JMU earns respect

James Madison left the Raleigh Regional with a 1-2 record but also with a lot of respect.

The Dukes (39-19), the Colonial Athletic Association champions, pushed N.C. State in the opening round Friday before losing 6-2.

JMU rallied from an eight-run deficit to beat Charlotte 13-12 on Saturday and lost to South Carolina 7-5 Sunday after tying the score 5-5 in the ninth with a two-out, two-strike double.

"This team never gives up," JMU coach Spanky McFarland said. "We'll battle. We're not afraid of anyone."

STRONG OUTING: With the temperature in the 90s, South Carolina got exactly what it wanted in Sunday's first game -- a win, a strong start from sophomore right-hander Blake Cooper and a relatively quick game.

Cooper pitched into the ninth, allowing seven hits and one earned run, with nine strikeouts.

"With the weather like it is, he did a tremendous job," Tanner said of Cooper. "He was really trying to stay in ... and keep our bullpen as fresh as he could. He gutted it out.'"

(Chip Alexander)

LSU'S SKIP BERTMAN COULD BE OUT OF HOSPITAL TODAY: LSU's outgoing athletic director and former national championship baseball coach Skip Bertman could go home as early as today after being hospitalized in Baton Rouge, La., with what doctors believed were early signs of a heart attack. LSU sports spokesman Herb Vincent said Bertman, 70, was resting Sunday after doctors on Saturday placed a stent in one of the main arteries carrying blood from the heart.

(The Associated Press)