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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, April 29, 2002 ±± »• CONTACT US GAME SCHEDULE . BASEBALL at Wofford, 7 p.m. Wednesday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? SOFTBALL vs. Coastal Carolina (doubleheader), 5 p.m. Wednesday E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com ——illlililliliilLl i ■■ Urn ill III—■—1^— \U PHOTO BY RON CORTES/KRT CAMPUS Runners start the women’s 100-meter dash during the Penn Relays In Philadelphia on Saturday. USC won four relays in front of a record crowd. Track and field teams win four relays in Philadelphia BY CHRIS FOY THE GAMECOCK The USC track and field teams made history this past weekend when they won four relays at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. After the competition, USC head coach Curtis Frye was im pressed with his squad’s perfor mance. “This was another fan tastic day for us, with the excep tion of the men’s 4x400 relay,” Frye said. “But this was a good weekend for us. We need to get a few people healthy -- Erica Whipple, Corey Taylor and a few others - for the SEC Championships. But we had a lot of great performances this week end.” In addition to the 400-meter re lay team, which won its third straight race, the women also won the 100-meter relay and the shuttle hurdle relay. The men won the sprint medley title. The women’s team also won the long jump and the 400-meter hurdles. In the 4x400, Tacita Bass, Demetria Washington, Lisa Barber and Lashinda Davis ran a time of 3 minutes, 28.12 seconds to win their third straight Penn Relays title. Barber was happy with the ti tle, but at the same time, the se nior sees it as a building block for what’s down the road. “We wanted this title today,” Barber said. “It was important for us not only to prepare for the SECs and NCAAs, but also be cause we wanted this title to fin ish our careers.” In the women’s 200-meter re lay, USC finished third with a time of 1:33.73. Making up that squad was Barber, Washington, Aleen Bailey and Mechelle Lewis. The men’s 200-meter relay end ed up finishing fourth with a mark of 1:24.63, and that team comprised Duan Barriano, Shamus Singletary, Martin Jackson and Gerald Pressley. The men’s 100-meter relay was second in the consolation round at 41.45. USC’s Tiffany Ross placed third in the 100-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 13.41, which was also an NCAA provi sional mark. The event set an attendance record on Saturday with 50,827 spectators. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com - Baseball sweeps Kentucky BY STEVE SHULER THE GAMECOCK The USC baseball team trav eled to Lexington this past week end for a three-game series against the Kentucky Wildcats, and the fifth-ranked Gamecocks came out with a sweep. The second game of the series was rained out Saturday, so the teams played two seven-inning games on Sunday because of trav el concerns. With the three wins, Carolina improved to 34-10 overall, 14-6 in the SEC. The Wildcats dropped to 14-28 overall and 3-17 in the SEC. Game 1: USC 6, Kentucky 4 (10 innings) Carolina third baseman Brian Buscher hit a two-run single in the top of the 10th inning as the Gamecocks defeated the Wildcats in the series opener Friday. Kentucky opened the scoring in the bottom of the second in ning, when designated hitter Robert Newton scored on a single by third baseman Russ Rutherford. Carolina answered in the third, however. Second baseman Kevin Melillo and shortstop Drew Meyer walked to open the inning, and after a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third, right fielder Steve Thomas brought them home with a two run single. The Wildcats tied the game in the bottom of the third when left fielder Caleb Stewart scored on a wild pitch by USC starter Gary Bell. But the Gamecocks retook the lead in the fourth off doubles by Buscher and Trey Dyson. Carolina increased its lead in the fifth when Melillo scored his sec ond run of the game, off a base hit by first baseman Yaron Peters, to put Carolina up 4-2. Kentucky started to rally in the bottom of the fifth, when Newton hit a sacrifice fly to plate first baseman Gordon Tyler, and in the bottom of the eighth, Wildcats catcher Spencer Preston homered to right center to tie the game at four. In the top of the 10th, Dyson reached base on an error by Tyler. Tim Seaton came on as a pinch runner for Dyson, and he advanced to second after another throwing error by Kentucky. With runners on first and second, Buscher hit a single to right to score Seaton, and two batters lat er, catcher Lahdon Powell singled in Garris Gonce. Reliever Blake Taylor retired the side in the bottom of the in ning to advance to 4-0 on the sea son. Wildcats pitcher Bryan Felkel (2-2) took the loss. Game 2: USC 6, Kentucky 4 (7 innings) In game one of Sunday’s dou bleheader, Carolina jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in the game, which it won 6-4. The Gamecocks wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as Meyer led off the ball game with a home run to right-center field. After Thomas hit a single, Buscher plated him with an RBI triple to center field. Dyson