^ _ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesay, March 1 ?, 2004
^ Game.Schedule
a , . , SOFTBALL vs. Arkansas, 4 p.m.
UOniaCl. MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Mempis, 12:30 p.m. Friday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? BASEBALL vs. LSU, 7 p.m. Friday
E-mail us at gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu w MEN'S TENNIS vs. Alabama, 2 p.m. Friday
Gamecocks stay undefeated
by skinning Wildcats at home
BY TRAVIS BOLAND
THE GAMECOCK
The USC baseball team ran its
record to 18-0 after defeating the
Davidson Wildcats (6-8) 10-1
Tuesday night at Sarge Frye
Field.
Carolina used timely hitting
and great pitching to overpower
the Wildcats.
“We were consistent tonight,”
head coach Ray Tanner said. “We
pitched well and hit some home
runs. We have a long way to go,
but we’ve done what we’ve had to
do to win.”
The Gamecocks continued their
trend of jumping out to early leads
as junior Steve Pearce and senior
Landon Powell hit back-to-back
solo home runs in the bottom of
the first. Those two runs would be
• all the Carolina pitching staff
would need as seven Gamecock
pitchers combined to throw a sev
en-hitter, allowing just one run
and striking out 11.
“We got some different guys in
tonight,” Tanner said. “We want
to have everyone rested in case
they are needed this weekend.”
Junior Jason Fletcher (4-0) got
the start for Carolina and struck
out five of the 10 batters he faced
in three innings of work.
The Gamecocks scored at least
one run in every inning except
the second and third, and sur
passed double-digits for the sev
enth time this season. Four
Gamecock players combined to
hit five home runs including
Steven Reinhold hitting his first
career home run and Michael
• Campbell having his first multi
home run game, hitting two.
“Campbell was frustrated ear
ly in the season, but the guy has a
good glove so you can’t take him
out,” Tanner said. “If it were any
one else you may have to sit him
down a game.”
“You just have to come out and
play every game,” Campbell said.
“It’s just a matter of keeping your
head in the game.”
Landon Powell reached another
PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK
Catcher Landon Powell sets up to catch a pitch In the top of the first inning. Powell homered in
his first at bat of the night against Davidson.
milestone in his career tying Mike
Curry for third in career doubles
at USC with 51. Powell connected
on the double in the fifth inning
collecting two RBIs in the process.
Powell also threw out two run
ners, giving him nine on the sea
son.
The Wildcats pushed across
their only run in the seventh on
back to back hits off sophomore
Zach Reeves, but freshman Heath
Rollins was able to come in and re
tire the last two batters to get out
of the inning.
Carolina is finished with the
majority of its non-conference
schedule, and has its first SEC se
ries this weekend against LSU.
The Tigers come to Sarge Frye
Field sporting a 15-2 record while
winning 13 of its last 14 games.
“The key to this weekend is go
ing to be experienced guys,”
Tanner said. “They are the num
ber one team in the country;
we’re not. We’re playing the best
there is, they have to come here
and it should be a great series.”
“I just want to go out and play
good defense, but I’ll definitely
contribute in hitting the ball,”
Campbell said. “The key is for us
to stay humble and not get big
heads. We’re not going to steam
roll over them.”
Junior Billy Buckner is sched
uled to get the start on Friday
night with Aaron Rawl pitching
Saturday and Matt Campbell on
Sunday. First pitch Friday is
scheduled for 7 p.m.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
College football
can learn from
March Madness
On a day when we are about
to begin the most exciting sport
ing event in the world, the
NCAA Tournament, I think the
bosses of sports like college foot
ball, and all
inner spuris
for that mat
ter, need to
stop and pay
attention.
Take a look
around the
classroom or
office today. I
guarantee you
at least one of
your class
mates or col
leagues will
JONATHAN .
HILLYARD
First-year
electronic
journalism
student
have or has al
ready filled out their NCAA
Tournament bracket.
Now take a minute to think of
how unique this experience is.
