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PHOTOS: South Carolina vs. East Carolina
Rich Glickstein/rglickstein@thestate.com/
USC head coach Ray Tanner argues with home plate umpire Dave Yeast after No. 5 Whit Merrifield bunted and ran into the ball for the third out in the top of the fifth inning.
GoGamecocks.com
ECU 'Jungle' proves cordial for fans
George Mason disappointed with showing; Tanner marvels at new-look stadium
GREENVILLE, N.C. — There may not be a better tailgaiting environment in college baseball than the Williams Jungle behind the left field fence at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Tony Brown has been the “Mayor of the Jungle” for more than 20 years, setting up his 10-foot by 40-foot tent and serving barbecue chicken and good will to the legion of East Carolina fans and visitors.
“The first year there were just a couple of us,” said Brown, who spoke while leaning against his purple and gold 1985 El Camino. “The next year here, there were 10, then 40, then 100. Now, we have more people here than in the stands sometimes.”
Prior to each home series or game, Brown distributes a newsletter to the hotel housing the most visiting fans. He invites all to come and enjoy his barbecued chicken. Prior to Saturday’s second-round games, Brown cooked 100 chicken halves.
Forty and counting. With the 12-2 victory against East Carolina, USC assured itself of a 10th consecutive 40-win season under coach Ray Tanner.
Tanner’s first team at USC managed a 33-24 record in 1997. His 1998 club was 44-18 and USC went 35-23 in 1999. Since then, the Gamecocks have reeled off win totals of 56, 49, 57, 45, 53, 41, 41, 46, 40 and this season’s 40.
ECU hospitality. After getting an up-close look at the renovated Clark-LeClair Stadium, Tanner had no problem with the Pirates landing the host bid.
“I love this park,” Tanner said. “It’s a great atmosphere, and it’s first-class. It makes you feel like you’re in a big-league ballpark. I like what they’ve done. It sends a message about a commitment to college baseball.”
The $12-million renovation, which upgraded the seating capacity to 3,000 and total capacity to over 5,000 with the outfield berm, was completed in 2005.
Here, there, everywhere. Sometimes it can be a little confusing when a player is good at more than one thing.
Parker Bangs, who served as the designated hitter in the opening win against George Mason, also warmed up to pitch in that game.
At one point, Tanner hollered down to the bullpen, “Is Parker ready?” Then he realized Bangs was standing next to him in the on-deck circle getting ready to hit.
Bangs was not used as the designated hitter Saturday, but warmed up in the bullpen several times when starting pitcher Blake Cooper struggled.
Bearcats growl. Fourth-seeded Binghamton, the America East champions, made it to today’s 2 p.m. game with an elimination-game victory against George Mason, which was outscored 22-9 in its two losses.
The Bearcats (30-21) knocked off the third-seeded Patriots 11-6, which didn’t surprise their coach.
“We’re not here to be tourists. We are not here to just have fun,” Binghamton’s Tim Sinicki said. “We want to come out and compete, and if that means another day of baseball, we’re going to do that. The two teams that we have a chance to play, whether it’s ECU or USC, we’ll have our hands full.”
On the other hand, George Mason coach Bill Brown was extremely disappointed by the two-and-out performance.
“We weren’t very good here, and it is what it is.”
Birdseed. The two-homer games by Justin Dalles and Adam Matthews in the same game were the first since the 2006 season when Andrew Crisp and Robbie Grinestaff both did it in a Super Regional game against Georgia. ... The attendance of 4,595 was the eighth-largest in Clark-LeClair Stadium history. ... USC improved to 16-4 all-time against East Carolina, including 7-0 in NCAA tournament play.
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