The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 03, 2002, Page 10, Image 10
J_0 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, April 3, 2002 GAME SCHEDULE
ft 'V / \ ■ 'V w m 'm / NJ WOMEN’S TENNIS vs. Georgia, 2 p.m. Friday
I 1/ VI )[ I 1L 1 MEN’S TENNIS vs. Georgia, 5 p.m. Friday
CONTACT US I WI I I J I WOMEN’S GOLF at the Cleveland Classic in Baton Rouge, La.,
I I I I ^ I i Friday-Sunday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I I III 111 MEN’S GOLF at the ASU Invitational in Augusta, Ga.,
E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.cony I I I r^/ Saturday-Sunday
THE MAN IN CHARGE
I
Brassages \ __i
PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK
Dave Odom, In his first season as head coach of USC’s
men’s basketball team, has taken the Gamecocks further
Into the postseason than any other coach In school history.
Odom happy
with progress
Coach proud of
team’s effort,
determination
BY J. KEITH ALLEN
THE GAMECOCK
USC men’s basketball head
coach Dave Odom arrived to a
news conference Tuesday in a polo
shirt and sneakers and remarked
at the oddity of the situation.
“It’s time for basketball with
drawal,” he said. “It’s strange to
be in this building and not head
ing to basketball practice or
preparing for another game, but
such is the case.”
Just five days removed from
USC’s 72-62 loss to Memphis in
the NIT title game, Odom was
able to put in perspective the
longest basketball season in
school history.
“I’m not going to grade the
season, but I feel blessed and for
tunate to have the opportunity
to work with these particular in
dividuals,” Odom said. “We
made measurable progress to
wards becoming the type of pro
gram this university and these
fans deserve.”
Odom was particularly proud
of the contributions from de
parting senior point guard
Aaron Lucas. Odom said he re
membered when he first saw
Lucas’ leadership in action, at
the preseason Maui Invitational.
USC trailed UCLA 48-30 at half
time, and Lucas commanded the
locker room and tore into his team
mates for their play in the first half.
“I remember Aaron Lucas
lashing out at the rest of the team
in a tone almost filled with anger.
... I was stunned; this wasn’t even
the regular season,” Odom said.
Odom cites the fiery exchange
as the moment he realized Lucas
was a special player with “dogged
determination and leadership.”
He said he could not be prouder of
Lucas’ efforts in his final season.
“Aaron refused to go out as
anything but a winner, and I
think that he did,” Odom said.
“He always held the course and
stood strong.”
Whether speaking about the
team’s eye-opening run through
the SEC Tournament or about
the heart-breaking overtime loss
to Georgia, Odom kept using the
same theme to describe his
team: resiliency.
“The ability to come back
against all odds — that sets them
apart,” Odom said. “They re
sponded to every challenge I
threw at them. I don’t think that
there are 10 other teams in the
country that could do that.”
Odom addressed the entire team
Tuesday afternoon, and he plans
to sit down with each player indi
vidually in the near future. He will
assess each player’s role for next
season and discuss his projections
for the upcoming campaign.
But, for now, Odom will have
his players focus on academics.
Odom said he reminded guard
Michael Boynton that the late
end to the season-only affords
the players a month to prepare
for their exams, as opposed to
the six or seven weeks they had
in previous campaigns.
“He had better get used to it,”
Odom said, confident that the
Gamecocks would be playing
well into the postseason for
years to come.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Carolina finishes
weekend strong
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
The No. 4 Gamecocks were constantly under the threat of rain this weekend, but they still pulled out two wins over SEC foe
Alabama. Carolina clinched the series with a 4-3 victory Sunday at Sarge Frye Field.
Game Stats
Game 1
♦ Game lasted 13
innings.
♦ USC outhit Alabama
17-15.
♦ Jeremy Brown hit a
grand slam in the 13th
inning for the Tide.
Game 2
♦ Brian Buscher hit a
grand slam in the
seventh inning.
♦ Trey Dyson and Yaron
Peters each hit home
runs.
Game 3
♦ Jon Coutlangus was
2-3, with two runs
scored.
♦ Steven Bondurant
pitched the entire game
to improve to 4-0.
Gamecocks win
two of three for
third straight
weekend
BY RYAN CLARY
THE GAMECOCK
Friday: Bama 10, USC 6
The llth-ranked Alabama base
ball team staged a late comeback
Friday night, with five runs in the
13th inning, to defeat No. 4 USC 10
6 at Sarge Frye Field.
The Gamecocks had their
chances to win their opener of the
three-game home series, but they
couldn’t capitalize. Alabama catch
er Jeremy Brown hit a grand slam
to seal the victory.
rresjuuaii /\aiun i\ciwi vu-iy
pitched well in the final three in
nings for USC but suffered his first
loss of the season.
With two outs and the bases
loaded in the bottom of the 12th, the
Gamecocks had their best chance
of winning when junior second
baseman Justin Harris came to the
plate. He popped out to right field,
however, to end the threat.
