University of South Carolina Libraries
^ ^ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, Aprd 7 7,2002 g CONTACT US ' - GAME SCHEDULE ■ u 1 ' ’ BASEBALL at No. 1 Clemson, 7 p.m. Wednesday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? BASEBALL vs. LSLJ, 7 p.m. Friday E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com SOFTBALL at Florida (doubleheader), Noon, Saturday • TRACK AND FIELD at Georgia, Saturday Third time the charm? FILE PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK The USC baseball team, ranked No. 8 In the country by Baseball America, heads to Doug Kingsmore Stadium tonight for a rematch with top-ranked Clemson. The Tigers won the two previous meetings this season, one in Clemson and one in Columbia. sfc No. 8 USC at No. 1 Clemson 7 p.m. Wednesday Doug Kingsmore Stadium After two losses to in-state rival, USC searching for elusive win BY STEVE SHULER TUB GAMECOCK The USC baseball team (28-8) will play tonight at Clemson (30 4) in a contest that will be about more than just an in-state rival ry. This game will be important on the national level, as the two teams look to start the final four weeks of the regular season with a victory. Clemson, ranked No. 1 in the country by three different polls, will be looking to win its third game this season against the eighth-ranked Gamecocks. Clemson defeated Carolina twice in early March. The Tigers won in Columbia 9 7, then followed it up the next day with an 11-10 victory in 10 innings at home. Carolina will start senior left hander Gary Bell (6-2) tonight. Bell has a 4.74 ERA, but he has re ceived huge run support this sea son. Bell will be facing freshman right-hander Jeff Hourigan (0-1). This will be Hourigan’s first start of the season, but the fresh man has been dominant in relief for Clemson. He's allowed only seven hits and two walks while striking out 21 in nearly 15 in nings. The Gamecocks are only 5-5 on the road this year. However, they have a .975 fielding per centage and are batting .325. The Tigers have been nearly insur mountable at home, with a 26-2 home record, and they are bat ting .336. Carolina is coming off of a three-game sweep of the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville. The Gamecocks scored 37 runs in three games and were led by the hitting of Yaron Peters and Brian Buscher and the pitching of Steven Bondurant and Bell. Carolina had six home runs during the weekend, including five in the se ries finale. Clemson recently played at Chapel Hill, N.C., where it took two of three games from the 13th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. The two wins were by an average of three runs per contest, but the loss was a devastating 12-5 blowout. USC will be counting on Peters, who has been hot lately. Peters is hitting .408 on the sea son, and he leads the team with 14 home runs, 56 RBIs, 113 total bases and a .796 slugging per centage. Behind Peters is Drew Meyer, who is also having a stellar year. Meyer is batting .389 with 61 hits and 21 stolen bases. Clemson's senior shortstop, Khalil Greene, was named the National Midseason Player of the Year by Baseball America. Greene is hitting .446, and he’s just six hits shy of the school record. Clemson's head coach, Jack "Leggett, was honored as Baseball America's National Midseason Coach of the Year for leading the Tigers to a 28-3 start. Meyer and Peters were also honored by Baseball America as a part of their Midseason All American team. Clemson and Carolina will meet again one more time this season. That contest will be held next Wednesday at Sarge Frye Field. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail. com Texans close to deal with QB Carr BY MICHAEL A. LUTZ THE ASSOCIATE!) I'llESS HOUSTON - The Houston Texans are taking the suspense out of Saturday’s NFL draft. They are close to signing Fresno State quarterback David Carr, their announced No. l pick, to a seven-year contract that would pay $60 million if he reaches all incen tives, a football source told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The NFL is looking at the con tract and must still approve it, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. ^arr would earn $45 minion m base salary over seven years, and that could increase to $60 million if he meets all incentives. He would be paid $16 million in the first three years of the deal, the most in NFL history for a rookie. Michael Vick, selected by the Atlanta Falcons as the top pick in last year’s draft, will make $15.3 million in his first three years. Vick signed^n eight-year, $62 mil lion deal with the Falcons. Carr visited Houston last week and already has purchased a home. ♦ DRAFT, SEE PAGE 10 Men’s tennis blanks Clemson 7-0 in Belton The USC men’s tennis team shut out Clemson on Tuesday to finish out the regular season. The Gamecocks were perfect this season against teams not in the SEC, going 11-0. