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By John Manuel
June 18, 2002

Well, South Carolina's Aaron Rawl didn't throw the prettiest game of the Series, but it was one of the most effective. Backed by an opportunistic offense, Rawl went the distance and gave the Gamecocks a 9-5 victory that eliminated Georgia Tech and set up at least one game with arch-rival Clemson for a berth in Saturday's national championship game.

Rawl (7-1) needed just 117 pitches, throwing 86 strikes in his unique performance. The Gamecocks have thrown just four CGs all year, including one by closer Blake Taylor to win the regional against North Carolina on June 2. Rawl didn't walk a batter and struck out two, getting three double plays behind him to keep the Yellow Jackets at bay.

Rawl, who gave up three runs in 1/3 of an inning Friday in the Gamecocks' 11-0 loss to the Jackets in the Series opener, was a bit more effective Tuesday, throwing four pitches for strikes.

"Friday they beat me around a little, but you've got to shake that off," the freshman said. "It was mostly singles today, and the defense made some plays to get me out of some troublesome innings."

Rawl had been in this position before, starting in the Southeastern Conference tournament and beating LSU as the 'Cocks battled back from the loser's bracket to reach the title game. Coach Ray Tanner chose Rawl for this elimination game for much the same reason.

"He has the poise and composure of an upperclassman," Tanner said. "It was a courageous effort by Aaron Rawl. With those 14 hits, you would think he would have been in a lot of trouble, and he was in some, but we turned those double plays, he threw strikes and worked his way out of jams."

The same cannot be said for Tech starter Brian Burks (10-7), who didn't make it through four innings. The Gamecocks broke open a 1-1 tie in the fourth with four runs on four hits and one error. Brian Buscher opened the frame with a single to center, and one out later DH Trey Dyson doubled to right field to put both in scoring position. Sophomore Landon Powell followed with a two-run single to center to break the tie and give the Gamecocks the lead for good.

Kevin Melillo's fielder's choice grounder forced Powell, but Melillo stole second and came around to score on the first of Meyer's two run-scoring singles. Meyer promptly stole second and came around when Matthew Boggs threw away Justin Harris' groundball to third.

"We just didn't make enough good pitches when we needed to; they hit some hanging breaking balls and kind of distanced themselves from us," Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall said. "Their double plays were very big, and I wished we had played a little tighter defense--we gave them a couple of freebies."

South Carolina's offense was equally effective against Tech reliever Jeff Watchko. As usual for a team with 116 home runs entering the game, the long ball was a useful weapon. Steve Thomas hit a solo shot in the top of the seventh, his 12th home run of the season, to stretch the lead to 6-2. And the Gamecocks put the game away in the eighth with Meyer's second RBI single and a two-run homer by Justin Harris, his fifth of the season.

Harris played his second game of the Series after missing game one with a suspension, and the Gamecocks haven't lost since his return and insertion into the No. 2 spot in the lineup. He also ran down four fly balls in center field before moving to second base for the last two innings, handling two chances cleanly.

"I told some guys before the game that we had to get some production from people other than Yaron Peters and Steve Thomas, who have kind of carried our team all year," said Dyson, noting Peters' 0-for-3 day. "We had to have others step up for us. Justin Harris' home run was huge for us. We only had eight hits, but they were all big. Landon's hit on the next pitch after I hit that double was really big, giving us the lead."

The Gamecocks now will meet their cross-state rivals, and the Tigers won three of the four meetings during the season. But none of those games were on the national stage, a new dimension for one of college sports' more intense rivalries.

"It's a great rivalry in that we both get after it, but it's not belligerent," Tanner said. "We have great respect for Clemson, and I know they have great respect for us."

The Gamecocks likely will start lefthander Gary Bell, their leading winner who was defeated by Georgia Tech on Friday. The Tigers have announced righthander Steve Reba, who threw just 1 2/3 innings Friday against Nebraska, as the starter.