then grounded out to score Buscher. ♦ BASEBALL, SEE PAGE 12 PHOTO BY JERRY IODRIGUSS/KRT CAMPUS The Sixers’ Eric Snow pleads for a call during his team’s game against the Boston Celtics on Sunday. Iverson comes tnrougn for Sixers in Game 3 76ers 108, Celtics 103 PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Allen Iverson was a franchise player on Sunday. After being chided by his coach to take responsibility for winning and losing, Iverson scored 42 points, including li of Philadelphia’s last 15, as the 76ers avoided elimination with a 108-103 victory over the Boston Celtics. Derrick Coleman got the go ahead basket for the Sixers with 45.5 seconds left. Game 4 of the best-of-five first round series is Wednesday night in Philadelphia. Boston leads the defending Eastern Conference champions 2-1. Paul Pierce had 29 points for Boston and Antoine Walker added 2'V, including seven 3-pointers in the first half. Boston hit 15-of-30 from beyond the arc, but only 5-of 16 in the second half. Iverson, who missed the last 14 games of the regular-season be cause of a broken bone in his left hand, was 15-of-45 for 49 points in the first two games. Boston, which trailed by 16 with 4:21 left in the second quar ter, took its first lead, 62-60, on a 3 pointer by Pierce 2:10 into the third. A turnaround jumper by Tony Battie made it 74-68, giving the Celtics their biggest lead. Fans took a shot at Boston with a sign that read simply: “Bill Buckner.” Mavericks 115, Timberwolves 102 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Dirk ♦ NBA, SEE PAGE 12 Lady Gamecocks lose two in series against Crimson Tide Carolina wins first game before losing last two BY MATT ROTHENBERG THE GAMECOCK The USC softball team dropped two of three games this past week end in Tuscaloosa against the 15th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Carolina had numerous op portunities to win the two games it lost, but it failed to drive in base runners at critical times. With Saturday’s win, USC (36 16,17-10 SEC) needs only two more SEC wins to clinch its second con secutive Eastern Division title. The Lady Gamecocks return home Wednesday for a 5 p.m. dou bleheader against Coastal Carolina. Game 1: USC 3, Alabama 1 In the series opener Saturday, the Lady Gamecocks raced to a two-run lead when Samantha Jennings’ second-inning triple brought in Adrianna Baggetta and Melissa Sandel. The Crimson Tide cut the lead in, half in the third inning, when Jennifer Reach scored on Jackie McClain’s sacrifice fly, but Baggetta’s sixth-inning home run, her fourth of the season, gave starter Megan Matthews all the run support she would need to finish the game. Matthews (20-6) went the dis tance and allowed only one earned run. She gave up six hits and struck out two. Alabama’s Shelley Laird (23-8), who also pitched a complete game, gave up three runs on three hits and notched seven strikeouts. PHOTO BY COREY DAVIS/THE GAMECOCK Despite losing two games this past weekend at Alabama, the USC softball team remains atop the SEC Eastern Division. Game 2: Alabama 6, USC 5 In the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader, Carolina built an early four-run lead, only to squan der it later and take the one-run loss. USC also left nine runners on base in the game. Baggetta’s two-run single in the first inning that scored Kim Evans and Debralee Troesh put the Lady Gamecocks up early. However, Alabama’s Suzanne Olcott honored in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead in half. Carolina expanded its lead in the top of the third inning, as Baggetta drove in Meghan Cornett and later came around to score on Sandel’s double. Baggetta was 4 for-6 on the day with four RBIs and three runs scored. USC starter Stacey Johnson was rolling along until the fifth inning, when her error on a sac rifice bunt allowed Deasy Phillips to come home for the Tide. Aleca Johnson came in to relieve Stacey Johnson and walked McClain with the bases loaded, allowing Reach to score. Stacey Johnson re-entered and allowed two more runs on an error by Troesh to tie the game. A bases-loaded sacrifice fly by McClain drove home the winning run in the sixth inning. Stacey Johnson (10-7), who gave up three earned runs on five hits, was credited with the loss. Jennifer Wright (8-3) received the win for Alabama in relief. Game 3: Alabama 4, USC 3 Carolina struck first in the de ciding game of the series when Jodi Fittro’s second-inning bunt single brought in Jennings. Alabama retaliated to take the lead, however, in the bottom of the second with a two-run home run by Angela Johnson. Angela Johnson extended the Tide lead in the fourth inning when she singled in Ashley Courtney. USC managed to tie the game in the fifth inning, when Baggetta’s single brought in Troesh and Evans. But the Crimson Tide put up the eventual winning run in the bottom of the fifth, when Aleca Johnson hit a batter with the bases loaded. Stacey Johnson (10-8) got the loss in relief of Matthews, .vho al lowed two earned runs on three hits. Laird (24-8) put in a com plete game for Alabama (43-14,22 5) and struck out 11 to earn the win. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com