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8 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, March 8, 2002 GAME SCHEDULE POMT'APT TN TRACK AND FIELD at NCAA Indoor Championships VjUiA IrlVJ 1 UO in Fayetteville, Ark., Friday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? BASEBALL vs. Seton Hall, 7:30 p.m. Friday E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com SOFTBALL vs. Arkansas, 1 p.m. Saturday (doubleheader) BASEBALL vs. Seton Hall, 4 p.m. Saturday Baseball gets just enough PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN The USC baseball team squeaked by William & Mary 6-5 on Wednesday at Sarge Frye Field. The Gamecocks will play a three-game home series starting today versus Seton Hall. The game Is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start. use SPRING BREAK BASEBALL GAMES Friday, March 8 Seton Hall 7 p.m. Saturday, March 9 _ Seton Hall 4 p.m. Sunday, March 10_ Seton Hall 1:30 p.m. j S Tuesday, March 12 Purdue_7 p.m. Wednesday, March^l3 Davidson 7 p.m. Friday, March 15 at Mississippi State 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 16 at Mississippi State_3:00 p.m. Sunday, March 17 at Mississippi State 2:30 p.m. Bold text indicates Southeastern Conference games. m W&M 5 g USC 6 USC defeats William & Mary on Dyson single in ninth BY J. KEITH ALLEN THE GAMECOCK Just 13 games into the season, the USC baseball team has already seen its share of dramatic games. After losing two heartbreakers to Clemson this past weekend, the fourth-ranked Gamecocks topped William & Mary 6-5 in another nail-biter Wednesday night at Sarge Frye Field. With the score tied at five in the bottom of the ninth inning, USC head coach Ray Tanner called on Trey Dyson to pinch hit. With Drew Meyer on second base, Dyson connected on the 3-1 pitch and put the ball into shallow cen ter field, just beyond the reach of William & Mary shortstop John Lentz. Meyer scored to win the game. Tanner reserved Dyson in case of such a key situation. “You don’t use your money guy until you really have an opportu nity to win it,” Tanner said. “When you’ve got guys like Dyson on the bench, you’re going to use them when the game is on the line, not earlier.” Carolina came out of the gate swinging, leading off the game with a Jon Coutlangus walk, a Meyer opposite-field double and a Steve Thomas single. The Gamecocks were able to score three quick runs off William & Mary starter Hunter Barden in the first inning. USC starting pitcher Tony Adler cruised through the first three innings without surrender ing a hit and struck out six Tribe batters before William & Mary came alive in the fourth inning: The Tribe (9-5) scored five runs on two singles, a double, a walk and a grand slam by right fielder ♦ BASEBALL, SEE PAGE 9 Richardson firing not due to news conference BY JENNY MARBERRY (UNIVERSITY OF) ARKANSAS TRAVELER FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (U-WIRE) - The decision to fire former Arkansas men’s basketball head coach Nolan Richardson appar ently was reached Feb. 24, before Richardson’s disparaging re marks at a Feb. 25 news confer ence, according to correspon dences between Richardson’s at torneys and University of Arkansas lawyers. UA Chancellor John A. White and athletics director Frank Broyles already had discussed re moving Richardson, who also was an assistant athletics director, be fore the Monday news conference, according to a letter from UA General Counsel Fred Harrison to Richardson’s attorney John Walker. A series of letters was released to the media Wednesday under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. The content of the letters pre viously was undisclosed, because UA attorneys said they were of a personal nature and protected un der privacy laws. Walker wrote in a letter to White that Richardson intends to appeal the reasons for his termi nation to UA System President B. Alan Sugg, who will have the final say on the decision. Walker wrote a letter to White on Monday, saying Richardson did not express his “desire” to have ♦ RICHARDSON, SEE PAGE 9 Gamecocks in Atlanta PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN Aaron Lucas and the USC men's basketball team defeated Ole Miss on Thursday night, 69-67. The Gamecocks will face Kentucky next. See www.dailygamecock.com for game story. No. 24 Lady Gamecocks sweep doubleheader BY MATT ROTHENBERG THE (iAMECOCK The No. 24 USC softball team swept a doubleheader Wednesday afternoon against UNC Greensboro at Beckham Field. With strong pitching and time ly hitting, Carolina (15-6) shut out the Spartans 6-0 in the opener and followed with a 9-1 win in the nightcap. These games were the Lady Gamecocks’ final test before SEC play begins this weekend. USC 6, UNCG 0 In the first game, the Lady Gamecocks got on the board early with four runs in the first inning. Debralee Troesh’s groundout with the bases loaded scored Jodi Fittro for USC’s first run. Melissa Sandel followed with a two-run single, scoring Troesh and Amber Curtis. Meghan Cornett also came home on an error by Spartan pitcher Jessica Vanderploeg (3-2). The Spartans’ sloppy play result ed in six errors for the game, in cluding three in the first inning. Carolina added another run in the third inning when Cornett scored on Kristin Hall’s single, and they scored again in the fifth as Sandel scored on an error. Sandel went 2-3 with a triple and 2 RBIs in the first game. USC starter Megan Matthews (8-2) was particularly sharp in game one, as she notched her third straight shutout. Matthews threw a two-hitter and struck out seven in the complete game victory. “I just go out there and give my best,” Matthews said. “You can’t *w%!MRm2i3§r W: ^ - ■' - Jl PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Plcther Megan Matthews pitched her third straight shutout In game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader. get too ahead of yourself; just take it as USC forced the mercy rule in a one batter and one game at a time.” five-inning affair. Behind 1-0 ear ly, Carolina broke out with a USC 9, UNCG1 four-run third inning. With Fittro and Aleca Solid pitching and two big in- Johnson on base, Troesh tripled nings paved the way for the Lady Gamecocks in the second game, ♦ SOFTBALL, SEE PAGE 9