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►Baseball short of World Series appearance a onkan Parlnmn No. 2 overall seed in the in the fifth round as the 165th USC waited six more rounds for Stephen Pastenau and (Ilex Riley THE BflITIECOCK Playing the role of underdog in an NCAA Tournament regional is not something coach Ray Tanner and his USC baseball team had been accustomed to in the past. Seeded No. 2 in the Atlanta region, the Gamecocks finally met their match, being eliminated by Georgia Tech June 6 in the I:gional championship game and tiling to reach the College World eries for the first time in three :asons. USC senior first baseman Steve earce and juniors Neil Giesler and lichael Campbell were named to le regional all-tournament team, earce led players in the regional rith 10 hits. In a game delayed an hour because of lightning, the Gamecocks never could get their bats to cooperate, managing only five hits off Yellow Jacket pitchers sophomore Tim Gustafson and reshman Matt Wieters. USC senior pitcher Aaron Rawl sked Tanner to put the ball in his and for the deciding game and as granted his request. Hoping s ace' would limit the Yellow ckets for a few strong innings, mner’s plan backfired. Rawl surrendered four runs on ven hits in two and one-third nings, being replaced in favor of iphomore left-hander Forrest everly. Beverly gave up only four its and one run in six and two lirds innings, his longest outing F the season. USC opened the regional lurnament with a 6-5 victory tainst Michigan The win sent the Gamecocks to a matchup with the Yellow ckets, and USC found out why e Ramblin’ Wreck earned the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament. Georgia Tech put up four runs in the top of the first, piling on 17 hits for the game in a 10-2 win. The Gamecocks clawed their way back, waiting out a three and-a-half-hour rain delay to eliminate Michigan 4-3 and setting up a rematch with the Yellow Jackets. USC forced the deciding game with an 8-3 win over Tech that included four home runs by the Gamecocks and a outing by junior Andy Lambert. The first Gamecock to go in the MLB draft surprised many, as shortstop Steven Tolleson was picked by the Minnesota Twins in the fifth round as the 165th pick. Pearce’s decision to stay at USC another year seems to have paid off, as the senior first baseman’s stock rose for a 10th-round pick last year to a an eighth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates as the 241st. The final Gamecock to go on the draft’s opening day was senior pitcher Zac McCamie, who went to the Florida Marlins in the 17th round as the 516th. Day two of the draft saw four Gamecocks selected, as Rawl went in the 21st round to the Philadelphia. Rawl finished his career with 35 wins, third all-time at USC. USC waited six more rounds for another player to be picked, as junior Davy Gregg went to the Chicago Cubs as the 820th pick in the 27th round. While he was plagued with arm injuries all season, sophomore pitcher Arik Hempy managed to be the 933rd pick in the 31st round by the Baltimore Orioles. The final Gamecock drafted was sophomore pitcher Forrest Beverly. Beverly went as the 1,248th pick in the 42nd round to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu - Ito KIHK/THt HSSULIHILU PHtSS The Gamecock baseball team reacts after coming up