The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 22, 2002, Page 9, Image 9
k No. 24 softball team prepares
to face LSU in Baton Rouge
Tigers lead SEC
West; USC looks
for revenge
BY MATT ROTHENBERG
THE GAMECOCK
The 24th-ranked USC softball
team travels to Baton Rouge this
weekend for a three-game series
against the fourth-ranked LSU
Tigers.
The Tigers (21-7, 6-2 SEC)
should pose a tall order for
Carolina, but the Lady
• Gamecocks (21-8, 4-2 SEC) will
surely have revenge on their
minds. Last spring, USC dropped
the SEC championship game to
LSU 1-0.
LSU currently sits atop the
SEC Western Division, and the
Tigers were the preseason fa
vorite to win the SEC regular sea
son championship.
In just her first season at LSU,
coach Yvette Girouard was vot
ed SEC Coach of the Year last
year and led her squad to a third
place finish at the Women’s
College World Series. Her team
has a great blend of youth and ex
perience, with a bevy of all
around talent.
The Tigers start with 2001
First-Team All-American and
SEC Pitcher of the Week Britni
Sneed. A senior from Houston,
Sneed is undoubtedly the team’s
ace, with an 11-4 record and 1.40
ERA. She has also accumulated
163 strikeouts already on the
year.
2001 Second-Team All
American Kristin Schmidt is a
strong second option, with a 7-3
record, 1.36 ERA and 95 strike
outs.
Girouard also has a threaten
ing lineup at her disposal. Senior
outfielder Trina Peel leads the
team in hitting (.411) as well as in
triples and stolen bases. First
baseman Christy Connor, with
her team-leading seven doubles
and four home runs, hits for pow
er. Megann Steege (.333), Aleshia
Perry (.321) and Julie Wiese (.304)
are also having productive sea
sons so far.
Joyce Compton’s Carolina
team is going to have to bring its
A-game to top the Tigers. On the
mound, Compton has two main
weapons: Megan Matthews and
Stacey Johnson.
Matthews is 12-2 with a 1.03
ERA this season, but more no
tably, she has eight shutouts and
109 strikeouts. Johnson has
lacked Matthews’ consistency, but
she still provides productive out
ings; her 6-4 record is countered
by a 1.65 ERA and 60 strikeouts.
In relief, Aleca Johnson has
been performing quite well. She
□
LSU
2 p.m. Saturday
11 a.m. Sunday
Tiger Park
is 3-1 with two saves this season,
and she has combined with
Stacey Johnson for two shutouts.
USC also has a potent lineup.
Outfielder Melissa Sandel leads
the team with a .361 average, and
she is among the team leaders in
other offensive categories. SEC
Player of the Week Amber Curtis
has been on fire recently, and she
leads the Lady Gamecocks in
home runs (five) and RBI (21).
Senior Adrianna Baggetta hit
well last week and is second on
the team in hitting with a .346 av
erage. Debralee Troesh and Kim
Evans are also consistent at the
plate and in the top five on the
team in batting average.
Saturday’s doubleheader be
gins at 2 p.m., while Sunday’s
game starts at 11 a.m.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Baseball
CONTINUED ROM PAGE 8
Justin Harris, Meyer, Garris
Gonce, Dyson, Landon Powell,
Jon Coutlangus, and Buscher all
had multi-hit games.
This Gamecocks victory in
creases their lead in the all-time
series with Wofford to 52-21-1.
USC was 3-0 against the Terriers
last year.
Wednesday night’s game was
the first of three meetings be
tween the teams this season. The
next game will be April 3 in
Columbia, and the last will be
May 1 in Spartanburg.
This weekend, the Gamecocks
will play host to possibly the
No. 6 Florida at No.
4 USC
7 p.m. Friday
4 p.m. Saturday
1:30 p.m. Sunday
Sarge Frye Reid
biggest series of the SEC sched
ule, as the No. 6 Florida Gators
(20-3) come to town.
Florida is on a seven-game win
streak and, at 3-0, is the only un
defeated team in the SEC Eastern
Division. The Gators feature a
SEC East
Standings
Florida 3-09-1
Georgia2-1 6-4
use 2-1 9-1
Vanderbilt 2-1 8-2
Kentucky 1-2_ 6-4
Tennessee 0-3 6-4
high-powered offense that has
scored in double digits 15 times
already this year. The first game
of the series will be Friday at 6
p.m., followed by games on
Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at
12:30 p.m.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Unlimited Long Distance Calls
No Connection Fees
No Surcharges
♦ Use it from home.
♦ Use it from work.
♦ Use it from school.
♦ Use it anywhere!
$39.95/month
1.888.792.6297
I-------1
^Cven&ettcL
rffazntmeitte,
100 Riverbend Drive
W. Columbia, SC 29169
Enjoy a campus
atmosphere without
the dorm atmosphere.
• State of the Art Fitness Center
• Multi Station Computer Lab
• Fax & Modem Station
linked to USC Campus
• Study Area
• Two On-site Laundry Facilities
• One 4 Bedroom
Apartment Available
_A
• Swimming Pools
• Tennis Court
• Catering to Students
• Lounge Area
• On-site 24 hr.
Maintenance 794-2948
Fax 794-0017
www. riverbendapts .com
BRIEFLY
Men’s tennis tops
Georgia Tech
USC’s 19th-ranked men’s ten
nis team improved to 10-3 on the
year with a 5-2 victory over
Georgia Tech on Wednesday at
the Sam Daniel Tennis Center.