Do you see people sitting at their
desks in December, chewing ner
vously on their pens, trying to
fill out their college football bowl
sheet? Sure, you have your office
gamblers who will place a wager
on just about anything, but
March is the only time you will
see people who don’t know how
many points a 3-point basket is
worth, ala Jim Harrick Jr., fill
ing out a 65-team bracket about a
sport they know nothing about.
The NCAA Tournament is
without a doubt the most widely
followed playoff system in the
country, except for the Super
Bowl, and is arguably the most
exciting three weeks in sports.
There are 63 opportunities for a
buzzer-beating three pointer to
determine the fate of a potential
national champion. It is the only
event in the world that can gar
ner the attention of America
with a first round matchup be
tween a powerhouse like
Maryland and an underdog, a
potential Cinderella, University
of Texas-El Paso. Would you
watch a college football game
featuring Miami versus Troy
State?
The passion of the student
athletes is without a doubt the
source of this event’s immortal
ity. What sport can match the
feeling a viewer gets when a
player like Bryce Drew hits a
game-winning shot for a school
like Valparaiso over an SEC
power in Ole Miss? Sports
Illustrated columnist Phil Taylor
wrote a piece talking about how
passionate the game is on the col
lege level and how ridiculous it
is when a player like Allen
Iverson refuses to play when told
he wouldn’t be starting. In last
weekend’s SEC Tournament,
Kentucky’s Gerald Fitch came
off the bench against USC, only
to put up 24 points and eventual
ly be named the Tournament
MVP. I don’t think he com
plained about not starting.
College football especially
should be paying attention to the
madness that March will once
again bring. When the NCAA
field is narrowed down to four in
San Antonio, just picture in your
head how amazing it would be to
see a college football Final Fom
in January. Especially after this
season, the BCS has absolutely
no credibility whatsoever. No
system in college football ever
will, unless the sport moves to a
playoff format. I am in no way
suggesting a 64-team bracket, be
cause that is simply not feasible.
However, what is wrong with an
eight team or 16-team playoff in
what has the potential to be one
of the most exciting sports in
ruuci iui :
So as you watch the tourna
ment this weekend and you see a
team pull off some amazing up
set or hit a last-second shot to
keep its championship hopes
alive, imagine watching a foot
ball Final Four with the likes of
the Southern Cal Trojans, the
LSU Tigers, the Oklahoma
Sooners and the Michigan
Wolverines. For now, we will
have to live with March
Madness. Wow, what we could
be missing.
NCAA refuses to hold
'championships in S.C.
BY PETE IACOBELLI
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The NCAA said Tuesday it will
continue its ban on awarding
championships to South Carolina
because of the Confederate flag
flying on State House grounds.
In August 2001, the NCAA ex
ecutive committee voted for a
two-year moratorium on select
ing sites in South Carolina for
things like basketball champi
onships. NCAA spokesman Jeff
• Howard says the August 2001 de
lision called for “significant
change” from the state of South
Carolina. That has not occurred,
he said.
“The membership believes that
this is the correct stance to take
around this particular issue,”
Howard told The Associated Press
by phone.
While the NCAA basketball
tournament draws fans to arenas
across the country, the Palmetto
State can only remember the fren
zy of two years ago when the Big
Dance came to the Bi-Lo Center
in Greenville.
Developer Carl Scheer and
the arena enjoyed unprecedent
ed exposure — and the region an
estimated benefit of $10 million
— from the NCAA South
Regional.
HThe flag flew atop the State
ouse dome until a legislative
compromise four years ago
moved it to a Confederate monu
ment in front of the Capitol steps
July 1,2000.
A tourism boycott, announced
in 1999, remained in effect in spite
of the change, because the
National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
wanted it off State House grounds
entirely.
The civil rights organization,
the National Association of
Basketball Coaches and the Black
Coaches Association had peti
tioned the NCAA to remove the
2002 tournament from Greenville.
When the tournament hit town,
the site was a prime target for an
NAACP protest.
