June 1, 2007

Postseason twist brings Mahoney back to the state
Former USC player confronts possibility of Clemson ending his collegiate career
By PAUL STRELOW

MYRTLE BEACH — Had his cell phone not died, St. John’s senior designated hitter Ryan Mahoney planned to call Ray Tanner earlier this week and offer his congratulations on the Gamecocks’ season.

Mahoney hardly expected to be a short drive from his old stomping grounds.

Mahoney, who spent his first two seasons at South Carolina, said he laughed at the irony that his career might wind up concluding in this state, perhaps even against Clemson.

The Red Storm opens the regional with today’s noon game against the Tigers, for whom his brother, Collin, pitched from 2002-2004.

The Patterson, N.Y., native was among the trio of players to leave USC after the 2005 season and flourish. Second baseman Tommy King, a 2006 eighth-round pick, and catcher Cory Vanderhook, who contributed to Cal State Fullerton’s College World Series squad last year, were the others.

Mahoney bounced around from catcher to first base to designated hitter in his two USC seasons but never found his niche. He batted an underwhelming .238 while failing to live up to his power potential.

He leads St. John’s with 13 homers and 58 RBIs while hitting .304.

Although he frequently appeared the target of Tanner’s ire, Mahoney said he owed Tanner for prodding him to improve.

“Everyone always asks me if I was angry with the situation, but we left on good terms,” Mahoney said. “I loved my time there.”

Mahoney said he decided to transfer because he expected a platoon rotation at catcher and talented first baseman Justin Smoak was set to arrive on campus as a freshman.

Since transferring, Mahoney (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) said he has dropped 15 pounds and cannot believe how fat he got at USC because of a poor diet.

He took a day off last year to drive down to attend the USC/Clemson football game and remains close friends with former Gamecocks pitchers Conor Lalor and Forrest Beverly.

Status quo. After considering flip-flopping its top two starters for matchup purposes, Clemson decided to use left-hander Daniel Moskos (3-5, 3.12) against the Red Storm.

Coach Jack Leggett had contemplated saving Moskos in case the Tigers face Coastal Carolina on Saturday, but he wanted to give right-hander David Kopp an extra day’s rest.

Kopp threw his first career complete game on Saturday against third-ranked Florida State.

St. John’s has two left-handers in its regular lineup: Mahoney and right fielder Anthony Smith (.312). Two of Coastal Carolina’s top four hitters are left-handers.

Give it a rest. The ACC changed its conference tournament format to round-robin pool play in order to have its teams fresher for the NCAA tournament. Clemson coach Jack Leggett is not sure it will make a difference.

“It’s just a matter of keeping your concentration,” Leggett said. “Everybody’s tired after a conference tournament. Vanderbilt just played six games. We’ll see how they play this weekend.

“If you’re looking for a true tournament winner, then the old format is better. If you’re looking for the next weekend, then this format is better.”