Saturday, May 17, 2014

What Saturday's results meant for state teams, May 17

* As I started to write this section about Clemson's amazing 13-inning 10-9 victory over Boston College on Saturday, Larry Munson's comment after the Lindsay Scott touchdown catch and run to lift Georgia over Florida in 1980 came to mind: "I gave up; you did, too."

When Clemson fell behind BC, 9-2, in the middle innings I Tweeted something along the lines of "Clemson's baseball season is turning into a train wreck."

At that point Clemson seemed destined to go 2-4 over its final six ACC games against teams with the two worst records in the league, BC and Notre Dame.  Fans started trickling out of Doug Kingsmore Stadium in then middle innings.

But the Tigers didn't give up. The first step toward the victory may have come when coach Jack Leggett opted to insert closer Matt Campbell to pitch the ninth in a 9-4 game. At the time, it merely seemed like getting Campbell some work in preparation for the ACC Tournament next week. He wound up pitching the final five innings.

Lo and behold, Clemson rallied for five runs. Right after missing a game-winning grand slam by 15 feet or so, Jon McGibbon - who lost his starting job at least in part because of hitting issues - tied the game with a double.

The score stayed that way until Hanna High product Garrett Boulware had a two-out single in the 13th. Jay Baum followed with a double, setting off a raucous celebration and, no doubt, sending Clemson into the ACC Tournament in a much better frame of mind.

Losing a series to BC on the heels of losing a series to Notre Dame might have given the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee reason to look hard at Clemson's finish. One supposed criterion used to select teams is how it played near the end of the season.

The win also spared the Tigers (34-22) the chore of playing in Tuesday's single-elimination play-in game to reach pool play. As the fifth seed they're in the same pool with No. 1. Miami, No. 4 Duke and the winner of the Georgia Tech-Wake Forest play-in game. It will be interesting to see if Clemson can ride Saturday's emotions to a good tournament run.

A win or two in the Tournament should erase any doubt of Clemson getting in. Will the committee send the Tigers to Columbia again? I don't know, but I think sending Clemson elsewhere would be the right thing to do. One of the treats of the NCAA Tournament is playing different teams in different ballparks. Clemson's players aren't afraid of South Carolina, but they'd probably like a chance to just play baseball, enjoy the NCAA Tournament experience and not hear all the background noise. Postseason teams deserve that.

* Speaking of South Carolina, the Gamecocks claimed a huge series victory with Saturday's 6-3 victory over Vanderbilt. The win, coupled with Alabama's 2-1 win over Mississippi State, allowed the Gamecocks to finish fourth in the SEC's overall standings and earn a bye through Tuesday's single-elimination first round of the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.

It also gave USC's resume to be one of the top eight national seeds a boost, although something more than a cameo appearance in Hoover would probably help. I think being one of the eight second-tier hosts is a given for the Gamecocks.

Freshman Will Crowe was brilliant against the Commodores, striking out nine in seven innings.

The Gamecocks still left more men on base (13) than coach Chad Holbrook would like, but they finally got some clutch hits to put crooked numbers on the board. The Gamecocks scored four runs in the eighth, just the fourth four-run inning in USC's last 22 conference games. The only time USC scored more in an inning in league play this season was the improbable six-run ninth inning in a 9-6 win over Tennessee March 29.

Gene Cone, Jordan Gore and Patrick Harrington, playing because of injuries to regulars, had important contributions at the plate against Vanderbilt. Cone reached all five times he came to bat and Gore reached three times. Harrington is batting less that .200, but the redshirt junior has shown a knack for working pitchers deep into the count, then making something happen with a timely hit or walk.

The Gamecocks will play Wednesday's fourth game against the winner of Tuesday's Mississippi State-Georgia play-in game.

* Winthrop beat Longwood, 5-2, to wrap up the South Division champion of the Big South Conference. That gives the Eagles the No. 2 seed for the league tournament being held in their ballpark.  They'll play the 9:30 a.m. Tuesday game against Charleston Southern.

* Charleston Southern entered Saturday with a chance to earn the No. 2 seed. They needed a sweep of VMI, a Campbell win over Coastal Carolina and a Winthrop loss. The Buccaneers could only manage a split and neither Coastal nor Winthrop lost, so CSU will be the No. 7 seed.