Sophomore catcher Landon
Powell kept the Gamecocks alive
in the 10th, with an RBI single to
tie the game at 5.
Senior Gary Bell pitched 81/3
innings for Carolina and left with
a 4-3 lead, and senior Blake Taylor
came in to try and seal the win.
Alabama got two hits off
Taylor, however, to tie the game,
and the Gamecocks were unable
to get a run in the ninth.
The Gamecocks had 17 hits
Friday night, but only two were
for extra bases; Harris and junior
Drew Meyer each had a double.
Seniors Trey Dyson and Yaron
Peters each had three hits on the
night.
Saturday. USC 9, Bama 6
In Saturday’s game, USC hit
three home runs, including a
grand slam by junior Brian
Buscher in the seventh inning, en
route to a 9-6 victory.
Buscher also contributed excel
lent defensive play, which includ
ed three diving grabs at third base.
“I love getting dirty and diving,”
Buscher said. “I’d rather make a
defensive play than anything else.”
Sophomore David Marchbanks
improved to 6-2 on the season with
the win, and Taylor, who had
blown a save the night before, re
deemed himself by picking up his
seventh save of the year.
Dyson had his second straight
three-hit game and hit a two-run
home run in the third inning to
give the Gamecocks a 5-2 lead.
“I told Trey, ‘Any success we
enjoy, you’ll be in the middle of it,’
“ USC head coach Ray Tanner
said. “We put him up in the line
up, and he’s done well.”
Peters had a home run in the
first inning and followed it up with
a third-inning double for his sec
ond straight multi-hit game.
“Scoring early was very impor
tant,” Peters said. “We approached
the game very aggressive, so it’s al
ways important to get on top early.”
Sunday: USC 4, Bama 3
Junior Steven Bondurant
pitched a complete game Sunday,
which included a 40-minute rain
delay, to give USC a 4-3 victory
over Alabama and the series win.
Bondurant improved his record
to 4-0 as Carolina moved to 23-6
overall and 6-3 in the SEC.
With Alabama leading 3-2 in the
bottom of the seventh, Powell led off
with a double down the left-field line.
Center fielder Jon Coutlangus fol
lowed up with a double to right field
to tie the game. After a sacrifice bunt
Dy Meyer, sieve 1 nomas nn a sac
rifice fly to right field to score
Coutlangus and give USC a 4-3 lead.
The game was stopped in the
seventh due to lighting and heavy
rain. After the delay, the game was
resumed under bright sunshine.
Coutlangus was the only
Gamecock with two hits in the
game, and USC was held to only
seven as a team.
However, the team’s defense
made great plays, including the fi
nal play of the game, when Meyer
fired the ball to Peters just in time
to get Brown out for the win.
The Gamecocks will next play
host to Wofford on Wednesday
night at 7 p.m.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Lady Gamecocks take two against Lady Vols
Matthews,
Johnson each
pick up wins
BY MATT ROTHENBERG
THE GAMECOCK
Tuesday evening, the USC soft
ball team traveled to Knoxville for
a big SEC showdown with the
Tennessee Lady Vols. Carolina
looked to better its conference
record in the doubleheader.
The Lady Vols posed a chal
lenge, being among SEC leaders in
numerous statistical categories.
Game 1: USC 5,
Tennessee 4
In the first game, USC received
a record-setting pitching perfor
mance from Megan Matthews en
route to a 5-4 victory.
The senior from Greer record
ed her 1,000th career strikeout in
the fourth inning and became the
13th player to reach that mark in
NCAA Division I-A history. On the
day, she allowed two earned runs
on three hits while striking out
nine. Her record improved to 14-4.
Carolina got on the board ear
ly, with Debralee Troesh crossing
the plate on Melissa Sandel's sec
ond inning double.
The Gamecocks added four
more runs in the fourth inning, be
ginning with Adrianna Baggetta
scoring on Jodi Fittro's single. Tia
Rogers later brought home
Samantha Jennings and Danielle
Quinones with a single, while
Fittro came home on Troesh's base
hit.
Fittro, the leadoff hitter, swung
well in the first game, going 3-for-4
with an RBI and a run scored.
The Lady Vols rallied to put up
four runs late in the game. Amber
Rhinehart hit a solo home run in
the fifth inning, while three more
runs came home in the sixth.
Matthews retired the side,
though, in the bottom of the sev
enth to seal the win. Stephanie
Humphrey (21-10) took the loss for
Tennessee.
Game 2: USC 8,
Tennessee 2
Humphrey came back to start
the nightcap for the Lady Vols,
facing off with USC's Stacey
Johnson. In the end, Carolina was
♦ SOFTBALL, SEE PAGE 11
Amber
Curtis went
4-for-5 In
the second
game
yesterday
against
Tennessee.
USC looks
to sweep
the series
later today.
PHOTO BY AARON
HARK/THE
GAMECOCK