short in their bid for a fourth trip to Omaha for the College World Series. Welcome l i r r IX ' . GAMECOCK STYLE ) WITH A BIG FREAKIN TWIST BigCocksFan.com \ Also available at South Carolina Bookstore < 1 1 AUGUST 15 DAVIDSON (Exhibition) 6 p.m. 20 at Duke (Exhibition) 7 p.m. 26 MERCER 7 p.m. 29 FURMAN 7 p.m. SEPTEMBER_ Auburn Tournament (Auburn, Ala.) 2 vs. Rhode Island 5:30p.m. 4 vs. Cal State Fullerton lp.m. Carolina Cup (Clemson, S.C.) 9 at Clemson 7:30p.m. 11vs. Charlotte1 p.m. 18 MIAMI (FLA.) 11a.m. 23 AUBURN* 7 p.m. 25 ALABAMA* 2 p.m. 30 at Georgia* 7 p.m. OCTOBER 2 at Tennessee* 2 p.m. 7 VANDERBILT* 7 p.m. 9 KENTUCKY 2 p.m. 14 at Ole Miss* 8 p.m. 16 at Mississippi State* 2 p.m. 21 ARKANSAS* 7 p.m. 23 at LSU* 2 p.m. 28 at Florida* 7 p.m. NOVEMBER j-o silc. tournament (Orange Beach, Fla.) 11 NCAA First Round 13 NCAA Second Round 18-20 NCAA Third Round 25-27 NCAA Quarterfinals DECEMBER 2-4 NCAA Women's College Cup (College Station, Texas) All marcn times are eastern ana suoject to cnange. Home matcnes are nstea in okay. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*indicate^natc|^gains^outheasteri^onferenc^)ppoiieii^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ _ ■ ■ AUUD51 20 Furman (Exhibition) 7 n.m. 27 COASTAL CAROLINA (Exhibition) 7 p.m. SEPTEMBER 2 at Clemson 7 p.m. 8 COLLEGE OF _CHARLESTON 7 p.m. North Carolina Classic (Chapel Hill, N.C.) ' 9 vs. Wake Forest 5 p m 11 at North Carolina 3:30 p.m. adidas /South Carolina Gamecock Classic 16 College of Charleston vs. Loyola-Chicago 5p.m. South Carolina vs. Pennsylvania 7:30 p.m. 18 College of Charleston vs. Pennsylvania 1 p.m. South Carolina vs. Loyola-Chicago 3:30p.m. 21 UNC-WILMINGTON 7 p.m. 24 at Charlotte 7 p.m. UL 1 UDI<K 2 at East Carolina* 1 p.m. 7 at Memphis* 7 p.m. 9 at UAB* 1 p.m. 14 KENTUCKY* 7 p.m. 16 MARSHALL* 2 p.m. 21 at Florida International* 8:15p.m ’23 at Central Florida* 2 p.m. 28 TULSA* 7 p.m. 30 SMU* 1 p.m. NOVEMBER 6 Conference USA Tournament- First Round 11 Conference USA Tournament- Second Round 13 Conference USA Tournament Finals (Sites and times for all C-USA Tournament games to be determined) 18-19 NCAA First Round 22 NCAA Second Round 26-27 NCAA Third Round DECEMBER 2-4 NCAA Quarterfinals 9-11 NCAA College Cup (Cary, N.C.) /\n inaicn uiucs arc eastern auu suujcu tu inaugc. nuiuc maiciics arc iimcu iki urv/u. _indicates match against Southeastern Conference opponent_ SIDr 1 _ Florida State Tournament (Tallahassee, Fla.) 2 vs. Pittsburgh 10 a.m. at Florida State 7:30 p.m. 3 vs. Mercer 3:30 p.m. 6 CHARLOTTE_7 p.m. North Carolina Tournament (Chapel Hill, N.C.) 9 vs. Coastal Carolina 4:30 p.m. 10 vs. Purdue 12:30 p.m. 10 at North Carolina 7:30 p.m. ij at L-iemson_7 p.m. College of Charleston Tournament (Charleston, S. C.) 15 at College of Charleston 7:30 p.m. 16 vs. Houston 5 p.m. 23 at LSU* 7 p.m. 25 at Arkansas* 1:30 p.m. 30 MISSISSIPPI STATE* 7 p.m. OCTOBER 2 MISSISSIPPI* 1:30 p.m. 7 at Georgia* 7 p.m. 9 at Florida* 1:30 p.m. 14 at Alabama* 7 p.m. 16 at Auburn* 1:30 p.m. 23 KENTUCKY* 1:30p.m. 26 TENNESSEE* 7 p.m. 28 FLORIDA* 7 p.m. 30 GEORGIA* 1:30 p.m. IV VJV iLiVJDlLlV 4 at Kentucky* 7 p.m. 9 at Tennessee* 7 p.m. 11 AUBURN* 7 p.m. 13 ALABAMA* 1:30 p.m. 18-20 SEC Tournament (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) 26 WINTHROP 1:30 p.m. Home<matches are in GRAY. r indicates SEC opponent