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_^ ^ ^ Game schedule TH#%AMECOCK _ Softball @ Coastal Carolina, 5 p.m. SPO >TS Page 12 M —L ^y Thursday, April 13,2006 Clemson takes season series Myriad of Gamecock pitchers cant slow Tigers Alex Riley ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR CLEMSON — Last Wednesday’s game against Clemson was nothing short of frustration for USC. Down by one run in the ninth inning, senior Michael Ca'mpbell hit into a double-play, ending the Gamecocks’ chance of a rally. But that was last week. In the series finale, the No. 5 Tigers (26-8) pounded out 12 hits and beat the No. 7 Gamecocks (27-7) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, 10-5. “We didn’t get quality pitching at the beginning of the game and they were playing really well,” USC coach Ray Tanner said. “The got some runs early and Kopp pitched pretty good.” In just seven pitches by Tiger starter David Kopp, USC went down in a row to start the game, setting the tone for the night contest. Clemson responded by scoring three runs on three hits in the first inning, providing more than enough cushion to ensure the win. Kopp held the Gamecock attack at bay, lasting six innings and giving up 5 hits. I thought we could have been a little more aggressive,” senior first basemen Neil Giesler said. “But all the credit goes to them for shutting us down the last couple of games.” “I thought we played really well defensively,” Clemson coach Jack Leggett said. “Our pitching was pretty good today, David Kopp did a really good job.” Just like the last trip to Clemson, Tanner called on a plethora of arms to try and come back from the deficit, sending six different pitchers to the mound. None could find answer for the Tigers, yielding a collective nine hits after starter Andrew Cruse was pulled. “We set our goal to win the series, at worst tie the series,” Giesler said. “This is a disappointing loss for us tonight. We wanted to come out here and play better, but we didn’t get the job done.” After taking the 3-0 lead, the Tigers scored in five of the next seven innings. Clemson scored five runs during the game when faced with two outs. The exclamation point came in the fourth inning, when No. 9 hitter Adrian Cassanova blasted a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall to put Clemson up 6-0. Down 10-2, the Gamecocks made a slight rally in the eighth inning, cutting the deficit to 10-4. After retiring the side in the bottom of the eighth, USC had one final shot to make a comeback. A James Darnell solo TIGERS • 13 Juan Bias / THE GAMECOCK USC shortstop Reese Havnes fires to first during Wednesday’s game against Clemson. The Tigers won 10-5. ■v . ■ •**.•*?>7.j- ,?v’ «,• >sffrg’w;,* -v y«an BAzs/THEGAMECOCK A USC player connects with a pitch dyring a game earlier in the season. Carolina next travels to Conway. USC softball travels to Coastal looking to continue win streak Saui Smith THE GAMECOCK Fresh off a 1-0 victory against Arkansas, the USC softball team travels today to Conway to take on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. The Gamecocks have not yet faced the Chants this season, who have an overall record of 24-19. Their Big South record is 3-1, while USC’s SEC record is 4-13. “We definitely have room for improvement on our overall play this season,” said coach Joyce Compton. “We need to become more consistent in all parts of the game. Defense is something that we are struggling with.” The Gamecocks hold an overall record of 24-20. “We need to come out on every pitch,” Compton said. “Coastal Carolina is playing well this season, and they are always tough to play at home.” If it’s any indicator of the way that the doubleheader will go, Coastal Carolina and USC swept College of Charleston when they played this season. The win against Arkansas last weekend was a much needed gulp of air for the Gamecocks, who had lost eight games in a row before their sweep of the Razorbacks. USC won the first gime of the doubleheader against Arkansas 3-0, and the second game 1-0. The second game ended up being determined by a McKenna Hughes solo home run in the first inning. “We’ve asked McKenna to play a lot of positions this year, and she has really done well offensively, too,” Compton said. While this season might not be living up to Compton’s expectations for the team, the doubleheader is a chance for the Gamecocks to continue their turnaround. Comments on this story? E-mail^ gamecocksports @gu>m. sc. edu Instate rivalry should be ended because of recent onesidedness Get mad if you want, but it’s time for S.C. to move another direction I may have grown up in north Georgia, but anyone who knows me knows I’m all Game cock. Garnet pj blood pumps BE|f|g||V through my Second,year veins. I get a print little carried journalism away when student Carolina los es, and I go nuts when they win, but this has gotten out of hand. I’m suggesting something that most people who swear allegiance to the Garnet and Black will most assuredly find heretical; part of me is just frustrated and being non-realistic, and part of me is serious. I’m proposing that Carolina discontinue their rivalry with Clemson. I know, I know, it sounds crazy. And it probably is. It’s easy to say “He’s not from here. He doesn’t understand.” If that makes you feel better, so be it. But after leaving class on Wednesday and heading to the armpit of the Upstate with fellow Gamecock staffers Alex Riley and Juan Bias, it was glaringly apparent that the three of us were the only BEIRBRY • 13 Sports Briefs Tennis winning streak ends Clemson — The USC men’s tennis team’s four-match winning streak came to an end Wednesday as the team fell 6-1 at Clemson. It was only the Gamecocks’ (13-12, 5 5 SEC) third loss in the last 15 matches against the Tigers (19-8, 3-6 ACC). USC junior Pedro Rodrigues picked up the team’s lone point with his fourth-straight singles win. The two teams split a pair of doubles matches, with USC’s win coming as Tom Eklund and Rodrieues cruised to a fourth win in their last five doubles contests, downing Clement Reix and Jarmaine Jenkins, 8 3. The Tigers, though, I would claim the point, as Sander Konig and Ryan Young defeated USC’s Jaime Cuellar and Yevgeny Supeko, 8-6, at No. 2 doubles. Clemson extended its lead to 2-0 early in singles with a win on court six, but the Gamecocks would pull back to within a point with Rodrigues’ straight-sets, 6-3, 6-2, win BRiers • 13 a £