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Gamecock Sports Schedule ■ Women’s golf at Georgia, 11 a.m. Friday ■ Baseball at Alabama, 7 p.m. Friday ■ Track and field at SEC Quad in Athens, Ga., 9 a.m. Saturday ■ USC spring football game, 1 p.m. Saturday UTht (Bamecock Friday, March 30, 2001 Gamecocks exact sweet revenge on Elon ■ Right fielder Dees to miss 4-5 weeks with knee injury by Kevin Turner The Gamecock For the Gamecock baseball team, its offense was once again so hot the Elon Phoenix couldn’t rise from its own ashes. Riding four RBIs by Marcus McBeth in the first two innings, USC lit up Elon on Wednesday night at Saige Frye Field for a 13-2 win, its fifth straight. However, the news wasn’t all positive for USC. The Gamecocks (24-4) found out before the game that they were going to be without senior leader and co-captain Brennan Dees for at least a month because of injury. Though it was playing an unranked opponent in Elon (16-13), No. 5 USC felt it had something to prove after losing to the same team a year before at Saige Frye Field. Elon upset the Gamecocks 7-5. “We didn’t have this game marked down on our calendars or anything,” USC head coach Ray Tanner said, “but we knew that once they came back into our house that we were going to have to show them how good we really are.” Though both teams had seven hits, USC took advantage of many pitching miscues and three Elon errors to exact its revenge. The bombardment began in the first inning when leadoff hitter Drew Meyer was hit by a pitch and was driven in two pitches later by McBeth, who blasted Thomas Dodson’s pitch to give Carolina an early 2-0 lead. Freshman Landon Powell led off the next inning with a walk, and Drew Meyer hit a single to further his hitting streak to eight games. McBeth followed by launching a double to right-center field, scoring Powell and Meyer and bringing the tally to 4-0. After a Michael Floyd walk and three wild pitches by Elon, the Gamecocks were comfortably on top 6-0. The third and fourth innings passed quietly, but this proved to be only the quiet before the storm; USC went on to rack up seven runs off three hits in the fifth inning. Carolina’s Bryon Jeffcoat, who finished 2-for-5 on the day, had a single, a double, a run scored and two RBIs in the inning. Tripp Kelly scored on an error by the first baseman, and two runs were later walked jn with the bases loaded. USC finished off its opponent without much resistance. USC freshman hurler David Marchbanks (3-1) kept the Phoenix bats in check throughout the game, posting nine strikeouts in seven innings of work while giving up only two runs and scattering six hits. Dodson (0-1) took the loss for the Phoenix. Five Gamecocks contributed hits on the evening, and the offensive attack was spearheaded by McBeth, who finished the day 2-for-4 with a walk, three runs scored and four RBIs. Tanner expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance as of late, paying 13 2 special attention to his pitchers. “I am very glad that our pitching staff has kept us close in the past few games,” he said. “We can’t always put up double figures in the runs and hits category, but as long as [the pitchers] keep it close, we have a good chance of winning.” With the injury to Dees, USC’s pitchers might have to keep up their stellar play to keep the team steady. Dees, who has been instrumental in the team’s early success this season and usually hits in the No. 3 spot, is expected to miss four to five weeks of action with a knee injury suffered during the game at the College of Charleston. The right fielder suffered a strained medial collateral ligament and a fractured patella while swinging at a pitch in the ninth inning of Tliesday night’s 5-3 win against the Cougars. He is expected to be sidelined until at least the SEC Tournament, which begins May 16. Floyd played right field in place of Dees, and hit third in the lineup. USC resumes play today in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a three-game series with Alabama. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com Aaron Hark/The Gamecock USC head coach Ray Tanner has his Gamecocks ranked No. 5 in the Baseball America poll. Carolina is 24-4 and avenged last season’s loss to Elon on Wednesday night with a 13-2 win. Holtz, USC excited about spring game Sean Rayford/The Gamecock Cleveland Pinkney (back) tackles Phil Petty (front) in this past year’s spring game. by Michael Haney The Gamecock USC will wrap up spring football practice tomorrow with its annual Garnet and White intrasquad game. The team has been practicing since Feb. 23, focusing on fundamentals and giving some younger players a chance to compete for starting positions. Head coach Lou Holtz was impressed with the way the players responded at the start of spring drills. “There was a lot of retention from the end of last season,” Holtz said. “There will be more competition than ever before at every position.” Now that spring practice is all but over, Holtz said he has been pleased with the team’s overall progress. “Iuwas a good spring, and I think we got as much done as we could have,” he said. “I am pleased with the way we’ve kicked the ball in spring practice. Dan Weaver has place-kicked well, Tyeler Dean has punted well and the kicking team has been tackling every day. Before last Saturday’s scrimmage, there was the loudest hit of the scrimmage, and the players got all excited.” The coaches will have a player draft today to decide who plays on what team. The Saturday game will be treated like a regular-season game. “What I don’t want from the spring game is any injuries,” Holtz said, listirig what he wants to see in Saturday’s scrimmage. “Number two, I want the players to have fun. I want them to end spring practice competing and having fun. Number three, I want to see individual talent play in front of a crowd, especially the younger players.” The fairgrounds open at 9 a.m. and the stadium gates open at 10 a.m. Player autographs are from 11 am.