The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 28, 2005, Page 9, Image 9
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BRUCE NEWMAN/THE OXFORD EAGLE
USC's Melanie Johnson, right, puts up a shot as Mississippi's Ellen
Buchanan defends in Oxford, Miss, on Sunday.
■ WOMEN
Continued from page 8
they faced one of the league’s highest
scoring teams in the Rebels, who ranked
in the top 20 nationally. USC held Ole
Miss to just 33.3 percent shooting for the
game and managed to record eight
blocks, while Ole Miss had none.
“The thing that really impresses me
about Mississippi is how hard they play,”
USC coach Susan Walvius said. “They are
a very good team and they create good
opportunities for themselves because they
are patient in their execution.”
USC held a 47-46 advantage with
5:07 left to play in the second period.
Free throws and another score put the
Rebels up 51-47 before Sliskovic pulled
the game back to a one-score ordeal.
Johnson also pulled things close with a
shot to pull the game within two again at
53-51 with 1:39 left.
That was as dose as it got, as Ole Miss
iced the game from the free-throw line,
and Carolina went cold from the floor.
The Rebels hit l4-of-19 free throws, while
USC went just 3-of-8 from the stripe.
“I am proud of our team. They played
hard,” Walvius said. “We weren’t perfect,
but we are a young team and we showed
flashes of brilliance today.”
With the conclusion of the regular
season, USC will begin preparing for the
SEC Tournament in Greenville this
week. The Gamecocks, seeded 12th, will
play at the Bi-Lo Center on March 3 at 7
'p.m. when they will take on the fifth
seeded team in either Ole Miss or
Auburn.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edit
■ SOFTBALL
Continued from page 8
its own backyard. Hughes had the
lone great strike of the game,
hitting a walk-off home run in the
bottom of the 10th inning.
Hughes drove in senior Meghan
Cornett, who was on second base.
Unfortunately for Georgia
Tech senior pitcher Jessica
Sallinger, she was unable to tally a
victory onto her season record (8
2), after striking out 12 batters in
the first nine innings and
allowing no hits.
Coming into the tournament,
the Yellow Jackets were 13-0 but
were swept on the first day by
Southern Illinois and No. 8
Michigan before facing USC.
The Gamecocks are now 11-7
on the season, now with a
marquee win over Georgia Tech
on their resume’.
USC will return to Georgia,
heading to Atlanta on Friday for
the Buzz Classic. The Gamecocks
will face Boston and Gardner
Webb on Friday, followed by
South Dakota State and Ohio
State on Saturday. The final game
Sunday remains to be
announced.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
KATIE KIRKLAND/
THE GAMECOCK
USC’s softball
team won three
of its four games
in the Leadoff
Classic on
Thursday,
Friday and
1 Saturday.
■ NIAGARA
Continued from page 8
Carolina jumped to a 3-0 lead. Niagara
senior Reed Easdey hit a two-run homer
in the top of the sixth to close the gap,
but Carolina proceeded to score in every
succeeding inning to clinch the win.
Sophomore outfielder Jon Willard
contributed three RBIs in the effort, as
juniot Brent Marsh and senior Cliff
Donald held the Purple Eagles to three
hits and one run over the final three
innings.
With an 8-3 victory under their
collective belt, the Gamecocks came out
Saturday and punished Niagara pitcher
sophomore Daniel Griffin in a 19-1
rout. After what started as a sure
pitchers’ duel between Griffin and
Carolina senior Zac McCamie, the
Carolina bats came out swinging in the
fourth inning, and they all connected.
With only one out, 11 straight batters
reached base, with 10 of them scoring
runs. After the first run crossed, thanks
to a walk with the bases loaded, Pearce
stepped to the plate and hit his first
grand slam of the year. Next at bat,
Willard also hit one long, forcing
Niagara to call junior lefty Mike
Radanovich to the mound.
The change was to no avail, as the
Gamecocks hit four consecutive runs
before Niagara sophomore pitcher Ryan
Virtue retired the batters and the inning.