Still, it's been a good year for coach Stuart Lake's team. The Buccaneers are assured of their first winning record since 1996.

* Coastal Carolina finished a half-game behind Winthrop in the South Division standings, at least in part because Thursday's series-opener against Campbell was canceled because of rain and the fact the professional Myrtle Beach Pelicans were playing at home each night and there was no option for a doubleheader either Friday or Saturday.

Still, the Chanticleers closed an injury-plagued regular season on a positive, rallying from a 3-0 first-inning deficit for a 10-7 win over Campbell. By finishing sixth in the overall standings, the Chanticleers draw the No. 3 Camels in their Big South Tournament opener.

* Presbyterian didn't qualify for the Big South Tournament, but the 4-1 victory over Gardner-Webb on Saturday gave the Blue Hose their first conference series win since April.

* Wofford beat Samford twice Saturday to climb out of the play-in round for the Southern Conference Tournament beginning Tuesday in Charleston. By doing so, the Terriers earned the sixth seed and a first-round rematch with No. 3 Samford on Wednesday.

* Furman was two outs away from finishing in fifth place, but an error opened the door for a two-run rally by Appalachian State for a 6-5 victory. That relegated the Paladins to the single-elimination play-in round as the No. 8 seed. They'll face No. 9 UNC Greensboro to open the tournament Tuesday morning at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.

* UNC Greensboro may have fears of a flashback to Saturday when they walk onto the field on Tuesday. The Spartans took leads in the bottom of the eighth inning of Saturday's doubleheader against The Citadel - and lost both games. UNCG led 12-3 after 4 1/2 innings of the opener, but gaup three runs in the seventh and seven in the eighth to lose, 13-12. The Spartans gave up "only" four runs in the eighth inning of the nightcap as an 11-10 lead turned into a 14-11 loss.

The good finish didn't alter the Bulldogs' tournament picture. They couldn't escape 10th place. But, the 2-1 weekends by Appalachian State and Wofford bumped Elon down into a play-in game at No. 7. They Phoenix will play the Bulldogs Tuesday afternoon.

* College of Charleston needed a doubleheader sweep of William & Mary - or a single win and a rainout - to move past the Tribe and win the top seed for the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament in Wilmington, N.C., next week. Things went the Cougars' way in Saturday's opener, but they were shut out on three hits in the nightcap.

The Cougars already were assured one of the two first-round byes in the tournament. They'll play the winner of the James Madison-UNC Wilmington game.

* USC Upstate didn't qualify for the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament, but the Spartans got to be spoilers in their final regular-season game. Their 10-4 victory over Stetson knocked the Hatters from fifth to seventh in the conference standings and seeds.

* Lander won its 20th consecutive game and coasted into Sunday's finals of the NCAA Division II Southeast regional in its own Dolny Stadium with a 9-3 win over Columbus State. The Bearcats' opponent will be Columbus State, which Lander passed late in the regular season to win the Peach Belt Conference regular-season title.

CSU rallied twice in an elimination game against Catawba later Saturday, scoring two runs in the eighth to force extra innings and two more in the bottom of the 10th to win, 6-5.

Columbus State and Lander play at 1 p.m. in Greenwood. The Bearcats need one win to move on to the NCAA Division II World Series in Cary, N.C. If Columbus State wins the 1 p.m. game, they would play a decisive game later Saturday.

* USC Sumter moved within one win of the NJCAA College World Series with a 7-6 victory over Region 10 nemesis Spartanburg Methodist in the Eastern District Tournament in Sumter.

SMC earned a Sunday rematch with the Fire Ants with a walk-off (run-off?) wild pitch to beat Harford (Md.), 4-3, in an elimination game Saturday night.

USC Sumter can advance with a win at 1 p.m. Sunday. If the Pioneers win that game, the teams would play again immediately afterward to determine the district champion.

Spartanburg Methodist swept the four-game regular-season series with USC Sumter, but the Fire Ants won a matchup in the Region 10 Tournament en route to earning the host role they're enjoying this weekend.

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