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Gamecocks win eighth straight match against their rivals ■STAFF REPORTS Moving to 11-0 against non-con ference opponents, USC’s 21st ranked men’s tennis team capped a stellar regular season Tuesday with a 7-0 sweep of Clemson at the Belton Tennis Center. The victory marks Carolina’s eighth consecutive victory over Clemson and ninth shutout vic tory of the season. With the win, Carolina finishes the regular sea son 15-7. Clemson falls to 11-17. The doubles team of Angelo Niculescu and Marcus Westman set the tone for the Gamecocks, winning 8-3 at the No.l doubles position over Marko Gojanovic and Sander Koning. Ben Atkinson and David Nelson kept pace playing out of the No. 3 position, with an 8-5 victory over Goran Sterijoyski andj Damisa Robinson. Seth Rose and Carl Wermee were deadlocked 5-5 at No. 2 when the doubles noint Match Results DOUBLES 1. Marcus Westman/Angelo Niculescu (USC) d. Marko Gojanovic/Sander Koning 8-3 2. Seth Rose/Carl Wermee (USC) vs, Goran Sterijovski/Damisa Robinson, 5-5 (suspended) 3. David Nelson/Ben Atkinson (USC) d. Micah Thompson/Skinner 8-5 SINGLES 1. Rose (USC) d. Sterijoyski 6-4, 6-2 2. Niculescu (USC) d. Jamin Thompson 6-4,6-1 3. Westman (USC) d. Robinson 7-6,6-4 4. Nelson (USC) d. Koning 6-4, 1-6,6-1 5. Wermee (USC) d. Gojanovic 6 4,6-2 6. Rodrigo Pacheco (USC) d.Micah Thompson 3-6,6-3,6-3 was clinched by the Gamecocks. In singles play, the Gamecocks picked up right where they left off, winning all six matches to claim the 7-0 win. Rose dismantled Goran ♦ TENNIS. SEEPAGE 10 10 things I think I think CHRIS FOY GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM Expect big things from USC’s teams next year, even if its players don’t always get respect. F or any of you who keep up with CNNSI analyst Peter King, you'll know that he has traditionally listed 10 things he thinks he thinks. And since there was no interesting single sports topics this week, I thought I might be unoriginal this week. 1.1 think our starting football team is going to be damn good next year. Take special note to "Starting." Z. I think Florida is going to * ride a far way what is left of Steve Spurrier's team. Ron Zook will look like a competent coach thanks to the depth packed away on that Gators team. Although it has lost some key names like Jabar Gaffney, Lito Sheppard, Reche Caldwell and Alex Brown, let's not forget that they still have Rex Grossman and Taylor Jacobs. The Swamp, for the time being, is still a formidable place to play. 3.1 think if we want to win the SEC East, and the whole SEC for the matter, then the critical showdown will be Nov. 2 when Tennessee comes to town. With a sharp recruiting class, the Vols are the team to beat. 4.1 think we'll be cheering on our basketball team in a student section. The administration has heard the voices, and there's no way it can overlook them yet again. And we will not only be cheering down low; we will be cheering on a good squad. Replacing Aaron Lucas and Jamel Bradley is no simple task, but Dave Odom will take the Gamecocks back to the big dance. 5.1 think the Braves are going to end this typical early season crap of not seeming to want to win a game, and they'll make the playoffs. I refuse to predict beyond that, in hopes that this year will be a different story. 6.1 think I'm happy with the Bed Sox winning three out of four games with the Yankees. However, I'm not quite convinced they'll do it when it actually counts. 7.1 think Tiger Woods needs to be booted off the Masters Invitation list. All pools that I know make you take his name off, which leaves countless people trying to determine who will finish second. Woods is a good golfer and he's young. If you keep him in Augusta, he'll be ripping people apart for a long time to come. 8.1 think Clemson sucks. 9.1 think Joel Buschsbaum of ESPN.com needs to get a massive butt-kicking for spelling Kalimba Edwards' name as “Evans” in his mock draft. Come on, how many times are USC players projected to go in the first round? 10.1 think that next year, our school has a very good chance at winning the Sears Cup, which is given to the athletics program with the best overall success in every sport. USC teams that either finished last season ranked or are currently ranked include football, women's basketball, baseball, track and field, men’s and women's tennis, men's and women's golf, swimming and diving, volleyball and men's soccer. The men's basketball team and the women’s soccer team had also drastically improved teams from the prior year. Oh, and did I mention that Clemson sucks? Foyisa third-year entrepreneur