SPORTS FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2013
THE ITEM To contact the Sports Department, call (803) 774-1241 or e-mail sports@theitem.com
HANGING OUT WITH ‘HOT ROD’
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Baker to enter S.C. Track Hall BY DENNIS BRUNSON dennisb@theitem.com
in to talk to kids and up-andcoming Clemson fans, however. McDowell and Brogdon share a common link in that both were born with a physical defect that has required braces and two surgeries for McDowell and will require at least one surgery for Brogdon coming up in June. The 5-foot-9-inch, 195pound McDowell was born with a clubfoot – his right leg and foot are smaller than his left. Similarly, Brogdon was diagnosed with Tibial Torsion – a twisting of the shin bones in his left leg. Brogdon’s condition will require both of his leg bones to be broken, rotated outward and pinned. With the surgery impending, Brodgon’s mother, Vanessa, happened upon an article in The State detailing McDowell’s bout with clubfoot. Knowing the similarities and
When Carl Baker is inducted into the South Carolina Track & Field And Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame on Saturday, he will tell you that achievement didn’t come on his hard work alone. “It means a great deal to me,” said Baker, the longtime Sumter High School coach. “In reaching this accomplishment, there were a lot of BAKER adults and students that crossed my path who helped me to this point.” While that may be true, Baker took all of that and turned it into what is now a 40-year career. Over that span, he was the head coach of two state championship teams, four teams that finished as a runnerup, 43 individual state champions and 11 relay state champions. Baker will be inducted at a ceremony between 1 p.m. and 1:30 on Saturday at the Coaches Classic at Lower Richland High School in Hopkins. Baker is a Sumter native, having graduated from Lincoln High School in 1969. He was a state champion in the 100meter dash and as part of the 4x100-yard relay team at Lincoln. He went to South Carolina State where he ran track until graduating in 1973. He took a teaching job at Choppee High School right out of college, and that included him being the head coach of the track program. In his first year, Choppee’s boys team won the 2A state title; It was the runner-up the following
SEE BROGDON, PAGE B6
SEE BAKER, PAGE B6
JUSTIN DRIGGERS / THE ITEM
Former Sumter High standout and current Clemson running back Roderick McDowell, left, talks with11-year-old Hunter Brogdon on Thursday at lunch inside the Willow Drive Elementary School cafeteria. McDowell dropped by to speak with and offer words of encouragement to Brogdon after learning the two shared a common birth defect — one that will require Brogdon to have surgery this June.
Going the extra mile Tigers standout, elementary student share common bond BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS jdriggers@theitem.com Hunter Brogdon bounced back and forth between cafeteria tables and friends on Thursday, hardly hampered by the oversized article of clothing he was now wearing. The 11-year-old Willow Drive Elementary School student wasn’t as concerned with the fact that it nearly touched his knees as he was with the name and number on the back – the person to whom the jersey belonged. Former Sumter High School standout and current Clemson University running back Roderick “Hot Rod” McDowell made a surprise visit to Willow Drive and to Brogdon’s classroom for a meet-and-greet, an impromptu lunchtime autograph session and a little backyard football. “It’s amazing,” Brogdon said. “I’ve never had anything like this happen in my life. It’s
JUSTIN DRIGGERS / THE ITEM
Hunter Brogdon, left, plays catch with former Sumter High standout and current Clemson running back Roderick McDowell on Thursday at Willow Drive Elementary School.
great to be able to talk to him. I just want to enjoy the moment while he’s here.” “To walk in and see his face light up and hear him
shout ‘Hot Rod’ is something that’s priceless to me,” McDowell said. The meeting was not circumstantial or a random pop-
Marquette escapes Davidson USCS set for series against Lancers BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS jdriggers@theitem.com The University of South Carolina Sumter baseball team had one of its biggest offensive outputs in last Saturday’s doubleheader against USC Salkehatchie – 22 hits and 21 runs combined. But the Fire Ants’ inconsistency resurfaced on Sunday as USCS tallied only three hits in a 2-1 loss before giving up a late lead in Game 2 to fall 5-4. A Tuesday sweep of Limestone College’s JV squad upped USC Sumter’s record to 18-9 overall, but the Fire Ants sit at 3-5 in Region X with a 4-game series at USC Lancaster upcoming this weekend. The teams will play doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday beginning SEE USCS, PAGE B2
BY GARY GRAVES The Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ky.— Vander Blue had no doubt where he was going with the ball. The Marquette guard’s only concern was whether he’d have room to make it happen. Blue needed just four seconds to make his own path. Taking Jamil Wilson’s inbounds pass at midcourt with 5.5 seconds remaining, he drove left past Jake Cohen for a layup
that completed a rally from nine points down and gave the third-seeded Golden Eagles an improbable 59-58 victory over No. 14 Davidson in Thursday’s secondround NCAA tournament game. “All I was thinking was, ‘if I get to the rim, I have to finish,’” said Blue, who scored seven of Marquette’s final 10 points including a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left. “I’m not ready to go home, SEE ESCAPES, PAGE B4
TV SCHEDULE WBTW 13, WLTX 19 Noon -- Albany vs. Duke 2:30 p.m. -- Creighton vs. Cincinnati 7 p.m. -- Iona vs. Ohio State 9:30 p.m. -- Iowa State vs. Notre Dame TRUTV 12:30 p.m. -- Mississippi vs. Wisconsin 3 p.m. -- La Salle vs. Kansas 7:15 p.m. -- Northwestern State vs. Florida 9:55 p.m. -- Minnesota vs. UCLA TBS 1:30 p.m. -- Temple vs. North Carolina State 4 p.m. -- James Madison vs. Indiana 6:45 p.m. -- Florida Gulf Coast vs. Georgetown 9:15 p.m. -- Oklahoma vs. San Diego State TNT 2 p.m. -- Pacific vs. Miami 4:30 p.m. -- Colorado vs. Illinois 7:15 p.m. -- Villanova vs. North Carolina 9:45 p.m. -- Western Kentucky vs. Kansas
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Marquette guard Vander Blue (13) scores the game-winning basket against Davidson forward Jake Cohen (15) on Thursday in Lexington, Ky., during the NCAA men’s tournament.
Seniors forge winning program at South Carolina BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press COLUMBIA — Ashley Bruner remembers the punishing runs most of all from her earliest days with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. The GameSTALEY cocks senior forward said her freshman
year was a sustained series of team disciplines for not following rules or giving effort the way Staley expected. “I tell the younger players all the time, ‘You’d never make it with all that running,’” Bruner said Wednesday. These days, Bruner and the Gamecocks do their most significant running on the court and have used a highenergy, tough-minded de-
fensive style to reach a second-straight NCAA tournament. It’s an accomplishment Bruner and South Carolina’s seniors hope to build on in the Norfolk Regional. The fourth-seeded Gamecocks (24-7) open play against South Dakota State (25-7) on Saturday in Boulder, Colo. South Carolina advanced to the round of 16 a year ago, winning at Purdue to get
there. The Gamecocks could face a similar hurdle this year with host Colorado. But it’s nothing like the obstacles Bruner recalls her first couple of years in Staley’s system. There was yelling, frustration and lots of losses. The Gamecocks were 9-21 in the Southeastern Conference in Staley’s first two seasons. Bruner, from SEE USC, PAGE B5