Slugger and Texas on my mind

Ever since the upcoming baseball series between South Carolina and Texas was announced,  I have been flooded with memories from 2002, the year the South Carolina and Texas met in the championship game of the College World Series. 

That was the final year that the championship was a single game, the next year saw the beginning of the 3 game series for the championship. Myself and other Gamecock fans have long argued that if 2002 had been a 3 game series, the Gamecocks would have come back and won the championship. Things worked out in the long run, as South Carolina won the final Championship contented in Rosenblatt Stadium in 2010 and won the following year in the first CWS at TD Ameritrade Park. Also if memory serves me correctly,  we came into the 2002 championship game with 1 loss in the tournament while Texas was unbeaten which would have called into question our worthiness had we won in 2002.

2002 also brings happy memories of when my "Big Ole Baby" Slugger adopted me.

Long before South Carolina and Clemson played a 3 game series annually, the rivalry consisted of two game home and home on a Saturday and Sunday in March and consecutive Wednesdays in April, also home and home. I believe it was the final game on a Wednesday in April and as it was a nice evening I turned up my radio which was then hooked up to an old stereo system, opened my front door and raised the window on my screen door and went to listen to the game on my front porch swing. Right when the game was about to start I saw what at the time was a little black puppy staring at me from my fence by the edge of the road.

I went over to him and he started to run away but I called to him and held out my hand. He sniffed and licked me through the fence and I walked around the edge to my gate in my driveway. He followed me and I let him in and we walked to my front porch. 

I held him and noticed a sore on his neck. I worked in the kennels at an animal hospital at the time so there was no doubt I would bring him in the next day. While I was holding him, the Gamecocks hit their first home run of the game and I looked at him and said something to the effect of "you're a little slugger aren't you?". The Gamecocks went on to win that evening and it was obvious that he was to become part of my family. 

I introduced Slugger to Andy that night (Andy knew something was up) and they were instant buddies. Andy may have been the smaller of the two, but he was the boss when it came to "chase".

Sadly Andy and Slugger died within about 2 weeks of each other many years ago. But I have happy memories that have been awakened by a baseball series.