The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 26, 2002, Page 9, Image 9
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, April 26, 2002 9
contact us game SCHEDULE
VjU1> 1 u 0 BASEBALL at Kentucky, 6 p.m. Friday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? SOFTBALL at No. 15 Alabama, l p.m. Saturday
E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com BASEBALL at Kentucky, 1 p.m. Saturday
• •
Tigers take season series
FILE PHOTO/THE GAMECOCK
Gary Bell and the USC baseball team have now fallen to Clemson three times this season. The Tigers now lead the all-time
series, which dates back to the 19th century, 152-103-2.
USC struggles,
can’t even series
against Clemson
BY JAMES STARNES
THE GAMECOCK
Clemson pitcher Matt Henrie
improved to 9-1 Wednesday as the
No. 1 Clemson Tigers beat the-No.
5 Gamecocks 4-1 in the last meet
ing of the season between the two
Palmetto State rivals.
A Sarge Frye Field record
crowd of 6,811 saw Henrie pitch
seven innings, scatter six hits,
strike out seven and only allow
one run en route to clinching the
season series for the Tigers 3-1.
Kyle Frank drove in the first
three runs of the game on three
hits to give Clemson (36-5) a 3-0
lead after five innings.
Carolina (31-10), who had its
lone rally killed in the fourth in
ning with a double play and a con
troversial call by the first base um
pire, could never string anything
lugemei.
“Every time we threatened,
(Henrie) threw thepitch he need
ed to get us out,” USC head coach
Ray Tanner said.
The Gamecocks never sent
more than four batters to the plate
in any inning until the seventh,
when All-American candidate
Drew Meyer drove in the
Gamecocks’ only run. Meyer also
stole another base, his 26th in 32
attempts.
Clemson got an insurance rim
in peculiar fashion. Frank and
Khalil Greene both got base hits
in the eighth, and Michael
Johnson was intentionally walked
to load the bases with no outs.
Jarrod Schmidt then hit a lin
er to center field, where Justin
Harris appeared to make the play
for the Gamecocks. Frank tagged
up and scored from third base
while the other two base runners
held their spots. But, apparently,
Harris had not caught the ball; he
actually trapped it on one bounce
off the outfield grass.
So Harris threw the ball back
in to the infield, where Meyer
tagged the two runners to give
Carolina the double play. Clemson
head coach Jack Leggett argued
that his players could not see the
. umpire’s call, but after much con
fusion and a lengthy delay, the call
stood.
Kevin Melillo, trying to give the
Gamecocks one more chance,
reached base in the ninth. He nev
er got past first base, though, as
Meyer fliecfout deep to right to
end the game.
Patrick Hogan recorded his sec
ond, save for the Tigers after
throwing a scoreless eighth and
ninth innings.
Carolina starter Steve
Bondurant (5-2) pitched well in de
feat and did a decent job of hold
ing the robust Clemson batting or
der in check. He struck out five in
five innings and allowed three
earned runs on five hits.
With the victory, the Tigers ex
tended their all-time series lead to
152-103-2 in a rivalry that dates
back to 1899. Clemson won the first
two meetjngs this season: 9-7 in
Columbia and 11-10 in Clemson.
The,Gamecocks won the third
meeting at Clemson 8-6. Carolina
has won six of the last 10 series
games, however.
Carolina prepares to travel to
Kentucky this weekend for a
three-game set with the last-place
Wildcats. They begin play Friday
at 6 p.m., and then play Saturday
at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Softball team ready
to face Crimson Tide
USC at No. 15 Alabama
1 p.m. Saturday (doubleheader)
1 p.m. Sunday
UA Softball Complex
Lady Gamecocks
travel to ’Bama
after losing
Florida series
BY MATT ROTHENBERG
THE GAMECOCK
The Lady Gamecocks softball
team hits the road again this
weekend as it travels to
Tuscaloosa for a three-game se
ries with the 15th-ranked
Alabama Crimson Tide.
USC is looking to rebound after
losing two of three games to
Florida last weekend.
The Tide (41-13,20-4 SEC) swept
Mississippi State over the week
end as it continues to jostle with
LSU for first place in the SEC
Western Division.
Both Carolina (35-14,16-8) and
Alabama have already clinched
spots in the SEC Tournament next
month in Chattanooga, Tenn., but
this is a crucial series for both
teams as far as seeding goes.
The Tide has proved that it is
one of the elite squads in the con
ference with its timely hitting and
solid pitching. The team’s mix of
youth and veterans is impressive,
and the younger players have been
performing well.
Offensively, Alabama has the
current SEC Player of the Week,
Jackie McClain. McClain, a sopho
more, hit .500 against Mississippi
State and scored key runs in the
series.
PHOTO 8Y COREY DAVIS/THE GAMECOCK
The USC softball team will be looking to lock down a good seed this weekend for the upcoming
SEC Tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn.