With the victory, the
Gamecocks upped their non-con
ference record to 7-0 on the year.
USC claimed an early lead in
the contest by taking two of three
doubles matches and a 1-0 lead
heading into singles play. The
teams of Seth Rose/Carl Wermee
and Ben Atkinson/David Nelson
locked up wins to claim the point
for Carolina.
The Gamecocks continued
their dominance in singles play.
Angelo Niculescu, Marcus
Westman, Wermee and Rodrigo
Pacheco all claimed USC victories.
Westman, a sophomore from
Sweden, improved to 13-0 in
dual match play with his victory
over Joao Menano at the No. 3
position.
Carolina will be back in ac
tion Sunday when it plays host
to in state rivals College of
Charleston and The Citadel be
ginning at 11:00 a.m.
Men’s golf team
ready for next event
The USC men’s golf team is
one of 15 teams competing this
weekend in the 2002 EZ-GO
Invitational in Statesboro, Ga.
This year’s field consists of 10
of the top 20 teams in the nation,
including defending SEC cham
pion Georgia.
Last year, USC finished in
eighth place with a three-round
score of 880.
Senior John Bloomfield led
the Gamecocks with an 11th
place finish.
Competing in this weekend’s
event for the Gamecocks is
Brent Delahoussaye, Martin
Rominger, Johan Kok, Nash
Elliot and Matt Giffin.
The teams will play 36 holes
on Saturday and is on Sunday.
Carolina wants to rebound
from a disappointing 13th-place
finish at the Conrad Rehling
Invitational last weekend.
Delahoussaye tied for 22nd after
firing a 217 to lead the
Gamecocks.
Tennis players earn
national rankings
After claiming wins Qver
four ranked individual oppo
nents last weekend, the USC
women’s tennis team has three
individuals and two doubles
pairs ranked in the ITA na
tional poll released Wednesday
morning.
Katarina Markovski, who
ended the 2000 season ranked
29th in the nation before getting
injured, has surged to 57th in
this week’s poll.
The senior from Valjevo,
Yugoslavia, beat then-No. 26
Carolina Mayorga in straight
sets last Sunday.
Kathy Boyanovich, by virtue
of her win over 55th-ranked
Katie Blaszak has climbed to
98th in the nation, her best ever
ranking since coming to USC.
- Also in the individual rank
ings this week is Jennifer
Radman, who stands 101st.
The Stoney Creek, Ontario,
native is back in the rankings
after falling out earlier in the
season.
-In doubles, Radman and
Boyanovich are back in the poll
at'35th, while'Lynn-Yin Tan and
Jodi Kenoyer are ranked 48th.
The Lady Gamecocks are
ranked 23rd this week as they
prepare to play host to 12th
ranked VCU on Sunday at lp.m.
VCU climbed 13 spots in the
poll after beating top-ranked
Georgia last week 4-3. Georgia,
despite the loss, remains in the
top spot this week.
Overall, seven SEC teams are
in the Top 25, including three of
the nation’s top four teams.
Cocky
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
Cocky took fourth place in the
video portion of the National
Mascot Competition in January,
and he won National Mascot of the
Year in 1986 and 1994.
Cocky appreciates Carolina’s
recent athletic success and cites
the 1999 football season as his
toughest time as a mascot.
“You want it to happen so bad,
and everything was so close,”
Cocky said. “But it was still 0-11.”
This spring marks the current
Cocky’s last year patrolling the
sidelines at USC sporting events,
as he is slated to graduate in May.
He said he will miss the opening
of USC football games the most;
running out onto the field at
Williams-Brice Stadium in front
of 80,000 faithful Gamecocks fans
was a thrill for the mascot.
“It’s a huge adrenaline rush; it’s
awesome,” Cocky said.
Cocky thinks his role is to in
teract with’the young and young
at-heart, and he summed up his
appeal: “It’s the spontaneous part
of everything. It’s so cool.”
The search for the new Cocky
begins April 4 at 4 p.m. Tryouts
will be held in the Indoor Practice
Facility.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
“It’s a huge adrenaline
rush, it’s awesome....
It’s the spontaneous
part of everything - it’s
so cool, I like that.”
COCKY
use MASCOT
If you’re going...
USC is holding auditions to
_ find someone to be
everyone’s favorite mascots.
WHAT: Tryouts to be Cocky
WHERE: Indoor Practice
Facility
WHEN: 4 p.m., April 4
Warehouse
Sale
MAR 25 - MAR 27
Monday- Wednesday
10 AM-9 PM
Fashions from the pages of the J.Creiu
Catalog up to 70% off!!
Carolina Coliseum
701 Assembly St.
Columbia, SC 29201
Directions:
1-126: Enter on Elmwood Ave. Turn Right on Assembly
St. Go approximately 14 traffic lights, Coliseum is on
the comer of Assembly and Blossom Streets.
From 1-77: Take Exit #6 Shop Rd. Shop Rd. becomes
George Rogers Blvd., then Assembly St. Coliseum will
be the corner of Assembly and Blossom Streets.
We accept Visa, Mastercard, \,
American Express, J.Crew Credit Cards,
Cash and Check (with proper ID)
Includes Irregulars, Damaged & Customer Returns