The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 20, 2005, Page 13, Image 13
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