The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, June 16, 2004, Page 10, Image 10
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