Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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!Q & GAME SCHEDULE t> SOFTBALL vs. Tennessee, 4 p.m. Tuesday Fage 13 MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Miami (Fla.), 7:30 p.m. Tuesday Monday, March 14, 2005 BASEBALL at Wofford, 7 p.m. Wednesday USC sweeps first two games against Tigers ■ Baseball improves to 13-1 with wins against in-state rival P By ALEX RILEY STAFF WRITER The bottom of the ninth inning numbers stayed off at Sarge Frye field on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, as Carolina finished a weekend sweep of Clemson in front of a sold-out crowd. After losing in the opening game of the Dairy Queen Classic in Minnesota to Pepperdine, 7 5, USC rallied to beat Minnesota 13-6 and New Orleans 9-3. The wins pushed Carolina’s record to 13-1 and boosted its ranking in the polls to No. 4. USC ran its record to 14-1 with a 1-0 win over » Charleston Southern in a P Wednesday night showdown at the Sarge, setting the- stage for a Saturday trip to Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Tl_nr:_.........J -k.. ~ -—-— with a 1-2 skid before a huge series sweep of No. 18 UC-Irvine the last weekend in February. Two more losses at Auburn and an embarrassing 8-2 loss to Winthrop at home set Clemson’s record at 5-5. The Gamecocks found themselves in need of a rally early, as Clemson took a 1-0 lead on a RBI double by designated hitter junior Kris Flarvey. That lead quickly evaporated as junior Michael Campbell led off the k second inning with a double off " of junior starter Josh Cribb and was brought home on a Brendan Winn hot shot off the second base bag. USC took the lead for the first time in the game on a Chris Brown solo home run in the third to give the Gamecocks a 2 1 advantage. Carolina had an opportunity to blow the game open with the bases loaded in the fifth inning as juniors Neil Giesler, Steven Tolleson and Brown each walked to load things up. But senior Steve Pearce failed to connect, striking out and wasting the opportunity. Senior pitcher Aaron Rawl cruised along until the fifth, when he managed to load the | bases after Clemson tied things up at 2-2 on a RBI double by freshman Taylor Harbin. That’s when Harvey came up short foi the Tigers, striking out with the bases jammed, “I figured I would not let (Cribb) top me,” Rawl said after the game on the back-to-back f bases loaded strikeouts. The sixth inning saw Carolina retake the lead for the final time of the game, as Winn cranked a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw, giving the Gamecocks a 4-2 lead. USC added insurance runs in the seventh inning, as Campbell tacked on a two-run double and Giesler was dealt a walk with the bases loaded to extend Carolina’s lead to 6-2. “The hit came today at a good time,” Winn said. “I just put the good part of the bat on it.” Clemson hit a solo homer in the bottom half of the seventh, but it was of no consequence as senior Jason Fletcher closed off the game allowing two hits and one run, sealing the 6-3 win against the Tigers. Rawl put out a solid performance allowing two runs on seven hits, while striking out three, earning him his third victory over the Tigers as a Gamecock. —_ k„,k teams to Columbia, as one of the most beautiful days of the year rolled into the city. Sunny skies and warm temperatures brought out a capacity crowd and a solid start from senior pitcher Zac McCamie. McCamie struck out the first batter he faced, tallying she K’s in six innings of work. This time out, it was the Gamecocks who ran out to an early lead, as Tolleson reached first on an error, and Pearce made Clemson pay. Pearce parked a two-run shot over the left-center wall off Clemson starter Harvey to give Carolina the early 2-0 lead. “I just wanted to hit something out,” Pearce said. “We wanted to score first. They are a good time. They battled us up there yesterday. Anything can happen.” Clemson pulled within one on a RBI double play ground our in the second, then tied in things the following inning on a Harbin solo homer. Carolina took the lead back in the bottom half of the third, as Pearce hit a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Sophomore Jon Willard brought Pearce in on a sacrifice fly, giving Carolina back the lead 3-2. The game stayed at 3-2 until the seventh, when Clemson put up a huge rally. The Tigers put up a three spot on a two-run double and bloop single, taking a 5-3 lead into the eighth inning. A one-two-three top of the eighth by USC freshman reliever Andrew Cruse gave Carolina the spark they would need as they stepped to the bat. Sophomore Tommy King reached base on a walk to start the inning, but Pearce popped out to the track. That’s when sophomore pinch hitter Ryan Mahoney tapped a high chop back to the mound that was fielded by relief pitcher freshman David Kopp, who threw high and wide of anything close to first base. As the ball scooted away, King scooted home, and Mahoney came to a stop at third base. After a pitching change, Campbell brought Mahoney in I I on a RBI triple. He was then brought in on a Winn fly-ball hit that the Clemson right fielder and center fielder both failed to catch, giving the Gamecocks the lead for good, 6 5. Cruse got two outs in the ninth, as junior Brent Marsh came on to tally the final out on a pop out to junior outfielder Davy Gregg in left, sealing the weekend sweep . for the Gamecocks. “It was a hard fought game,” USC coach Ray Tanner said. “You have to feel good. Its good to go through this if you can win. This is the way these games go.