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By John Manuel
June 19, 2002

Drew Meyer

OMAHA--The rivalry between South Carolina's two flagship schools will add one more chapter to its long history. And judging from the postgame rhetoric and the obvious stakes, it should be a good one.

Clemson had a chance Wednesday to advance to its first College World Series championship game and do it by eliminating its hated rival, South Carolina. The Gamecocks had other ideas, rallying from an early deficit with an impressive power display and yeoman relief by another freshman, this time lefthander Matt Campbell.

Two homers by senior DH Trey Dyson helped blast the 'Cocks past the Tigers 12-4 for their third straight victory in Omaha. Dyson's homer was one of four by the Gamecocks, none of them hit by senior Yaron Peters, the team leader with 29. In fact, Peters went hitless for the second straight game, and again South Carolina's offense didn't misfire.

"I worked with Skip Bertman (with Team USA) in '95 and '96, and I will always listen to what he says," South Carolina coach Ray Tanner said. "He always told me you have to have guys who come up big to win at this time of year who may not have done it for you all year."

Dyson has done it, as his homers were Nos. 17 and 18 on the season for the academic All-American. Campbell, though, entered the CWS having throwing just 29 innings all season. His 1.84 ERA was best on the staff, but he had walked 27 in 29 innings. He also had 35 strikeouts, and Tanner said with the wind blowing out, he wanted a strikeout pitcher.

Campbell fulfilled his wish, pitching 5 1/3 scoreless frames, allowing just two hits, one an infield single in the ninth. He walked two and struck out a career-high eight (his previous best was five) in the longest outing of his career.

"I was trying to keep the ball down and out of the air," said Campbell, a freshman from Simpsonville, S.C. "Their 1-to-4 hitters are great and hot, so I tried to make pitches and let my defense work. I made some great pitches and the defense did a good job."

Campbell shut down a potent Tigers attack, which had scored four runs in the first 3 2/3 innings and 20 runs in its first two CWS games. Campbell entered in the fourth and walked Jared Schmidt to load the bases, but struck out Kyle Frank to leave the sacks juiced. It was the second time in the game Frank had failed in that situation and the third time for the Tigers in the first four innings.

"We started out fine and playing well, but we hit a wall where we couldn't get some runners in from scoring position," Clemson coach Jack Leggett said. "We came up dry when we could have distanced ourselves, and it was kind of discouraging."

First baseman Michael Johnson added, "He was able to throw his curveball for strikes, anytime in the count, or he'd bury it and make you chase. The breaking ball was probably his most effective pitch."

It also was the first of four straight strikeouts for Campbell, whom Tanner noted had pitched well in his previous outing in Omaha, a one-inning middle-relief stint against Nebraska. One of the two hits he allowed was pretty dubious, too. Shortstop Khalil Greene hit a long blast to center in the sixth that Harris leaped, deflected off his glove at the wall and then caught, but umpire Perry Costello ruled the ball hit the wall. Replays showed otherwise and Greene got his 94th career double, tying the NCAA record.

"Matt Campbell was able to get his curveball over, mix in his changeup and get his fastball over in the mid 80s," Tanner said. "It's a matter of getting experience for him because he has good stuff. We had a freshman (Aaron Rawl) come up big for us before (with a complete-game win against Georgia Tech), and we had another one come up big tonight."

Offensively, veterans did the job. Dyson became the first player in the 2002 CWS to hit two homers in a game; the last player was Cal State Fullerton mighty mite David Bacani, who did it last year in an 11-2 Titans win against Tulane. Dyson became the 48th player to hit two home runs, and just two--Florida State's J.D. Drew in 1995 and Stanford's Edmund Muth in 2000, have hit three in a game.

The stiff wind helped Dyson's first homer, a long fly to left in the fourth inning got out for a game-tying two-run homer off Steve Reba (13-4). Two innings later, Steve Thomas chased Reba with a no-doubt blast to left to give South Carolina its first lead at 5-4. The Tigers brought in southpaw Thomas Boozer to face Brian Buscher and Dyson, both lefthanded batters, but Boozer was ineffective. Buscher drilled his first pitch to left field for a single, and Dyson ignored the wind and blasted a shot deep into the right-field bleachers to make it 7-4.

While Boozer was done for that inning, South Carolina wasn't. Garris Gonce greeted reliever Patrick Hogan with a double and scored one out later on Kevin Melillo's single to left, sliding home just safe when catcher Collin Mahoney couldn't handle the throw. Melillo went to second on the throw and scored one out later on Justin Harris' second RBI single of the game.

"I don't think Yaron had a hit tonight, but Garris had two big doubles, Landon Powell hit a home run, and Steve hit a homer," Dyson said. "If we're going to beat Clemson again, we're going to have to have guys come up big again."

Thomas' home run proved controversial, as Leggett sounded none too pleased with some Gamecocks' gamesmanship. Both teams threw at opposing players, with South Carolina starter Blake Taylor throwing over Greene's head in the first, and Reba throwing the first pitch of the bottom half over Drew Meyer's head.

Thomas pimped his homer, standing and watching for a second before tossing his bat away. Leggett also noted some South Carolina reserves flipped their hats to celebrate Campbell striking out the side in the sixth, and Meyer's eighth-inning stolen base with an 11-4 lead. Meyer scored on Mahoney's throwing error.

"The first time was obvious--they were throwing at Khalil," Leggett said. "So we tried to respond. Stealing a base up seven runs, I have no complaints, I've seen it before. I'm not a fan of guys tipping their hats for a hat trick, or tossing bats on home runs. We've got something for Friday."

As if the Tigers need motivation. They'll have ace righty Matt Henrie (13-4), with a win and a save already in the CWS, on the mound. Tanner said he responded "when it happened and after the game" to the players who flipped their caps. "It disappointed me." He said he didn't see Thomas' actions, and he personally approved Meyer's stolen base.

"I don't think there will be a carryover," he said. "I don't like those kinds of things (players being thrown at). It is more typical of the major leagues than it is of colleges, but you have to accept that as part of the game.

"If the wind was blowing in, I might not have had Drew steal, but I've had 10 runs scored on me in an inning before late . . . and Clemson is explosive."

Friday's game would have been explosive anyway with a spot in the national championship game on the line. Now, the keg just has a little more powder.