The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 11, 2005, Page 10, Image 10
GAME SCHEDULE
t> o1n WOMEN’S TENNIS at Francis Marion, 2 p.m. Tuesday
rage 1U SOFTBALL at Winthrop, 5 and 7 p.m.Tuesday
Monday, April 11, 2005 BASEBALL at Clemson, 7:15 p.m.Wednesday
Baseball makes easy work of LSU
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PATRICK DENNIS/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ian Paxton is congratulated by third-base coach Jim Toman as he rounds third after hitting a solo home run Sunday in the second inning to push USC’s lead to 2-0.
By ALEX RILEY
STAFF WRITER
With a 25-5 record and a road trip to
face a top-10 LSU team, USC picked
the perfect time to regain its College
World Series form. The Gamecocks
used a midweek drubbing of The
Citadel to run their winning streak to
eight games, prepping them for a huge
showdown in Baton Rouge.
But all the hype went down quietly
into the Bayou, as Carolina ran away
with a three-game sweep of the Tigers .
USC started the weekend off right, as
senior Jason Fletcher got the Friday start
and earned his fourth win of the season
on his longest career outing with 8 1-3
innings. Fletcher allowed just she hits on
the game, as junior Brent Marsh finished
the game in the ninth for his sixth save
of the season, taking game one, 3-1.
Carolina took a 1-0 lead on an LSU
miscue, as junior Michael Campbell
brought in junior Davy Gregg on a
misplayed hot shot to Tiger senior
second basemen Clay Harris. The
Tigers tied things up in the bottom half
of the frame off a Will Harris solo
homer. That tie lasted no time at all, as
junior Steven Tolleson and sophomore
Ryan Mahoney hit back-to-back
doubles to start the fourth, while Gregg
added his second double of the game
with two outs to boost the Gamecock
margin to its final standing, 3-1.
Pitching ruled day two, as senior Zac
McCamie pitched his first complete game
of the season, allowing one run on three
hits for a 5-1 USC win, clinching the
series.
♦ Please see BASEBALL, page 11
PATRICK DENNIS/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aaron Rawl throws against LSU Sunday
in a 7-5 win in Baton Rouge, La.
College World Series bid rests on pitching staff
By MIQUELJACOBS
STAFF WRITER
»
USC baseball coach Ray Tanner knew
that his team’s strength during last
season’s run in the College World Series
was in the pitching staff. With three of
his top hurlers leaving Carolina early for
a crack at the major leagues and his
pitching coach leaving to head the
program at Old Dominion, an obvious
question would arise: Can this season’s
staff take the Gamecocks to their fourth
consecutive trip to Omaha?
After a series sweep of perennial power
No. 8 LSU on the road, the
performances of the starting three leave
little doubt that they can also take a shot
at the national championship.
The 2004 Major League Baseball draft
was unkind to Tanner’s program,
claiming three regular starters and three
marquee pitchers away from college and
a spot on a minor-league roster. The
Kansas City Royals spent the most time
in Columbia, scouting the Gamecock
pitchers enough to take ace starters Billy
Buckner and Man Campbell along with
arguably the best closer in college last
season, Chad Blackwell.
“They’re very solid on the mound
with a first-rounder (Campbell), a
second-rounder (Buckner), and that
bullpen is nasty,” Baseball America
writer Will Kimmey said before USC’s
appearance in the College World Series
last year. “Campbell and (Aaron) Rawl
have so much experience and just throw
strikes. The staff is deep, but they really
just use six or seven guys — but those
guys are usually enough.”
Indeed, those guys, much like the six
or seven needed this season, were
enough. Campbell was taken in the first
round of the draft with the No. 29
selection, quickly followed by Buckner in
the second round and Blackwell in the
sixth. The losses left behind regular
starter rising senior Rawl, along with
fellow rising seniors Jason Fletcher and
Zac McCamie, a rotation proving to be
of championship-caliber.
Heading into the season, analysts
projected senior Steve Pearce and junior
Michael Campbell as the top
professional prospects on the Gamecock
roster, but after this weekend’s series
sweep against LSU, the pitchers are
beginning to once again pull scouts’
attention towards the mound. Starting
with Friday’s opener, Fletcher’s 8 1-3
innings of work were a career high for
him, giving up only three hits in a
difficult win on the road. Junior Brent
Marsh, USC’s new closer, completed the
final outs and earned his sixth save of the
season.
After Fletcher’s career day, McCamie
used tips by the latter to turn in his own
historical performance. The Gamecocks
took the series with a 5-1, three-hit
victory Saturday, the first time USC ever
won a series in Baton Rouge. Even more
impressive, McCamie pitched his first
complete game, spreading out the three
hits during the full nine innings.