-noon with the kickoff at 1 p.m. Holtz said he is excited about the game on Saturday and hopes that the fans will be, too. “I hope that a lot of people will come Saturday and bring their children,” Holtz said. “I’ve always felt that the spring game is for the children. “It appears that we will be sold out of season tickets. Consequently, people may not have the money or opportunity to buy tickets. This is a great chance to come see the Gamecocks and get autographs. I hope that we will see a lot of families Saturday afternoon.” Those who show up will see a team that has worked hard over the past month to build on its 8-4 season of a year ago. The offense has seen a vast improvement over the course of workouts and should build on its performance of the past season, which saw the team put up solid numbers all year long. “We’re doing the little things well,” offensive coordinator Skip Holtz said Spring game schedule ■ 9 a.m. - Fairgrounds open ■ 10 am. - Stadium gates open, Memorabilia Gala held at the Letterman s Lounge ■ 11 a.m. - Gamecocks available for autographs until noon ■ 1 p.m. - Kickoff for spring game earlier this spring. “We’re able to show the players some of the little things that will help us run the play better, instead of having to show them from start to finish how to run the play. “We have our entire offensive package in right now, so what we’re focusing on is improving the intricacies of the offensive system and becoming more consistent in our execution.” Phil Petty established himself as the starting quarterback alongside some good competition from redshirt freshman Dondrial Pinkins. Holtz has said Pinkins will see playing time this year. Football see page 9 Track and Field USC ready to test its skills against SEC competition ‘We just need to rise to the occasion. We need to keep going every day and not be worried about ranking; consistency is what makes you great.’ Curtis Frye USC Track and Field Head Coach by Shawn Skillman The Gamecock Running down the dream of a conference • championship begins this weekend for USC’s track and field teams as they attempt to size up the rest of the league at the SEC quad meet in Athens, Ga. The Gamecocks will face Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky on Saturday in their first outdoor meet with conference foes. “It’ll be a good chance to see where we stack up,” freshman pole-vaulter Chris Sleddum said. “The SEC is where if you want to win, you have to be at your very best. Then again, competing in this conference will push you to greater standards.” The conference is one of the top in the nation, boasting 11 of the last 12 men’s national champions and 11 straight championships on the women’s side. Nearly two-thirds of all track and field national champions have come from the SEC. Arkansas is the defending conference title holder in both the men’s and women’s side. LSU brings back 53 letter-winners, and Florida’s women won the triple crown (cross country, indoor and outdoor track) a few years ago. Head coach Curtis Frye’s Gamecocks boast 33 All-Americans and broke 17 school records last year, but he tries not to concern himself with statistics. “Everything is down on paper right now,” Frye said. “We just need to rise to the occasion. We need to keep going every day and not be worried about ranking. Consistency is what makes you great. This is another chance for us to evaluate our weaknesses and strengths to get ready for the championships in May.” Sprinter Lisa Barber is kx>king forward to gauging her tciun’s progress this weekend. “It’s definitely a good stepping stone to see where cvcryfxxly’s at,” Barber said. “There will he some good SEC teams (in Athens), so we’ll be able to know what it takes to win the conference. “There’s pressure on the team because we are expected to do well, so if we don’t, then people will come down on us,” she added. “But that is just something that comes with the territory.” The Gamecocks arc coming off an impressive showing at the Weems B;iskin Relays hist weekend in Columbia, where they won both titles. “The relay w;is a great tool to judge us,” Frye said. “There were no injuries, so it’s important to slay healthy coming from the indoor season.” But unlike the indoor season, Frye’s athletes will have to do battle with the elements. Rain is Track see page 9 • a fi a *4 Softball climbs to top of SEC East ■ Gamecocks upend Georgia in doubleheader by Kyle Almond The Gamecock The USC softball team stands alone at the top of the SEC East standings after sweeping a doubleheader at Georgia on Wednesday. The Gamecocks (23-12-1,74 SEC) defeated the Bulldogs 6-0 in game one and 5-3 in game two to take first place. Florida, with a conference record of 6 6, is in second place behind USC. USC and Georgia were scheduled to play a third game Thursday, but it was rained out. The Bulldogs (20-19,2-11) were dominated in game one by Carolina’s Megan Matthews (12-8), who scattered four hits and struck out nine batters in seven innings of work. Matthews was a key figure in game two as well, coming into the game in relief of starter Stacey Johnson to earn her fourth save of the season. In game one, the Gamecocks didn’t need to get a hit to score most of their runs because Georgia errors were plentiful. In the top of the second inning, Danielle Quinones hit into what appeared to be the third out, but Geoigia shortstop Michelle Tyree dropped the ball at second * base, putting USC runners on first and second. Gamecock sophomore Jodi Fittro then hit a grounder to Kristen Bell at second for what should have been the third out, but Bell threw high over the first baseman, allowing Adrienne Genovese to score the first run of the game. On the same play, Bulldog first baseman Alyssa Mauro overthrew Bell at second for the third error of the inning, which allowed Quinones to score. Carolina broke out for four runs in the fifth inning. Kim Evans singled to suirt the inning and scored when Geoigia committed its fifth error of the game. Softball see page 9 i if