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■H 111 i S ®ic (Samccock Clemson from page 8 an unearned run in the top of the third, but the Gamecocks answered in the bottom of the inning, when Sheldon Brown scored on a wild pitch. It was the 0 first of six consecutive innings in which the Gamecocks scored. “Every time we’d get a sniff (of the lead), they’d score a run,” Leggett said. In the fourth inning, Carolina added two more runs off a two-run single to center field by pinch hitter Matt Riddle, whose .286 average in only 14 at-bats this season couldn’t have foreshadowed his clutch performance. “Matt Riddle has had some good at-bats for us and probably hasn’t had enough,” Carolina head coach Ray Tanner said. “I thought that, regardless of what he did, he would put the ball in play. He doesn’t strike out much, and he hit the ball extremely hard.” Carolina struck for two more runs in the fifth on a two-run single by Chris Plummer (2-5,2 RBI) and another in the sixth on a single by Michael Floyd. Carolina then held a commanding 6-1 advantage, with Clemson only touching Bell for a single and a double. Clemson mounted its only serious threat in the top of the seventh. After Khalil Greene flied out to right, Bell surrendered consecutive singles to Russell Triplett and Ryan Riley. Then Kyle Frank stepped to the plate and hit a double just inside the right-field line to score both, pulling the Tigers to within three. Steve Pyzik flied out for the second out of the inning, and Bell left the game leading 6 3. Reliever Brett Price replaced Bell and promptly struck out Casey Stone on a pitch in the dirt, but Tim Whittaker couldn’t handle it and threw low to first base, allowing Stone to reach. After walking Chad Coder and bouncing two pitches to Jarrod Schmidt, Tanner had seen enough. Bouknight entered the game and squelched the rally by working the count full with well-placed fastballs, then coaxing a weak third-strike swing from Schmidt on a sweeping curveball outside the strike zone. As Schmidt returned to the Clemson dugout, Bouknight jumped off the mound, let out a jubilant scream and was mobbed by his teammates as he returned to the home dugout. “Anytime we’re playing Clemson, I want the ball,” Bouknight said. “If you don’t want to be in there (with the game on the line), you don’t need to be playing this game. “I’m very emotional as it is, so I was pretty jacked up, especially against Clemson.” Sean Rayford/The Gamecock USC pitcher Gary Bell (left) and third baseman Chris Plummer chase a Clemson bunt Bell got the ball to first base in time, but it was dropped by Tripp Kelly, allowing the runner to reach. Carolina added insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh, as Landon Powell hit a Josh Cram fastball over the right field wall for an 8-3 lead. Whittaker would score the final Carolina run in the eighth inning on a wild pitch. Bouknight earned the second save of his career with 2 1/3 perfect innings against the Tigers. “He likes to work a little during the week,” Tanner said. “Every time I turned around, I stepped on his feet, so I had to put him in or get him out of the way. “If anyone could get (us) out of the situation, he could.” With the victory, Carolina improves to 30-11,2-1 against the Tigers. Clemson fell to 26-14. The two teams will meet for the final game of the season series next Wednesday in Clemson. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com Sports Briefs ■ Men’s tennis advances to second round of tournament In first-round action, the USC men’s tennis team defeated the Aubum Tigers 4-1 at the SEC Tournament. The team now looks to take on Tennessee today at noon in Lexington, Ky„ the host city of the tournament. The Gamecock netters started off « the match by taking the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and 3. The duo of Guillaume Legat and Marcus Westman toppled Auburn’s Mark Kovacs and Rameez Junaid 8-5, while Carl Wermee and Rodrigo Pacheco took down Estevam Strecker and Raitis Tukans 8-3. With a one-point lead going into singles, USC’s Seth Rose defeated Geoiges Matijasevic 7-5,64. Following Rose’s lead at No. 5 and 6 singles were Wfermee and Pacheco. Wermee defeated Mark Kovacs 64,6-3, wliile Pacheco defeated Tukans 6-3,7-6 (4). Senior captain Legat, a first-team All SEC selection with a 9-1 conference record, will look to lead the team in its match against the Volunteers. www.dailygamecock.com * Gamecock news 5 days a week. Golf from page 8 couldn’t be any more difficult than Inverness (Country Club), though.” If Inverness is any indication of this weekend, the Gamecocks should be fine. Earlier this year at Inverness, USC claimed a 20-stroke victory, with Bloomfield, Kok and Thompson all tied for third place overall. While the men’s team travels to Sea Island, the No. 37 Lady Gamecocks head to the University of Florida’s golf course in Gainesville for wiiat seems an even larger task — defeating six other SEC teams ranked in the top 30. The Lady Gamecocks have been carried this season by 15th-ranked sophomore Kristy McPherson. McPherson has been USC’s top scorer in each of the team’s eight tournaments. This will be the second time the SEC and the Lady Gamecocks have played at the Gators’ course this year. In an earlier tournament in Gainesville, USC finished 10th, seventh among SEC teams. This weekend’s favorite, third-ranked Auburn, won that tournament by 10 strokes over No. 7 Georgia. Other Lady Gamecocks to watch in Gainesville are junior Sarah Kidd, senior Stefanie Reynolds, freshman Marci Robinson, and Kyle Thompson’s sister, sophomore Kacy Thompson. Kidd and Robinson both had two of their best finishes of the year in Gainesville earlier this year. Freshman Kory Thompson, who won’t be competing in the women’s championships, is the third of the Thompson siblings playing for USC. According to Kyle Thompson, golf is definitely in the genes. “Our parents got us started,” he said. “My father is an avid golfer, and I started playing at three or four years old. Then my sisters followed right behind me.” The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com i Lekote from page 8 The only problem I had was understanding the way people talk, but I got used to that, and I’m all right now.” After breaking school records and being recognized as one of the best runners in the world, it might seem as if Lekote couldn’t hope to accomplish much else as a freshman. Nothing could be further from the truth. Lekote’s biggest competitor isn’t another athlete, it’s the clock. Unless, of course, the competition includes a childhood friend who holds Botswana’s national record. “We were on the national team a couple of times together, and we used to race each other,” Lekote said of his friend. “He used to win most of the time, but that’s when we were boys — before I became serious.” This summer, Lekote will have his chance to one-up his old teammate during the World Championships in Canada. His childhood rival had better watch out; the last time they raced, Lekote wasn’t ranked No. 1 in the world. The last time they raced, Lekote wasn’t a Gamecock. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com % ' •; \ m m () N -s * I W;‘