Martz remembers his outstanding 1977 season for USC

When asked his first reaction to the news that he was being inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, former Gamecock pitcher Randy Martz had a surprising response.

“I was a little surprised,” he said. “I just had that one good year.”

Oh, but what a year it was. The 6-4, 210-pound right-hander from Harrisburg, Pa., recruited to USC as a football player, put together an overpowering baseball season as a senior in 1977, going 14-0. He led coach June Raines first Carolina team to the championship round of the College World Series.

One special highlight of the season for Martz was a 2-1 victory over Clemson, which at the time was unbeaten with a 26-0 record.

“I think that game was the turning point for me,” Martz said. “I finally believed that I could compete with anybody. We had Mookie Wilson in center and a solid defense in the infield, some really good bats. It was a great team.”

The Gamecocks would go on to beat the Tigers on two more occassions for a sweep of the series.

After the regular season Carolina was awarded it's fourth consecutive regional site, lost the first game to fall into the losers' bracket, but fought back to win four games in three days. Martz pitched the deciding game, a 6-1 victory over Wake Forest, that clinched a trip to Omaha. (There were no Super Regionals then).

The opening game of the 1977 CWS was a classic. Martz and Baylor pitcher Jamie Cocanower were both still on the mound when the game entered the 10th inning and the score tied 1-1.

The Bears scored in the top of the inning to take a 2-1 lead, but with Wilson at third, Chuck McLean hit a ball over the center fielder’s head to tie the contest. As he reached third base USC assistant coach Johnny Hunton waved McLean home. He slid safely into home plate for an inside the park home run and a 3-2 Gamecock victory.

Jim Lewis struck out 14 as the Gamecocks beat Cal-State Los Angeles 6-2, and Martz came back on short rest to beat Southern Illinois Carbondale 5-4, which earned Carolina a bye to the championship round as the only undefeated team.

Lynch pitched well in a complete-game effort but lost 6-2 to Arizona State. Lewis pitched game two against the Sun Devils but the Gamecocks came up short in a 2-1 decision.

“I wish I could have pitched that final game,” Martz said, “but Jim and Ed were terrific pitchers and they gave it all they had. We just couldn't get the big hit in the championship game.”

Martz's perfect season earned him National Player of the Year honors. He was a first team All-American, and the Chicago Cubs selected him in the first round of the 1977 draft, the No. 12 pick overall.

After three seasons in the minors he made his Major League debut on Sept. 6, 1980. His best year was 1982 when he compiled an 11-10 record, the highlight, a two-hitter against the New York Mets. In his four-year career he was 17-19 with a 3.78 ERA.

“It took a while to get up to the big leagues and when I got there it was quite an experience to play against legends like Johnny Bench and Pete Rose,” Martz said. “It was a life experience that was really good for me.”

After his pro career ended Martz got into coaching and he resides in East Alton, Ill., where he is the head baseball coach at Lewis and Clark Community College and the pitching coach for the Gateway Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League.

“I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do after the pros, but I tried coaching and really liked it,” Martz said. “I really have a good situation here and I love being around the game.”

Martz has returned for three alumni games and is proud of the tradition of South Carolina baseball that he and his teammates helped establish.

“The new stadium is really nice,” he said. “South Carolina baseball has come a long way and they really been a dominant force the last couple of years. It's always good to come back to Carolina, they have really supported me very well over the years.”

He and his wife of 30 years, Paula, have three sons: Nolan, 26, Nathan, 21, and Nelson, 18.

This story was originally published May 9, 2014 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Martz remembers his outstanding 1977 season for USC."