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By John Manuel
June 21, 2002

Augie Garrido

OMAHA--Texas coach Augie Garrido knows what College World Series champions are made of, and he knows what it takes to win on the last Saturday in Omaha.

So when Garrido gets philosophical about the CWS, people listen.

"You've got nine innings, and at the end of those nine innings, several people--lots of people--will be different for the rest of their life," Garrido said Thursday after his Longhorns beat Stanford 6-5 and advanced to Saturday's championship game. "When you win, it opens up all kinds of possibilities in terms of self-esteem. And when you lose, it can have the same opportunity. You did your best and lost, and you never want to let it happen again.

"There is a big opportunity in that game. It changes peoples' lives forever."

Texas and South Carolina will be the teams faced with that opportunity after the Gamecocks jumped all over Clemson in the semifinal Friday, beating their in-state rival 10-2 to advance to the third national championship game in program history. South Carolina got there in 1975 and '77, but lost 5-1 to Texas in the first game and 2-1 to Arizona State in the second.

The Longhorns did not announce a starter Friday, awaiting their opponent and wanting to analyze the lefty/righty matchup factor. However, Garrido said sophomore lefthander Justin Simmons (15-1, 2.44) would probably get the start, with righthander Alan Bomer (11-3, 3.87) waiting in the wings. Bomer had two saves and four relief appearances during the season, and could serve as a bridge between Simmons and closer Huston Street.

"The front end of the game will be pitched by Simmons and/or Bomer," he said. "When we have nine outs to go, we can go to four guys in the bullpen to try to get it to Street with as few outs as possible."

Both Simmons and Bomer have pitched well in Omaha. Simmons beat Rice last Saturday with a 7 1/3 inning, five-hit effort reminiscent of his dominance during most of the regular season--he won his first 14 decisions before some late struggles. Simmons works off a changeup and an 82-85 mph fastball that one Texas writer dubbed "warmer," as opposed to a heater.

And for the record, Simmons' media-guide entry answers the question "My SportsCenter Highlight Would Be" this way: "Throwing a complete-game shutout to win the College World Series."

Bomer started the second game against Stanford, which has a better offense than the Owls, and gave up four runs in six innings. He struck out only three and struggled in his second time through the lineup after developing a blister on his middle finger on his pitching hand.

"We have Justin Simmons rested and coming off a great start against Rice, and Alan Bomer is ready," Garrido said. "The blister he had on his finger appears to be healing."

In South Carolina, Simmons would face a lineup that leans a bit to the left. Junior shortstop Drew Meyer, a lefthanded hitter, had some ugly swings against Georgia Tech southpaw Kyle Bakker and Nebraska lefties Aaron Marsden and Waylon Byers. Senior DH Trey Dyson, junior third baseman Brian Buscher and freshman second baseman Kevin Melillo give the 'Cocks four starters in the lineup who bat lefthanded.

However, the Gamecocks have more than enough righthanded power to keep the lineup balanced in seniors Yaron Peters, Steve Thomas and Garris Gonce, as well as junior Justin Harris. Catcher Landon Powell, who has come up big of late in Omaha, switch-hits and is equally adept from either side.

South Carolina coach Ray Tanner said he probably will counter with senior righthander Chris Spigner, who walked four and struck out one in one previous inning of work in the CWS. Spigner (the "i" is long) relieved during the Gamecocks' 10-8 win against Nebraska, but had some success during the season, going 7-0, 4.92 as a reliever and starter. Spigner has 82 strikeouts and 40 walks in 78 2/3 innings, having allowed 81 hits.

He began the season in the rotation, starting his first six appearances of the year, but hasn't started a weekend game since March 17 at Mississippi State. In his last start, Spigner gave up eight hits and five runs against LSU during the Southeastern Conference tournament, but he has not given up a run in eight innings of work since then. Included in that streak is a five-inning, two-hit effort against Miami in a super-regional victory.

"Spigner is a senior with nine starts, and we have other options," Tanner said. For a team coming out of the loser's bracket, South Carolina's pitching is in excellent shape, because it has not relied on an ace all season and has gotten a pair of complete games in its last three outings. Righthanders Aaron Rawl, John Wesley and Blake Taylor are available to go, along with lefties Matt Campbell, David Marchbanks and (perhaps) Gary Bell.

"We did not even have to get John Wesley warmed up, so he's fresh and that could be key," Tanner said. "He could probably give us four or even five innings. Rawl is available (on three days' rest), we have Marchbanks and Blake Taylor got another day of rest. We have some combinations out there."

The Gamecocks also seem to be the only team that can match Texas' demeanor. The Longhorns have played passionately and loose at the same time. Garrido marveled at how his team rallied against Stanford in the bracket final behind starting pitcher Ray Clark. "They have picked each other up all year and rallied around their teammates' failure," he said. "The players all would not let Ray lose. That's huge. No one talks like that. It's about teamwork."

South Carolina, in stark contrast to Clemson the last two games, played loose and with a purpose as well. Talk about teamwork--the Gamecocks won without a home run Friday, after Tanner had said they usually need to hit home runs to win. They also won with another 0-fer from senior first baseman Yaron Peters, who had the big home run against Nebraska but is hitting just 3-for-21 in Omaha (in contrast to his .379-29-94 overall numbers).

Instead, the bottom four spots of the order went 10-for-19 with nine RBIs to bury Clemson and give the Southeastern Conference a chance at its seventh national championship since 1990. The Big 12 Conference had not won a game in the CWS since its 1996 inception, and Big 12 teams had an 0-13 losing streak before Texas' first win in this year's Series.

That would seem to tip the scales in the favor of South Carolina, which is trying to become the second team to win the national championship under the current format after battling back from the loser's bracket. The other was the "other" USC, the 1998 Southern California team.

Perhaps if the Longhorns and Garrido, a man with three titles on his resume and poised to become the first coach to win a CWS at more than one school, were not in the other dugout, it would make sense to pick the Gamecocks. Because I've been picking against South Carolina all Series, it should please the team's fans and coaches that I'll be keeping that streak intact.

Expect to see plenty of Hook 'Em Horns signs around Rosenblatt after Saturday's finale.