Dwight James, executive di
rector of the state NAACP said
the rally outside the Bi-Lo was
particularly effective in remind
ing out-of-towners that the
Confederate flag issue in South
Carolina was not settled.
Since then, little has come up
in the Legislature to reoDen flag
debate.
The NAACP’s sports actions
also have waned. The group had
pickets at the yearly Southern
Conference tournament, held for
the past five years in South
Carolina. SoCon spokesman
Steve Shutt says they did not hear
from NAACP leaders this year
and there was no protest.
James of the NAACP says his
group is being more selective
about protest sites.
The NAACP could still appear
this spring, James said, at the
Family Circle Cup women’s ten
nis event in Charleston and the
PGA Tour’s MCI Heritage in
Hilton Head Island.
The flag’s position has cost
South Carolina prominent ath
letic events. Furman hosted a
NCAA cross-country regional for
21 years until the NCAA ban in
2001. The Atlantic Coast
Conference removed its 2003
baseball tournament from
Knights Castle in Fort Mill be
cause of the moratorium. Both
Scheer and South Carolina ath
letic director Mike McGee sub
mitted bids for the men’s basket
ball tournament and were turned
down.
“It’s a very frustrating situa
tion,” Scheer said. “Because it’s
such a wonderful event to bring
in.”
Scheer remembers watching
Duke practice on the Bi-Lo floor
two years ago. Thousands showed
up in Blue Devil tee shirts and
caps to watch their heroes play,”
Scheer said.
The NCAA’s ban also costs the
state financially.
The University of South
Carolina’s 18,000-seat Colonial
Center was opened in 2002 with
NCAA regionals in mind, McGee
said.
Tom Regan, chairman of the
university’s Department of
Sports and Entertainment
Education, says a region can ben
efit by as much as $12 million to
$15 million dollars from a week
end of NCAA tournament bas
ketball.
The NCAA’s Howard says
members of the group can peti
tion for a change, but the govern
ing body had no such submissions
pending.
PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK
Second baseman Kristin Hall makes a play to first base from her knees after making a diving stop.
USC softball sweeps Arkansas,
coach earns milestone victory
BY WES WOLFE
THE (iAMECOCK
The USC softball team (16-5,5-3
SEC), barbequed the Lady
Razorbacks in a doubleheader yes
terday, defeating Arkansas 6-1 in
game one and 2-1 in game two. The
losses keep Arkansas winless in
the SEC at 0-8, while the team’s
overall record drops to 8-13.
USC 6, Arkansas 1
The first game of the double
header started with Arkansas
third baseman Blaire Perry scor
ing the first run of the game in a
roundabout way. Perry reached
first base on an error by second
baseman Kristin Hall and then got
into scoring position by stealing
second. The following two batters
struck out, but scored on a single
by UA first baseman Ashley
Carter. The run was to be the Lady
Razorbacks’ only score in the
game.
Carolina got on the board in the
second inning, jumping in the lead
by scoring three runs. Catcher
Ashley Smith started things out
by singling to center field before
getting replaced by pinch runner i
Darcy Norem. After shortstop '
Amber Curtis struck out, left field
er McKenna Hughes took first on a
walk. Hall then made up for her
earlier error, hitting a home run
to score Smith and Norem.
The Gamecocks added another
-un in the third inning when
smith singled to left-center, send
ng in third baseman Samantha
Jennings.
The last scoring of the game
same in the fourth, when USC was
ible to tack on two more runs to
:ce the game. Designated player
vlargaret Person stepped up to the
date and was walked, followed by
•ightfielde^ Melissa Sandel who
singled to third base. The subse
juent hit by centerfielder Nancy
>ane sent Person home and put
sandel on third.
Crane, however, wasn’t done
ind proceeded to steal second
♦ SOFTBALL, SEE PAGE 18
Be sure to bring your brackets by Room 333 in the Russell House by
Thursday at 10 a.m. to participate in
The Gamecock NCAA Tournament Challenge