamecocks
committed four errors in the game. USC
entered the contest with 25 errors, and
a fielding pcrccnuigc of .954.
Johnson grounded out to end the
giunc, but she would turn out to be one
Softball see page ti