The game was over from there, as
Carolina scored 10 runs on eight hits
and led 12-0. The only thing that saved
the Purple Eagles from a shutout was a
fifth-inning home run from sophomore
outfielder Brian Clifford.
“I was glad to see us finally break
through in the fourth,” Tanner said.
“We were hoping to run his pitch count
up and score a few runs, because he was
tough.”
The remainder of the game
belonged to Pearce and senior outfielder
Brendan Winn, who also hit two home
runs and batted in five runs. Pearce
ended the day 5-for-5 with five RBIs,
and Winn went 3-for-6.
With another series clinched, the
Gamecocks found themselves in an
unfamiliar position Sunday, down 2-1
in the bottom of the seventh. Willard’s
home run evened the game in the
seventh before Pearce stepped to the
plate with three on base and one out in
the eighth. For the second consecutive
game, he hit a grand slam that propelled
Carolina to a 6-2 win and a series
sweep.
“Seeing everybody hit the way they’ve
been the last couple of weeks, I was just
anxious to get up there and get my hacks
in,” Pearce said.
The winning pitcher was senior Jason
Fletcher, making his first appearance of
the season. Fletcher showed in four
innings the same intensity he showed in
his last appearance for the Gamecocks, a
win over Cal-State Fullerton to force an
elimination game in last season’s College
World Series.
“Fletcher brings the veteran’s
(approach) to you,” Tanner said. “He
brings the experience. He’s used to
getting wins in the middle of the game.
He competed hard for us”
USC winds up a 10-game home stand
with its first night game of the season
against Wofford. The Wednesday night
showdown has been changed from a 7
p.m. start time to 6 p.m. The Gamecocks
then travel to Minneapolis this weekend
for the Dairy Queen Classic.
Comments on this story? E-mail
ramecocksports@gwm.se. edu
■ HILLYARD
Continued from page 8
appearances.
But let’s assume that the season
goes as it did up until Sunday.
With a 17-point lead, with about
16 minutes to play against a very
formidable Florida team, the
NCAA committee had to be
saying, “Hey, look at these guys.”
The Gamecocks would have to
finish strong of course, with wins
at Vandy and at home against Ole
Miss.
However, the lead was just not
enough. Senior guard Josh
Gonner said the loss was the
toughest of his USC career. Senior
forward Carlos Powell shared his
sentiments.
So we come to USC’s current
situation. The best the
Gamecocks can finish in the
conference is .500 at 8-8. The
most wins Carolina can finish
with overall is six, not nearly
enough for an at-large bid.
So what are the team’s options?
The Gamecocks can continue to
push the best teams in the SEC
Tournament, bow out in a close
loss to a NCAA Tournament
bound team and punch their ticket
for the NIT. That would see the
team probably coming home to
the Colonial Center for a game or
two and possibly making a run at
the NIT Championship in New
York.
But there is one thing most
people are beginning to forget.
The winner of the SEC
Tournament is guaranteed a bid
to the NCAA Tournament. This
USC team has beaten the best
the SEC has to offer, and when
the Gamecocks don’t play well,
it is usually on the road against a
good home team. The Georgia
Dome is anything but a hostile
environment. Should Carolina
win its last two games, a three
seed in the East would match the
Gamecocks up against Auburn.
Assuming Carolina didn’t lose to
the worst team in the West, a
matchup with LSU or Alabama
would ensue. Alabama and LSU
are hardly Kentucky or Kansas,
so a win there is not unthinkable.
All of a sudden, USC is matched
up with the same Kentucky
Wildcats that they have proven
they can beat anywhere. All
right, I know I’m getting ahead
of myself, but say USC does the
unthinkable and repeats its
upset. Now they are in the finals
against most likely either LSU,
Alabama or, guess who, your
favorite reptiles, the Florida
Gators. A rematch of Sunday’s
epic basketball game would be all
that stood in front of the
Gamecocks and an
AUTOMATIC bid to the
NCAA Tournament.
Whew, so there it is. The
explanation that will save
Carolina’s season. Sit back, relax
and enjoy the show. It should be
fun.
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