TheState.com: Gamecocks

Spear: memories will endure at Sarge Frye

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:56 EDT

IF THIS REALLY is the time to play Auld Lang Syne and the final curtain at last falls on Sarge Frye Field today, the University of South Carolina’s longtime baseball home marches into history with so many memories worth keeping.

Remember the old times, the poet wrote, and we should — especially here at this jewel of a park carved out of gullies and wasteland more than a half-century ago.

This is where the college game began to prosper in this state, thanks to the Gamecocks’ rivalry with Clemson. This is where Carolina clinched each of its eight College World Series berths. This is where ... oh, the list of stars and their achievements could go on forever.

Players and coaches might change, but the moments to treasure keep coming.

One inning on this diamond will be etched forever in Ray Tanner’s mind. Bill Reitmeier will never forget pitching 15Ð innings in one game. Trey Dyson remembers a ninth-inning home run, Bobby Richardson the overflow crowd with the Yankees and Mets in town, John Hinkel a power-filled tournament and June Raines his band of sluggers that averaged — averaged! — more than two home runs per game for the 1985 season.

USC keeps hope alive

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:43 EDT

Nick Godwin said he felt surprisingly composed all day Friday, despite knowing he had USC’s postseason hopes resting on his right arm.

Well, composed may not be the right word.

“I was anxious. I was getting tired, with these 7 o’clock games you just sit around all day,” Godwin said. “I was just ready to get going.”

The Gamecocks needed a good and long outing from Godwin on Friday night, and they got it. With a 7-5 victory against Tennessee, the chances of South Carolina making the SEC tournament lingered for one more day.

USC (36-19, 14-15 SEC) will clinch a trip to Hoover, Ala., if it beats Tennessee today. Failing that, it will need either Mississippi or Arkansas to lose.

USC advances five to Track and Field finals

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:40 EDT

At Auburn, Ala., in the second day of the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, South Carolina advanced five athletes to Sunday’s finals.

KiKi Clarke finished sixth in the heptathlon, scoring 4967 points. Curt McGill was ninth in the decathlon with 6620 points and Scott Pierce won the final event, the 1500m, and finished in 12th place.

Jussi Heikkila (50.25) and Johnny Dutch (50.13) won their heats in the 400m hurdles, with Jason Richardson (50.38) finishing as the runner-up to Heikkila to advance to the finals.

Trier Young advanced to the women’s 400m hurdles, finishing runner-up with a time of 1:00.02.

Shayla Mahan won her heat of the 200m and advanced to the finals at 23.83.

Baseball: Slim SEC window just got slimmer

Fri, 16 May 2008 08:44 EDT

Moments after Thursday’s final out, the USC baseball team ducked into the dugout and into the tunnel. The forecast was for rain, so the players had been instructed to rush the tarp over the field.

The way things are going, more than just the Gamecocks’ field is in danger of being washed away.

A late-season swoon continued Thursday night, and there’s little time to recover. A 13-2 loss to Tennessee put USC in more danger of missing the SEC tournament, and leaving its NCAA chances in question.

South Carolina (35-19 overall, 13-15 in the SEC) probably has to win the final two games of the series to make the SEC tournament. If it only wins one more, it needs a lot of help or else it will be at home next week while eight other teams go to Hoover, Ala.

“We came into this series knowing we had to win two out of three, and we’ve still got two to go,” Tanner said. “So we certainly still got life.”

Former USC coach Duckett gets new job

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:36 EDT

GRAMBLING, La. - Rick Duckett, an assistant coach at South Carolina for the last six seasons, is the new men's head coach at Grambling State University.

Duckett had been as assistant to Dave Odom at South Carolina since 2002. Odom retired following the 2007-08 season.

Duckett, who was hired Thursday, compiled a 150-75 record in eight seasons as head coach at Fayetteville State and Winston-Salem State. He got his start in coaching as an undergraduate at North Carolina, leading the junior varsity program for Dean Smith.

Duckett's hiring still needs approval from the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System.

He replaces Larry Wright, who was fired in April after compiling an 88-160 record in nine seasons at his alma mater.

