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10 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, March 21, 2003 GAME SC'HE DELE “| \ /^V “■ \ FT1 BASEBALL at Tennessee, 7 p.m. Friday I 1/ 11 I I L 1 MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK at Weems Baskin Relays in CONTACT EJS Lf I I L/1 I ' Columbia, Friday and Saturday I i MEN’S GOLF at Schenkel EZ-GO Invitational in Statesboro, Ga„ Story ideas? Questions? Comments? . I \ /lllk) Saturday and Sunday E-mailusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com 1 v>/ 1 B rv'_/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL vs. Chattanooga at NCAA Tournament in University Park, Pa., 12:10 p.m. Sunday Carolina obliterates the Terriers W Wofford 4 MjtmBii (2-16) BY MATT ROTHENBERG THE OAMECOCK - After losing both games of a doubleheader to Arkansas on Sunday, the 14th-ranked Gamecock baseball team knew it needed to break out offensively in the coming days. Carolina got its shot during a game against the Wofford Terriers (2-16) on Wednesday and break out they did USC (16-5) pounded out 24 hits, including seven doubles and five home runs, as they demolished the Terriers 29-4 in a game that Was called in the seventh inning. The 29 runs were the most for a Gamecock team since it scored 38 against Clemson in 1997. “We knew after a bad couple of games against Arkansas, we had to come out and swing the bats, and today we did,” Gamecock in fielder Bryan Triplett said. “We swung the bats really well, and that’s how we should swing the bats the rest of the season. Hopefully, this game will carry over into the rest of the season.” Freshman Conor Lalor re ceived the start for the Gamecocks, and he pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk, to earn his fourth victory of the season. Culley Kline of Wofford wasn’t nearly as lucky. Kline pitched just two-thirds of an inning, allowing 11 runs on six hits and dropping his record to 0-5. The Gamecocks came out on fire in the first inning after Justin Harris grounded out to open the game. After Harris, the next 10 Carolina batters reached base and scored as well. Altogether, 17 bat ters came to the plate in the first inning for USC. Hank Parks had a two-run double — the first of both his two-base hits — and Jon Coutlangus smashed a three-run home run to provide the power for Carolina. “We were very fortunate in the early going. We hit some balls well,” USC head coach Ray Tanner said. “I don’t want to take anything away from our hitters — we swung the bats pretty good — buf.we had some balls fall in for us. Sometimes baseball’s like that, you have a big inning.” An inning later, the Gamecocks chased Wofford re liever Andrew Hewitt out after five runs crossed the plate. USC sent 16 hitters to the batter’s box and collected 10 hits — a school record for most hits in an inning. Brian Buscher drilled the first of his two home runs on the night, a three-run shot that capped the Gamecocks’ scoring in the second inning. Four of Carolina’s 10 hits were doubles from Buscher, Landon Powell, Triplett and Parks, and all were hit in consec utive at-bats. Triplett went a perfect 4-for-4 for USC, driving in three runs and scoring three himself. Harris, Buscher and Michael Campbell each had .a three-hit day for Carolina, with Buscher knocking in six runs. Powell, Parks and Sadry Cafe all had multi-hit per formances as well. “It’s a funny thing,” said Triplett, who also had four hits in Sunday’s games. “In baseball, you hit the ball hard sometimes, and you hit it right at ’em, and some times you’ll hit (the ball) over into the infield and it goes in. So, you just got to hit the ball when you see it.” USC’s bats quieted down through the remainder of the game, but there was still some power left in the bank. Campbell hit a two-run home run, his third of the season, in the third inning. But Keith Sturkie entered the game for Wofford after the home run and shut the Gamecocks down for the most part through three in nings of work. Carolina added a solo home run by Buscher in the fourth inning, a two-run home run by Demetric Smith in the fifth inning and an RBI double by Matt Riddle in the sixth inning to finish the scoring. With the recent wet spell, USC was fortunate to see some live pitching for the first time in a while, which Tanner thought helped his team. “We feel better for ourselves of fensively. I think some of our guys got a little confidence back,” he said. “I think that (the weather’s) taking a toll on a lot of teams in PIOXSHIPS TITLES r JK* I . .. I .. m , ..ii FILE PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK Landon Powell connects with a pitch during a game against Arkansas. Powell went 2-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and two RBIs in the Gamecocks’ 29-4 blowout of Wofford. this state. We’re not getting time on the field right now; we’re work ing in the cages trying to find any place we can to try and swing the bats.” Wofford managed to come up with four runs off Gamecock re liever Forrest Beverly in the third i inning. Scott Holloway and Blake Timanus both hit two-run dou bles off Beverly, who surrendered four runs on three hits in two in nings. Carolina will need to keep its bats warm this weekend when the Gamecocks travel to Knoxville for a three-game series with the Tennessee Volunteers. Friday’s and Saturday’s games will begin at 7 p.m., and Sunday’s contest will begin at 2 p.m. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com - , Gamecocks to travel to NCAA Tournament Chattanooga vs. No. 16 USC 12:10 p.m. Sunday Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pa. BY BRAD SENKIW THE GAMECOCK March Madness begins for the 16th-ranked USC women’s bas ketball team Sunday when it takes on the Chattanooga Moccasins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in University Park, Pa. The Gamecocks (22-7) are a fifth-seed in the Midwest Region, while Chattanooga, winner of the Southern Conference Tourna ment, received a 12th-seed. USC head coach Susan Walvius thinks last year’s Elite Eight run will carry over into this season's tournament. “Our team has been to the NCAA Tournament before, and we’ll have to take it one game at the time,” Walvius said. “Yet at the same time, they ex pect suc cess, and instead of wondering what will happen when they go into the game, they know how good we are, and this team can go far if we can stay