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@grnm.sc.edu KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK Top: Second baseman Chris Brown throws to first in Sunday’s win against Clemson. Below: senior third baseman Steve Pearce is congratulated by Michael Campbell after hitting a home run. , . I T^he USC softball team has won five of its first six conference games, including a three-game sweep of Arkansas in^ayetteville and a 2* series win against LSU at home. Softball starts conference play with strong SEC West wins ■ USC overcomes Lady Backs, takes 2 of 3 against LSU Tigers By MICHAEL FINNEGAN THE GAMECOCK The Carolina softball team looked to end its preseason tournaments with a strong finish. The Gamecocks traveled to Marietta, Ga., to compete in the Buzz Classic. In pool play, the Gamecocks went 3-1 with wins against Boston, Garner-Webb and South Dakota State, and their lone loss to Ohio State. In bracket play, they defeated Mercer, 7-2, and then went on to lose to Auburn, 6-4. This gives the Gamecocks a record of 15-9 heading into SEC play. One bright spark for the Gamecocks during the Buzz Classic was freshman Jessica Josker who was named to the Buzz Classic All Tournament team and was also named the SEC Player of the Week. To open up SEC play, USC traveled to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on the Lady’Backs. The teams played a doubleheader Tuesday, with Carolina winning both games, 6-1 and 3-0, respectively. The Gamecocks won 5-3 Wednesday to sweep the series and start SEC play, 3-0. For the series, senior first baseman Meghan Cornett led Carolina going 6-11 with four RBIs and one home run. To wrap up spring break, USC came home for the first time since Fxb. 16 to play host to No. 12 LSU in'its SEC home opener. The Gamecocks looked to start off hot, cooling down LSU and stopping their eight-game winning streak. Carolina scored twice in both the second and third innings to open up a 4-0 lead against the Tigers. In the second, Josker hit a two-out, two-run triple to start the scoring. In the third, fellow freshman Lisa Longo hit her third home run of the year to drive in Cornett, making the score 4-0. The score stayed the same until the fifth inning, when LSU came back strong. LSU got a leadoff walk, followed by a RBI double and then a two-run home run by junior first baseman Stephanie Hill. USC senior Aleca Johnson, who came in to relieve junior pitcher Melanie Henkes, then walked the next two batters before getting the last two outs of the inning. The Gamecocks held LSU scoreless in the seventh to win, 4-3. The second game had the same score but a different outcome, with LSU winning 4-3 in eight innings. The game proved to be a nail-biter. Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, USC rallied back to tie the game at 3. In the crucial seventh inning, the Gamecocks loaded the bases with no outs. The next two batters got outs, as Cornett lined to first and then Henkes reached on a fielder’s choice as sophomore Chrissy Schoonmaker was thrown out at home. LSU freshman pitcher Tiffany Garcia threw a wild pitch to allow Hilltto score. * The next batter, freshman Stefanie Norman, also struck out but reached safety on a wild pitch. Josker tried to come home and win the game, but LSU catcher freshman Killian Roessner, got the ball and tagged Josker to send the game into extra innings. In the eighth, LSU junior Camille Harris hit a homer to make the score 4-3. The Gamecocks failed to score in the bottom of the inning, giving the Tigers the hard-fought victory. Carolina looked to start off strong Sunday to win the rubber match of the series. In the first, Norman hit a two run double to give Carolina the lead, 2-0. This would prove to be the crucial hit of the game, as Carolina freshman pitcher Katie Pouliot pitched her second shutout in SEC play to give Carolina the win and the series victory. This marked their first series victory against the Tigers since 1997. Carolina continues its home stand in a three-game series against national powerhouse and SEC East favorite No. 5 Tennessee starting Tuesday with a doubleheader followed by a third game Wednesday. The first game of the doubleheader is set for 4 p.m. The Gamecocks will then wrap up the doubleheader with a game beginning at 6 p.m. against the Volunteers. Wednesday’s game is also scheduled for a 4 p.m. start. Admission to the game is free for students. Comments on this story? E-mail x gatneeocksports@prm.se. edu