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10 the GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, June 16, 2004 CONTACT IIS HATirrO FIGURE OF THE WEEK 1 I—* f I I—c I 0: Number of teams down 3-1 in the NBA Finals that E-mail us at gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu X VXX X k_) 11376 won the title since goingt0 the 2-3-2 format in 1985. USC makes it three in a row Gamecocks defeat East Carolina to advance to College World Series BY BRAD SENKIW THE GAMECOCK The USC baseball team’s dog pile in front of the pitcher’s mound Sunday became a familiar sight for Gamecock players and fans as Carolina advanced to its unprece dented third-straight College World Series after sweeping East Carolina at the Super Regional last Weekend. use 4, ECU 2 The first game of the Super Regional proved to be a long one for both teams as a four-hour, 28 minute rain delay extended the Gamecocks’ first win. USC took an early lead and fought off a late ECU rally to win 4-2. Michael Campbell, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, led Carolina’s offense in the first game. Steve Pearce chipped in with his 20th home run of the season. East Carolina’s Greg Bunn (10 1) entered the game undefeated but gave up two runs before the rains came, and didn’t return af ter the delay. Bunn recorded his first loss of the year after giving up five hits and striking out eight. Matt Campbell (10-4) notched his 10th win on the year after giv ing up four hits, no runs and strik ing out six players in his five in nings of action. ‘We were very fortunate to win this game,” head coach Ray Tanner said. “I thought it was key for Matt (Campbell) to get out of those early jams. Matt has pitched in big games for us before; we felt he was our best guy lately.” The Gamecocks broke a score less three-and-a-half-inning peri od when Landon Powell got his first hit of the NCAA Tournament with an RBI single that scored Bryan Triplett from third base in the fourth inning. Steve Tolleson added a run in the fifth inning be fore heavy rains and lightning in vaded the area. After the delay, the Gamecocks picked up right where they left off as Pearce led off the sixth inning with a blast over the left-field wall. Campbell added a single that scored Powell. ECU broke its offensive silence with two runs in the eighth in ning. Ryan Norwood hit an RBI double, and Mike Grace brought him home with a single. . Closer Chad Blackwell shut ECU down in the ninth to put the Gamecocks one win away from the CWS. use 5, ECU 3 The Gamecocks needed anoth er late-inning comeback and more heroics from Tolleson to end the Pirates’ season and extend USC’s into the College World Series. Carolina, trailing 3-2 in the eighth inning, fought back to score three runs on a Ryan Mahoney RBI single that tied the game and an RBI double by Tolleson that put the Gamecocks up for good. Zac McCamie improved his record to 7-0 with the win, coming in relief of Aaron Rawl, who gave ♦ BASEBALL, SEEPAGE 11 PHOTO BY JOEL WALLACE/THE GAMECOCK USC’s Jason Fletcher comes to the plate with a pitch in a game against UNC two weekends ago. Carolina will play in the CWS. Tanner’s success elevates team to higher level They say there’s nothing like it. Sports Illustrated recently wrote a story on its pageantry. ESPN clears its TV schedule for nearly two weeks for it, making it the BRAD °nly time COl‘ SENKIW lege baseball re „ ^ ceives that Fourth-year hlt amount of atten journalism tion- Fans fr°m student eight schools flock to Rosenblatt Stadium, and no one who makes the trip regrets the dis tance. This is what the College World Series is all about, and the ' USC baseball team is experienc ing it for the third straight time. It’s three incredible years now that I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of the Gamecocks’ run to the College World Series. I’ve writ ten about and watched many of Carolina’s triumphant victories • that have pushed this team into an elite category not only in the nation but in school history. This team has developed into a nation al contender, something I’ve never had the advantage of talking about with any of USC’s sports. In the last three seasons, the Gamecocks have hosted a Super Regional and been left standing at the end of the series. They’ve de feated Miami, North Carolina and East Carolina to advance to those Omaha tournaments. This team has won 152 games during this span with only 55 losses. If that’s not a powerhouse, then what is? Head coach Ray Tanner came to USC in 1997 and is recognized as one of the best coaches in the country. He has accumulated a 369-150 record up to this point, with one SEC Tournament title and six trips to the NCAA Tournament. Tanner’s knack for recruiting has brought some of the best players in the conference and country to Columbia year after year. Names like Drew Meyer, Kip Bouknight, Brian Roberts, Lee Gronkiewicz and Yaron Peters have replaced others in the USC record books under Tanner’s watch. There were seven players on the first day this season drafted into the major leagues and many others since Tanner’s USC era be gan. Before Tanner, Carolina had graced Omaha four times. Now he’s added three more trips in one of the hardest conferences in the country. Some of the best USC teams, like the one in 2000, fell short of the CWS, showing that Tanner’s recent accomplishments are truly astonishing. Texas is also making its third straight trip. For those of you who know college baseball, the Longhorns are synonymous with the June festivities. Augie Garrido, the all-time winningest NCAA baseball coach, has been a staple at the College World Series. The school is making its 31st trip ♦SENKIW, SEE PAGE 11