“Zac McCamie pitched a great game,”
Tanner said. “He got in a couple of jams
he pitched out of. In the second inning,
it looked like it might get ugly, but he
was able to battle his way out.”
Rawl, the Gamecocks’ four-year
starter, truly battled it out in the series
finale, taking a 7-5 victory for the first
ever sweep against the Bayou Bengals. In
the victory, Marsh recorded his seventh
save of the season in relief work. Rawl
holds a 32-11 record in his career at
Carolina, 15 wins short of the single
season record.
Coupled with a bullpen Tanner said
he is increasingly gaining confidence in,
this season’s pitching staff might have
what it takes to finally push the
Gamecocks over the hump for a
championship ring. Last season’s SEC
Tournament championship was a nice
steppingstone, and with the
performances displayed during their
current eight-game winning streak, the
Gamecocks might indeed be primed for
a deeper run than in 2002 when Rawl
pitched the national championship game
against Texas.
“I have a lot of confidence in our
pitching staff,” Tanner said following
last week’s sweep of Georgia. “When
pitchers give you a chance to win, that’s
all you can ask for.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockspoits@gvm.sc. edu
MLB opens ’05 with a bang
By JONATHAN HILLYARD
SPORTS EDITOR
One week of the 2005 Major League
Baseball season is in the books, and the
sport couldn’t have asked for a better
jumpstart.
Last weekend the Red Sox and Yankees
picked up right where they left off with an
action-packed, three-game series in the
Bronx. New Yankees ace Randy Johnson
got the Bronx Bombers rolling with a 9-2
victory against the defending World Series
champions in the MLB season opener.
After all-world closer Mariano Rivera
blew a 3-2 lead for New York in the ninth
inning of game two, Yankee captain
Derek Jeter picked up the slack, ending
the game on a walk-ofF homer in the
bottom of the ninth.
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as the Red Sox battled back from a
ninth-inning deficit to overtake the evil
empire, 7-3.
The Detroit Tigers’ Dimitri Young
stole the show on MLB’s opening
Monday, going 4-for-4 with five RBls and
three home runs against the Kansas City
Royals. Another hot hitter in the first week
of play was Philadelphia Phillie leftfielder
Pat Burrell. Burrell went 12-for-25 on the
week and belted a MLB-leading 15 RBIs.
The former No. 1 draft pick also hit three
homers during the first week of play.
The Seattle Mariners signed free agents
Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre in the
offseason and saw immediate dividends
last Monday. Sexson became the first
Mariner to homer in his first two at-bats,
leading Seattle to a 5-1 opening-day win.
GREGORY SMITH/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The New York Mets, left, and the Atlanta Braves line the field during opening
day ceremonies at Turner Field last Friday. Atlanta won, 3-1
Also very busy in the offseason was the
New York Mets. The Mets threw newly
acquired ace Pedro Martinez on opening
Monday, but despite pitching well, the
Cincinnati Reds spoiled the day with a
last-inning comeback. The Mets
continued to struggle throughout the
week, losing their first five before finally
picking up a win Sunday in Atlanta.
Martinez threw a complete game and
allowed only one run in the victory.
The Braves had doubts about their
starter, turned closer, turned ace John
Smoltz, as he lasted only 1 2-3 innings in
the opener against Florida. The veteran
gav e up seven runs and the Braves were
shut out, 9-0. The winners of 13 straight
division titles would not stay down for
long though, as they won the final two
games of a series at Florida and won 2-of-3
in their home opening series against the
Mets, solidifying an early claim for first in
the National League East.
The action won’t cool down in week
two as the game’s biggest rivals clash again
this afternoon in Fenway Park. The Red
Sox will have their first championship
rings in 86 years presented to them before
the game, and another three-game series
with George Steihbrenner’s Yankees
should provide plenty of excitement.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
MORRY GASH/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tiger Woods, right, gets the Green Jacket from Phil Mickelson, left, after winning
the 2005 Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., Sunday,
Woods bests DiMarco
for fourth Masters win
By DOUG FERGUSON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods is the
Masters champion once again, turning
back a surprising challenge Sunday with a
shot of sheer magic and a birdie putt to
wire a playoff he never expected.
A spectacular finish of birdies and
bogeys finally ended when Woods
produced the most important shot of all —
a 15-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole
to capture his fourth green jacket and
finally put away the gritty Chris DiMarco.
Woods knew it was over when the ball
was a foot from the hole, taking two steps
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♦ Please see MASTERS, page 11