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GAME SCHEDULE p0_„ i -> BASEBALL vs. Clemson, 7 p.m. rage 13 WOMEN’S TENNIS at SEC championships, Thursday Wednesday, April 20, 2005 BASEBALL at Alabama, 7:30 p.m. Friday BASEBALL NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK Senior Aaron Rawl and some of his teammates could experience their last Carolina-Clemson game today. Clemson streak looms over Tanner By MIQUEL JACOBS STAFF WRITER For the first time since the 2001 season, USC baseball coach Ray Tanner has the opportunity tonight to win the regular-season series against rival Clemson (21-14, 11-4 ACC). Losing the first two games earlier in the season 6-3, 6-5, the Tigers came back last Wednesday to hit their way to a 12-2 victory. Tanner enters tonight s game with an even 15-15 record against Clemson. The series finale would not only claim the series but would also improve his record above .500 against the in-state team. Entering the season, the Tigers were the only non-SEC team to hold an advantage against the nine-year coach, giving the Gamecocks consistent, stiff competition in each game. Last season, Carolina won the first two meetings before dropping the last two, evening the series for the season. In 2003, the teams split the opening games before USC faltered with consecutive 2-4 losses late in the year. The national championship runner ♦ CLEMSON, page 14 PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK i Senior Alex Hamilton lines up a putt in a tournament earlier this season. Hamilton finished in 14th placet the SEC championships. USC eyes one more against rival Tigers ■ Gamecock pitching needs better showing to overcome Clemson By ALEX RILEY STAFF WRITER After a 1-3 record during the past four games, USC’s baseball team (29-8) will look to take the series from archrival Clemson (21 14) in a 7 p.m. showdown tonight at the Sarge. The Gamecocks hold a 2-1 advantage over the Tigers in this season’s edition of the rivalry, after taking game one 6-3 at Clemson and game two 6-5 in Columbia the following day. Clemson defeated Carolina last week in Clemson, 12-2. The Gamecocks’ recent skid started the last time the two teams met, as Clemson sophomore Stephen Faris pitched a five-hit complete game to dominate Carolina in a 12-2 drubbing last Wednesday, earning him ACC Pitcher of the Week honors. It was Faris’ second consecutive complete game this season. After that effort, USC managed to total only tour runs in the first and second games of last weekend’s series with conference rival Vanderbilt before salvaging game three in a 7-4 win against the Commodores. “I think the pitching is just a little better than maybe everyone envisioned going into the season,” USC coach Ray Tanner said on his team’s recent lack of offensive fire power. “I think that’s the reason for the lack of offense. I know I was a little frustrated. I think that’s the big reason for the lack of production.” Carolina’s recent losses have dropped them in the major polls, as USC fell from No. 4 to No. 8 in the ESPN/Sports Weekly poll and fell from No. 8 and No. 5 in Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, respectively, to No. 13 in both polls. USC had been on a nine-game win streak before the showdown in Clemson last week. The weekend losses put the Gamecocks a game behind Florida in the SEC East standings at 9-6 in conference play. Tanner sits at 15-15 overall against Clemson, while the Tigers lead the overall series, 158-110-2. After dominating Carolina, Clemson went on a streak opposite the Gamecocks. Including last Wednesday’s contest in Clemson, the 1 lgers had reeled off seven consecutive wins, before a loss Sunday to Virginia. Clemson took 2 of-3 from Virginia in last weekend’s series and finished a rain-delayed game against Western Carolina on 1 uesday night in a 7-4 win. \ Clemson was in progress of its game with Western Carolina at press time. The Tigers sit in third in the ACC standings at 11-4 in conference play behind Georgia Tech and Miami. Jack Leggett’s club is first in the ACC in “I think the pitching is just a little better than maybe everyone envisioned going into the season.” RAY TANNER use BASEBALL COACH ON CAROLINA 2005 SERIES GAME 1 use_6 Clemson 3 WP: Rawl LP: Cribb USC’s Brendan Winn hits a two-run homer to push Gamecocks ahead GAME 2 lusc 16 Clemson 5 WP: Cruse LP: Fiorenza Carolina rallies from behind in eighth frame to win by a single run GAME W L’SC : , • A; | Clemson WP: Fans LP: Cruse Gamecock pitching struggles, Tigers take advantage in blowout collective ERA as a pitching staff, and number three in batting average with a .305 average. Senior right-hander Cliff Donald will start on the hill for the Gamecocks. Donald comes into the game with a 1-0 record and a 5.40 ERA. Clemson has not announced its starter. