By DOUG ALDEN
AP Sports Writer
OMAHA, NE (AP) — Steven Bondurant scattered eight hits
in a complete game and South Carolina advanced to the College World
Series championship by beating Clemson 10-2 on Friday.
The Gamecocks (57-17) beat their state rivals for the
second time in three days and won their fourth straight elimination
game. South Carolina will play Texas (56-15) for the national title
Saturday in a rematch of the 1975 championship, which Texas won 5-1.
South Carolina had 13 hits and took advantage of three
errors and three wild pitches while completing a 4-0 run through the
CWS that was made necessary after an 11-0 loss to Georgia Tech in the
opener. Southern California in 1998 was the last team to lose its
opener and make it to Saturday. The Trojans won it all that year by
beating Arizona State 21-14.
Kevin Melillo was 3-for-5 with three RBI, including a
two-run single as South Carolina pulled away with a five-run eighth.
Garris Gonce, who drove in two in the eighth with a single, went
3-for-6 and scored three runs to lead the Gamecocks to their first
title game since the loss to Texas in '75.
Bondurant (7-4), a junior left-hander, had not pitched
a complete game since a 4-3 win over Alabama on March 31, when he
yielded nine hits. He held the Tigers to five hits through eight
innings before giving up a run in the ninth. He struck out seven.
Clemson (54-17) opened the CWS 3-0 and needed to beat
the Gamecocks just once to advance to Saturday, but couldn't do it
after going 3-1 against South Carolina during the regular season.
Matt Henrie (13-5), who had a win and save in two
relief outings, allowed five runs, three earned, over 2 2/3 innings in
his first start of the CWS.
Shortstop Khalil Greene, who last Friday won the Dick
Howser player of the year trophy from the National Collegiate Baseball
Writers Association, had three errors, nearly a fourth of his season
total 11 entering Friday.
Jeff Baker and Zane Green had RBI singles for Clemson,
which trailed 10-1 entering the ninth. The game ended when Greene
flied out to right with the bases loaded.
The Gamecocks rallied for wins over Nebraska, Tech and
the Tigers to reach Friday's elimination game, which was the first
time in the CWS they took the lead.
There was no indication of any ill will lingering from
South Carolina's 12-4 win on Wednesday, when the Gamecocks taunted the
Tigers a bit after some big plays. This time the only flustering South
Carolina did was on the field.
The Gamecocks took a 3-0 lead on RBI singles by Landon
Powell and Melillo and added two more in the third on an error, a hit
and two wild pitches. Trey Dyson reached first on Greene's throwing
error, went to third on a single by Gonce and scored on Henrie's wild
pitch.
Gonce went to second on another wild pitch and scored
when Brian Buscher singled to left, making it 5-0.
Powell, who was 2-for-4 with three RBI, walked with
the bases loaded in the eighth.
The Gamecocks set a school record for wins, topping
their 56-10 finish in 2000.