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.__„ Game schedule THP^AME COCK - Toda» - Softball @ Tennessee, 4 p.m. /'“'Ni “| 'V S~\ “| 'k Ml Baseball vs. The Citadel, 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 19,2006 K^y . 1 I M. KvV /fcge 17 Nick Barts / THE GAMECOCK Shortstop James Darnell fires to first during a game last weekend with Ole Miss. The Gamecocks take on the Citadel Bulldogs today at 7 p.m. • USC to scrap with Citadel Gamecocks continue to look to young pitching for lift against in-state rival Bulldogs at home Rob Carli and fi.J. Bembry THE GAMECOCK For the 156th time in two centuries, the Gamecock baseball team and instate rival, the Citadel Bulldogs, will square off against each other. The No. 7 Gamecocks ^Phold a 112-43 all-time record against the Bulldogs, dating back to 1900, but the Bulldogs have not gone quietly in recent seasons since their latest victory in 2003. Last season, USC narrowly defeated the Bulldogs 4-2 at Riley Park in Charleston. In 2004, the Gamecocks escaped defeat in extra innings with a grdnd slam by Steve Pearce. “They’re a great college baseball program,” coach Ray Tanner said. “When we get together it’s always a good game and a good atmosphere and well attended.” In last season’s contest at Riley Park, a stadium record of 5,803 fans attended the Gamecocks’ marginal 4-2 victory. But attendance is not the concern for starting freshman pitcher Will Atwood right now. It’s to improve his 2-0 record against USC’s only other in state opponent this season in addition to Clemson. “This game we play here is just as important as games on the weekend, and we need to play one game at a time,” he said. Atwood said he doesn’t know too much about the Citadel, only that he’s excited to go out there and get another start. Tanner and the coaching staff has been more than familiar with leaning on freshmen to start in the rotation this season. Freshman pitcher Mike Cisco is 5-0 in starts and was named SEC pitcher of the week after an eight inning shutout against Mississippi last weekend. Reese Havens and Justin Smoak are both fourth on the team in RBI with 26. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a team where we’ve relied on freshmen like this season,” Tanner said. “They CITRDCL • 18 Sports Softball to play at Tennessee for second day USC’s softball team will play Tennessee again today, after playing two games against the Vols on Tuesday. The Gamecocks entered the series with a 24-22 record, 4-13 in the SEC, while the Volunteers are second in the SEC East with a 41-6 record overall. UT entered yesterday’s games with a six-game win streak, while USC was swept by Coastal Carolina on April o. USC leads the overall series 15-14 but had dropped its last seven games to the Vols going into Tuesday’s games. USC junior Mckenna Hughes is the Gamecocks’ top batter, as she leads the team with 39 hits, 11 doubles, six homeruns and a .285 average. As a team, the Gamecocks bat just .234 while the pitching unit holds a 1.98 ERA. Christie Hamilton leads the team from the mound with 12 wins and 137 strikeouts. Tennessee’s Sarah Fekete leads the SEC with a .500 batting average. The senior has 68 hits and has scored 46 runs. Tonya Callahan’s 53 RBI are a team high. Volunteers pitcher Monica Abbot has done her part for the Vols from the mund, holding a miniscule .57 ERA while striking out an SEC-leading 352 batters. The Gamecocks sit fourth in the East with a 1 -5 record in the division. The mid-week series marks the • end of a 13 game homestand for the Volunteers. Mens SEC tennis bracket set; USC starts with Vols USC men’s tennis opens the SEC tournament tomorrow with a match against No. 10-seed Tennessee. Alabama is hosting the event, held at the Alabama Tennis Complex in Tuscaloosa. The winner will advance to take on No. 2-seed Florida on Friday. The Gamecocks ended their season with a 13 13 overall record and a 5-6 mark in the SEC by winning four of their last five conference matches. Tennessee is 9-10 overall, i 3- 8 in the SEC. The Volunteers won the only match between the two teams during the season, a 4- 1 decision on March 12. The tournament’s No.l seed, Georgia, will face the winner of the Alabama Auburn matchup on Friday. The championship match will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. Sprinter wins 5th weekly SEC award in 6 weeks USC sophomore sprinter Shalonda Solomon has been named the SEC’s track athlete of the week after breaking two school records during events last week. It was the fifth time in six weeks Solomon has won the award. Both records broken by Solomon were formerly held by NCAA champions. She won the 200m Invitational by posting a time of 22.53, the fastest time in the world this year. Solomon also won the 100m on April 14 with the NCAA’s best time of 11.12 in Knoxville, Tenn. The Gamecocks moved up to No. 10 this week in the trackwire.com rankings after a strong showing at last week’s Sea Ray Relays NickEsara/TBE GAMECOCK Sophomore rightfielder Jessica Josker throws in a USC softball game earlier this season. Happiest birthday greetings to Spurrier In honor of 61st year, here are some quality gift ideas for the coach Steve Spurrier’s birthday is tomorrow; he’ll be 61. Forget all the potential jokes o l C ill 111 1 11 g from being born on 4/20. Today, I’m going to weed through the most likely wishes on the STEPHEH coach’s list this FRSTEIlflU year (word is Third that Student y™r print Government j°urnal“m wanted to fill student Spurrier’s office from floor to ceiling with balloons, but a certain high-ranking elected official nixed the plan. Air costs money, apparently). Topping Spurrier’s wish list would probably have to be a second threat at wide receiver to complement Sidney Rice. Not that Blake Mitchell needs a second option, but sometimes it’s best if opposing coaches, players, wives, girlfriends, pets and girlfriend’s pets don’t know which play is coming. Syvelle Newton should be back healthy in the fall, but he doesn’t know where he’ll play. The best second option should be Kenny McKinley, who is fast and has good hands — two qualities that make for a good receiver, apparently. U.J. Murdock could come from nowhere and be that guy, but for now I see McKinley being there alongside Rice. Of course, I’d throw my hat in the ring for Gurminder Thind. He may not be the fastest guy on the field, but he could eat any defensive back, linebacker, or Glen Davis who tried to cover him. Second on Spurrier’s list would be a breakout year for Cory Boyd. No one really knows what Boyd did last year to be suspended for the season, but they’re glad he’s back. Boyd dominated the scout team last year, has been brilliant in the spring and will have a worthy backup in Mike Davis when he needs a breather. He also has the speed and hands to line up in the slot position and can catch balls out of the backfield. Establishing a threat in the running game, obviously, would take pressure off of Mitchell and of course, the workhorse Rice. Let’s see, what else? Spurrier doesn’t need a car. He gets a new one from a local dealership every 5,000 milpc rvr cnmpfktnrr lilrp that. How about another Lindsey? Dustin Lindsey likely won’t be on the field this year and the defense will miss him. Despite his off-field troubles, Lindsey was a ball-hawk who took the starting job away from senior Ricardo Hurley last year and made a habit of singling out opponents. The Gamecocks need to replace him fast. Without the balloons, Spurrier will need something rnsTennu • is