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu Scrimmage predictions prove true, hilarious ■ Spring game provides a few laughs, very little actual football appeal Well, this is my last column of the year (except for the summer). It seems like only yesterday I was a wide-eyed reporter writing about the soccer team and the women’s tennis team. Now I have a weekly column where I get to rant about whatever I want. How cool is JAKE college BROOM journalism? Anyway, SECOND-YEAR veah I POLITICAL 7, , SCIENCE should be STUDENT writing some columns this summer, so • r lit i i 11 yuu gtl lilt dllctlltd <11111 llttu some excessive commas, unnecessary parenthetical comments or thinly veiled sarcasm, you can check www.dailygamecock.com. So how about that Garnet and Black Game (note the seamless transition — the mark of a true professional). Most of the predictions I made in last week’s column came true. I am, in fact, sunburned beyond recognition. If I had a dollar for every person that was wearing a goofy visor, I’d drop out of school and buy an island. And yes, there were tons of those “Got Spurrier” T shirts that make me lose sleep at night. (Speaking of those shirts, why hasn’t anybody taken a picture of Spurrier, Photoshopped a pinkie finger up to his mouth Dr. Evil style and captioned it “Stevil Genius”? You could even throw in a mini Steve. Somebody get on it. I need to see this happen). Here are a few highlights from the game for those of you that missed it: A. L-lf.:__i_i. .- -J — kind of depressed after seeing Noah Whiteside turn his ankle into a piece of abstract art. Spurrier got on the PA system and gave a speech to rally the troops and sell some tickets. As I was starting to lose focus (ADD kicking in), I heard him say a word I have never heard over a PA system. I’m not sure if we can print it, but it starts with a ‘B’ and rhymes with “witchin’.” It was truly a great moment in . Gamecock history. I caught a tear, I won’t even lie. By the end of the game, things were getting sloppy. This is where my friend Scott came in. By halftime everybody had tuned out his random screaming, so watching him attempt to single handedly start the wave was really a good way to pass the time. Other than that, the game wasn’t really eventful. It was just refreshing to see a team wearing our colors running an offense that was designed in the last 100 years. The game didn’t last very long because of the short quarters, so I’m almost positive I spent more ♦ BROOM, page 14 Men’s golf finishes sixth at SEC tourney By MATTHEW NAGY FOR THE GAMECOCK Kentucky took home the 2005 SEC Men’s Golf Championship this past weekend, as the Wildcats edged the Florida Gators in the final round to bring the title back to Lexington. The No. 20 Carolina team ended in a disappointing tie for sixth with Louisiana State. USC coach Puggy Blackmon said he was happy about how the team performed in adverse weather conditions and is hopeful the play this weekend will benefit the team in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The tournament was held at the Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course in St. Simons Island, Ga. “The golf course played very difficult, and we had to deal with 25 mph winds the last three days,” Blackmon said. “So although our finish was not as high as we’d hoped, it was very respectable. This course is a lot like what we’ll see at the NCAA East Regional and the NCAA championship, so it only will help us.” The Gamecocks struggled as a team Sunday, as they started off play slow and fell inn? the bottom third of the field at Times during the day. “We started poorly today and were in 10th place at one point,” Blackmon said. The team was able to rally then and “finished strong on the back nine, and considering the course and conditions, our finish was very positive.” On an individual level this past weekend, senior Alex Hamilton finished in 14th place overall, leading all Gamecocks at the event. He finished at 12 strokes over par for the weekend and finished strong Sunday, shooting 3-over par to close out his final SEC Championship appearance. Redshirt junior West Streib was the only other USC player to finish in the top 30 individually this weekend, shooting two strokes more than Hamilton and finishing at 14-over-par for the weekend. Streib finished with a tie for 18th place overall Sunday. The next two USC players on the leader board finished with a tie for 31st place overall. Carolina has a young squad this year with two freshmen and only one senior at the event. “This conference is probably the strongest it’s ever been, and we finished right about where the ♦ GOLF, page 14