healthy and stay out of foul trouble.” FILE PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK The Cristina Ciocan, center, will help lead Carolina in Mocs (26-4) its first-round NCAA Tournament game against are sport- the Chattanooga Moccasins on Sunday. ing a nine game winning streak after de feating Georgia Southern 66-52 in the tournament finals. Chattanooga also knocked off Furman 65-53 and College, of Charleston 75-49. The Mocs have no players who average double figures in scor ♦ BASKETBALL, SEE PAGE 11 S.C. coaches, sports officials seek ways to cope with war BY PETE IACOBELLI THE ASSOCIATED PRESS It happened nearly every time South Carolina women’s basket ball coach Susan Walvius stepped in a taxi during her European recruiting trip last week. “What are your thoughts on the war?” the cabbies would ask. “No comment” was her usual reply, she said Thursday. Walvius made stops in Croatia, Sweden and the Czech Republic and heard firsthand how people overseas were against U.S. bombs falling on Iraq. But with war engaged, Walvius, other coaches and offi cials at South Carolina sporting events will look at coping mea sures big and small — be it a dis cussion of world events among South Carolina football players with coach Lou Holtz or addi tional water pa trols off the Daniel Island coast for the ten nis tournament in Charleston next month. Walvius also will talk to her team about world Holtz events as they prepare to play Chattanooga on Sunday in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. “There certainly is an atti tude in the places that I visited toward peace, and Americans want peace,” Walvius says. “And that ultimately is what we’re fighting for: freedom and peace.” Holtz said he’ll discuss the war with his team when they meet Friday to open spring prac tice. “President Bush says he’s prayed on the decision. That may alarm a lot of people, but it makes me feel comfortable,” Holtz said this week. Other Palmetto State events, preparing for the world’s focus in April — the WTA Tour’s Family Circle Cup and the PGA Tour’s Heritage Classic — are tightening security measures al ready well-honed after the ter rorist attacks of Sept. 11,2001. Heritage Classic tournament director Steve Wilmot said Thursday that protections put in place for the 2002 event, includ ing bag searches and bans on ♦ SPORTS, SEE PAGE 11 condo aims high in baseball, academics « Senior pitcher has made a major impression for USC BY BRAD SENKIW THE GAMECOCK USC pitcher Steve Bondurant speaks of last season’s run to the finals of the College World Series with a smile on his face and gleam in his eye. “It was a great experience,” Bondurant said. “It was un believable.” ^fk For the Gamecocks to return to that place and have a chance to win, ■ Bondurant. a fifth-year senior, must play an im portant role in his team’s maturation this season. “I’m going to have to be one of the main guys ■ ^ to lead these young H guys,” he said. “We have a lot of great young pitch- Vj ers, and I must be the guy to show them what to do and help them deal with pressure situations.” Bondurant thinks it takes more than just his ability on the mound to get UPM to the young pitching staff. “I’ve got to show by ex ample, but I also need to tell '* these guys what to expect com ing into the (SEC) season,” Bondurant said. Luckily for Bondurant and the uaroxxxia uaseDail team, xxie younger players are listening. “These guys are definitely re sponsive. Rico Bravo is another guy that has been here for four or five years. We all come together and talk to them as a group as well as individually,” he said. Not only is Bondurant leading on the field, but his performance in the classroom has been un matched. He is a three-year SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient and graduated in 2002 with a de gree in marketing and manage ment. Bondurant is continuing his education as he works on a mas ter’s degree in human resources. USC head coach Ray Tanner is a firm believer in what Bondurant has done. “He’s a great student, he’s in graduate school, and I’m proud of what Steven Bondurant means to this program. He’s an inspiration to the other guys on the team,” Tanner said. In a time when many athletes leagues, Bondurant shows that a true student athlete cannot rely on promises of fortunes in the profes Gamecock hurler Steven Bondurant, a three-time SEC Honor Roll recipient, has a degree in marketing and management. He Is working towards a master’s degree 4 in human resources. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE " GAMECOCK are skip- sional area, ping * “I’ve talked to a lot of pro teams, school for and, hopefully, I can get drafted or the pros get picked up in free agency,” or using Bondurant said. “That would be college as my ultimate dream. If it doesn’t a stepping- come true, I already have my de stone for the gree, and I’m working on my mas big ter’stofallbackon.” Not only does bondurant Know a lot about pitching, but he also un derstands how pro sports work and that the emphasis must be on tak ^ ing care of business no w and letting the future happen. “You cannot worry about getting drafted,” Bondurant said. “It is a business, as well, and they can tell you anything they want, but you just have no clue. You just have to go out there and have fun.” If a pro career doesn’t work out for Bondurant, he will look to use his degree to follow oth er dreams. “I want to get involved in sports marketing, kind of ad fvertising and marketing for professional teams,” Bondurant said. “That would be something interesting, get ting into the marketing side of sports.” Bonaurant, a native oi Matthews, N.C., didn’t dream of making USC the home of his col lege baseball career until his final year of high school. Being that his father was a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Bondurant pursued the opportu nity to play for his instate school. “I was looking at North Carolina, and my senior year, fc they had a coaching change so the recruiting kind of ■P stopped on that side of it,” 10 he said. Unce Bondurant began talking with USC, he found out what made him want to be part of this school. “I loved the coaches,” Bondurant said. “I talked to Coach Meyers, the pitching coach, and we got along great. The main thing was the con ference and the coaches.” Bondurant’s career began slowly. It took him several ♦ BONDURANT, SEE PAGE 11