Baseball: Gamecocks in an unexpected position

Thu, 15 May 2008 16:28 EDT

As recently as last week, no one with the South Carolina baseball team thought Saturday would be the last time the Gamecocks would play at Sarge Frye Field. That was supposed to be in two weeks, or maybe three.

Events in Arkansas apparently have dictated otherwise. After being swept for a third time, not only USC is unlikely to host an NCAA tournament regional, it is fighting to for a berth in next week’s SEC tournament.

It’s an unexpected position.

“We definitely had higher expectations than where we are right now,” junior shortstop Reese Havens said Wednesday. “But we’re in the situation we put ourselves in. So we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to get out of it.”

And what would that require? In all likelihood, two wins in the series against Tennessee would put USC in the SEC tournament.

Golf: An eventful career

Wed, 14 May 2008 21:45 EDT

To look at Mark Anderson, his blond hair long and beach-boy disheveled, seemingly ready for summer, you never would suspect an intensity about golf that used to produce emotions ranging from “cocky” (his word) to “ballistic” (his former coach’s word).

To look at his record for South Carolina’s golf team this year — a team-best seven top-20 finishes in nine stroke-play tournaments, including three top-10s — you wouldn’t imagine the senior from Beaufort once saw golf as “a burden ... being on the course wasn’t fun anymore.”

And to hear USC director of golf Puggy Blackmon and golf coach Bill McDonald sing Anderson’s praises as team captain, it’s hard to picture Blackmon once screaming at him, or McDonald telling him five months ago to “get his act together or ride the pine.”

Anderson laughs at the seeming contradictions. Today in Chattanooga, Tenn., at Council Fire Golf Club, site of the NCAA East Regional, he and his teammates are the nation’s No. 12 team, seeded third and — coming off last year’s surprise West Regional victory and 11th-place NCAA Championship finish — no longer flying under the radar.

Joining USC in Chattanooga will be Coastal Carolina, the East Regional’s No. 20 seed and Big South Conference champion. In the West Regional at Bremerton, Wash., Clemson will be the No. 5 seed.

Baseball: USC pounds Citadel

Thu, 15 May 2008 16:41 EDT

On a night when fans received plastic hardhats commemorating South Carolina’s new baseball stadium, the Gamecocks went to work rebuilding their postseason resumes.

After a weekend sweep at Arkansas put their SEC and NCAA tournament hopes in jeopardy, the Gamecocks needed a quick, pick-me-up project.

Enter The Citadel.

USC jumped on its instate rival for five first-innings runs Tuesday and rolled to a 10-2 victory, giving the Gamecocks a shot of confidence entering this week’s Tennessee series that will decide their postseason fate.

“After the weekend it was one of those games that we needed to score early to sort of get the edge away and we needed a quality outing from our starter, and we got that,” USC coach Ray Tanner said. “Certainly, we feel a little bit better than we did a few days ago and now we’ve got to work out tomorrow, regroup and get ready for Tennessee.”

Former USC player Powell arrested

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:26 EDT

Former South Carolina basketball standout Carlos Powell was arrested and jailed Saturday night on gun and alcohol charges in his Florence hometown after police found a pistol and a bottle of vodka in a car driven by Powell’s cousin, current USC player Sam Muldrow.

Powell, No. 6 on the Gamecocks’ career scoring list, was booked on charges of unlawful carrying of a pistol and having an open container in a vehicle, according to the Florence County sheriff’s department.

Powell, 24, was arrested around 8 p.m. Saturday and released shortly before noon Sunday, according to the sheriff’s department’s Web site.

Muldrow, a freshman forward from Florence, was not charged in the incident.

According to an incident report, a Florence police officer stopped Muldrow and Powell after hearing loud music coming from their car and noticing the taillights were not illuminated on Powell’s Chevrolet Caprice.

Golf notes: USC Upstate duo win Camden event

Tue, 13 May 2008 23:44 EDT

USC Upstate duo win Camden event

While the South Carolina, Clemson and Coastal Carolina golf teams prepare for this weekend’s NCAA regional, four of their college peers spent the past week battling for the Carolinas Four-Ball Championship at Camden Country Club.