She has a team-leading .408 bat
ting average and is also first on the
team in hits, home runs, doubles,
RBIs, slugging percentage and on
base percentage.
Freshmen outfielders Ashley
Courtney and Jackie Wilkins pro
vide some pop for the Tide.
Courtney is hitting .397 on the sea
son with a team-leading four
triples, and she’s also tied for the
team lead in RBIs with McClain.
Wilkins owns a .333 batting aver
age, and she has scored 41 runs.
Senior infielder Suzanne Olcott
leads Alabama with 13 stolen
bases.
On the mound, senior Shelley
Laird is the unquestioned ace for
the Tide. Earlier this season, she
became the third SEC pitcher to
notch ^,000 career strikeouts, fol
lowing LSU’s Britni Sneed and
USC’s Megan Matthews.
Laird is 23-7 this season with
a 1.39 ERA and 250 strikeouts.
She also has four saves to her
credit.
Erin Wright seems poised to
take over for Laird next season.
The No. 2 pitcher has an 11-3
record, 100 strikeouts and a 2.35
ERA this year
Freshman Jennifer Wright (7
3,3.22) has also seen plenty of in
nings this season.
The Lady Gamecocks need to
perfect their defensive play this
weekend, as errors cost them two
possible wins last weekend.
Kim Evans continues to lead
USC in hitting with a .331 average.
Her three stolen bases and 45 hits
are team highs as well. Sophomore
Amber Curtis is not far behind
Evans, batting .316.
She also leads the team in dou
bles (10), home runs (five) and
RBIs (27). Senior Adrianna
Baggetta has a .303 batting aver
age and a .420 on-base percentage.
After notching her sixth career
no-hitter last Sunday against
Florida, Matthews will look to
shut down the Crimson Tide hit
ters this weekend. She has a 19-6
record, a 1.20 ERA and 176 strike
outs this season.
The Lady Gamecocks will also
counter with sophomore Stacey
Johnson, whose 10-6 record, 83
strikeouts and 1.40 ERA place her
just behind Matthews. Aleca
Johnson (6-1,1.67) has a team-lead
ing five saves.
Saturday’s doubleheader, as
well as Sunday’s game, begins at
1 p.m. at the UA Softball Complex.
-If'
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China to get
half of Yao’s
NBA contract
BY MARTIN FACKLER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SHANGHAI, CHINA - Yao
Ming will have a big partner in
his NBA career — the Chinese
government.
Under regulations issued by
the China Basketball
Association, the 7-foot-5 Yao
would be forced to hand over
half of his income to China’s
government and sports authori
ties.
The regulations also include
complicated procedures for
Chinese professional players
seeking to play overseas, ac
cording to Wednesday’s
Shanghai Morning Post.
The newspaper criticized the
regulations as “complicating
and confusing Yao Ming’s NBA
prospects.”
Yao, a center, is considered a
probable lottery pick and possi
ble top-three selection in the
June 26 NBA draft.
rao s current ream, me
Shanghai Sharks, finally gave
him permission Friday to enter
the NBA draft after blocking
him for years.
“I’ve already had many frus
trations,” the newspaper quot
ed Yao as saying. “A few more
won’t break me.”
The Yangzi Evening News, a
Hangzhou-based newspaper, re
ported Thursday that the new
regulations would not affect
Yao’s plans.
It quoted China Basketball
Association assistant director
Hu Jia as saying his organiza
tion “has always supported
Yao Ming’s joining the NBA
draft.”
As a high draft pick, Yao
would likely to receive at least
$2 million in his first war and
even bigger contracts in years
to follow.
That’s a big jump for a 22
year-old Yao, whose parents
now ride to his games on bicy
cles.
But Chinese professional
players like Yao will only be al
lowed to keep half of all earnings
under the new regulations,
which cover endorsements as
well as salaries.
The rules state that players
overseas must give 30 percent of
earnings to the China
Basketball Association —
China’s state-run equivalent of
the NBA.
Government agencies will
take another 20 percent, the
Shanghai Morning Post said.
It is unclear whether this
must be handed over before or
after paying U.S. taxes.
It also was unclear whether
these regulations were new or
merely formalized existing prac
tices.
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ported athletes overseas already
pay half their income to the gov
ernment. Two Chinese players
are already in the NBA—Dallas
Mavericks forward Wang Zhizhi
and Denver Nuggets center
Menk Bateer.
Beijing routinely requires
other citizens — from engineers
to concert pianists — to turn
over large chunks of what they
earn abroad.
The newly issued regulations
also require professional play
ers to be ready to return to
China at any time, ostensibly to
join the national team. They can
also be punished for revealing
the national team’s plays and
strategies.
Violators will be banned from
the national team and from all
domestic play in China for at
least one year, the Shanghai
Morning Post said.
.. .. _ I I