How 'bout those Gamecocks!
BELIEVE IT - The Gamecocks win:
OMAHA, Neb. - You can breathe again, South Carolina. Your Gamecocks are coming home. And they're bringing the national championship trophy with them. (from the Post & Courier)
Barnburner of a game. Tied 1-1 in the 11th inning, UCLA's closer Dan Klein pitching. Klein pitched well; four K's in three-plus innings -- a long stretch for a closer. But that one hit, well ... that one hit was by infielder-outfielder Whit Merrifield, who sprung Scott Wingo for the winning run.
For the record, although I've come to like the Gamecocks over the years, they're not exactly the team I grew up on. Shoot, in Southern California UCLA and the other USC were it. USC had Rod Dedeaux coaching them forever, and he had players like Ron Fairly, Don Buford, Tom Seaver, Dave Kingman, Roy Smalley, Fred Lynn, Mark McGwire, and Randy Johnson. And yeah, Cal State Fullerton always had some great teams. But UCLA? Basketball was their game, not baseball.
Good game. And closing out a great season for the 'Cocks.
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