The USC Upstate duo of Hartsville’s Baxter Culler and Gaffney’s Josh Gallman eked out a 1-up victory against College of Charleston’s Harrison Moore (Orangeburg) and USC’s Allen Koon (Anderson). Culler-Gallman never trailed in the match, twice leading 2-up, but Gallman — the Trojans’ all-Peach Belt Conference player — had to make a 4-foot par putt at the final hole to clinch the victory.

Moore and Koon made it interesting, each making an eagle during the round. Moore holed a 65-yard shot at the par-4 fifth hole and Koon drained a 25-foot putt at the par-5 15th.

Moore also made a bit of family history: His father, Bill, also reached the finals of the Four-Ball (and also lost) in 1976.

Judge gives Hambrick 5 years

Tue, 13 May 2008 22:27 EDT

TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa judge has sentenced former South Carolina and NFL running back Troy Hambrick to five years in prison for selling crack cocaine.

The former Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals player was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday.

Hambrick pleaded guilty on Feb. 26 to one count of distributing 50 grams or more of crack cocaine.

Court documents show Hambrick sold the drugs in 2007 to a confidential informants near his home in Lacoochee, about 40 miles north of Tampa.

Hambrick played three seasons at South Carolina, but was dismissed from the team before coach Lou Holtz’s first season with the Gamecocks in 1999.

Spurrier: SEC title dreams are still alive

Tue, 13 May 2008 12:09 EDT

Before he broke down the quarterback competition or the outlook for the fall, South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier took a moment Monday to remind fans — as well as new men’s basketball coach Darrin Horn — about the school mascot.

Speaking at the Richland/Lexington Gamecock Club meeting, Spurrier compared his team to the bird perched on the USC helmets.

“We’re like our mascot. The gamecock is an animal — Darrin, I don’t know if you know this or not — that fights until it’s dead,” Spurrier said. “The Gamecocks, we dang sure aren’t dead yet. We have a lot of fight in us going to next year.”

At the penultimate Gamecock Club meeting of the spring — the tour wraps tonight in Atlanta — Spurrier expressed optimism while dialing down expectations a notch.

A year ago, Spurrier’s message was the Gamecocks were ready to compete for the SEC title. After a season-ending, five-game losing streak dashed those dreams in 2007, the timetable has been adjusted.

Morris: Panic button for USC baseball? Not yet

Tue, 13 May 2008 12:12 EDT

THIS IS NOT the time for South Carolina baseball fans to panic. It will all work out, and do not be surprised if the Gamecocks are playing in Omaha next month.

Forget for a moment what has transpired the past three weeks. Forget that USC stands fifth in the SEC East. Forget that USC has been swept in three SEC series for the first time. Forget that USC has not lived up to expectations.

All that really matters is the three-game series against Tennessee that begins Thursday at Sarge Frye Field. Two wins, and USC qualifies for the SEC tournament. Two wins, and USC gets into the NCAA tournament.

Will USC play host to a super regional? No chance. Will it play host to a regional? Not likely. Will USC be the most dangerous second-seeded team in any regional? Absolutely. Rest assured no top-seed will want the Gamecocks in its regional.

“The old proverbial backs against the wall, that’s where we are right now,” USC coach Ray Tanner says. “We’ve got to find our way out. But if we can get out, we can probably be very dangerous.

Basketball: Boynton is final addition to Horn's staff

Tue, 13 May 2008 12:14 EDT

After stocking his staff with coaches he brought from Western Kentucky, new South Carolina coach Darrin Horn found an assistant with South Carolina ties for his final hire.

Mike Boynton, the point guard the last time the Gamecocks made the NCAA tournament in 2004, is returning to Columbia as Horn’s third assistant. He joins the Western Kentucky trio of Scott Cherry, Cypheus Bunton and director of basketball operations Neill Berry on Horn’s inaugural USC staff.

Boynton, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native who played for the Gamecocks from 2000-04, has been an assistant at three instate schools since leaving USC — Furman, Coastal Carolina and Wofford, where he was an associate head coach under Mike Young last season.

“No one could bring more love and passion for the Gamecocks than Michael. He not only played here, but he has recruited the state and truly wants to be part of our program,” Horn said Monday. “He was a key player here the last time the program was where we wanted it to be — in the NCAA tournament.”

Boynton played in 125 games at USC, the fourth most in school history, and started 32 games for Dave Odom in 2003-04 when the Gamecocks made the NCAA field. He won an SEC post-graduate scholarship for his community service work.

Baseball pregame

Tue, 13 May 2008 07:32 EDT

GAMECOCKS VS. BULLDOGS

WHO: The Citadel (25-26) at USC (34-18)

WHEN: 7 p.m.

WHERE: Sarge Frye Field

RADIO: WNKT-FM 107.5, WISW-AM 1320

Football: USC, Clemson players named to Nagurski watch list

Tue, 13 May 2008 07:33 EDT

Three South Carolina players and one Clemson player were named to the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list Monday, as announced by the Football Writers Association of America.

The award is given to the best defensive player in college football and is sponsored by the Charlotte Touchdown Club. Named to the list from USC were junior strong safety Emanuel Cook, junior defensive back Captain Munnerlyn and junior linebacker Eric Norwood. From Clemson, senior safety Michael Hamlin was also named to the 88-player watch list.

Munnerlyn tied for the team lead with three interceptions and he also had 47 tackles. Norwood ranked second on the team with 69 tackles and set a new school record with 19.5 tackles. Munnerlyn and Norwood each were named first team all-SEC last season. Cook was named all-SEC second team after leading USC with 92 tackles. Hamlin was named to second team all-ACC in 2007 and ranked second with 97 tackles last season.

— From Staff Reports

NCAA may tinker with goaltending rule

Tue, 13 May 2008 01:49 EDT

INDIANAPOLIS — An NCAA committee has recommended changing the goaltending rule so that a ball that is completely above the rim and has already hit the backboard could not be touched, regardless of whether it is on an upward or downward flight.

“This change better defines and discerns the act of goaltending,” Brad Jackson, chairman of the NCAA basketball rules committee and coach at Western Washington, said Monday.

Previously, only a ball on a downward flight after touching the backboard was subject to a goaltending call.

The proposal was one of about 50 by a joint subcommittee of the men’s and women’s rules committee. Only a handful of minor changes were approved, and those must be approved next month by the NCAA’s playing rules oversight panel before they would go into effect.

Among the proposals that were approved was one requiring home teams to wear light uniforms and visiting teams to wear dark uniforms, unless both schools agree to a switch. Previously, the light-home, dark-visitor uniforms were recommended, but not required.

Golf: Golfweek honors USC’s Toumpsin

Tue, 13 May 2008 07:34 EDT

Golfweek named South Carolina sophomore Benedicte Toumpsin its women’s player of the week after she picked up her first career victory at the NCAA East Regional on Saturday.

It was her first career victory. Toumpsin became the second Gamecock to win an NCAA Regional, joining Siew Ai Lim, who won the East Regional in 1995.

USC advanced to the NCAA championship for the first time since 2003. The four-day event begins May 20 at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course.

From staff reports

Ex-Gamecock Hambrick gets 5 years for drug sales

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:01 EDT

TAMPA, Fla. | A Tampa judge has sentenced former Gamecock and NFL running back Troy Hambrick to five years in prison for selling crack cocaine.

The former South Carolina, Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals player was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday.

Hambrick pleaded guilty on Feb. 26 to one count of distributing 50 grams or more of crack cocaine.

Court documents show Hambrick sold the drugs in 2007 to a confidential informants near his home in Lacoochee, about 40 miles north of Tampa.

Hambrick played three seasons at South Carolina, but was dismissed from the team before coach Lou Holtz's first season with the Gamecocks in 1999.

Golf: USC assistant in running for national award

Tue, 13 May 2008 07:35 EDT

USC assistant coach Michael Burcin has been named a finalist for the 2008 Jan Strickland Assistant Coach of the year Award, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced.

The winner will be announced on May 27.

From staff reports