By MONTE DUTTON

Was Iowa’s upset of South Carolina in the national semifinals a year ago the first time I ever heard of Caitlin Clark?

I certainly know all about her now. I’ve watched about 500 percent more women’s basketball this year, apparently mirroring the general public. This year I watched quite a few USC games in the regular season.

I’m making progress. I’m not as set in my ways as my age suggests.

By the way, I get a year older on the day of the eclipse. I hope this isn’t a harbinger of doom. Mark Twain came in and went out with Halley’s Comet. Fortunately, to paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, I’m no Mark Twain.

Iowa returned the favor on LSU, which won the title last year. I hope the Gamecocks get to return the favor on the Hawkeyes on Sunday, but, of course, Carolina has to defeat N.C. State and Iowa has to tame UConn.

By the way, I think UConn Huskies is a fine nickname – like Yukon Huskies, get it? — even though I hope they lose to Iowa in the interest of the game I want to see.

The Huskies and Wolfpack are in both Final Fours. That makes sense for Geno Auriemma and Danny Hurley. Three weeks ago, no one saw N.C. State coming.

As Jim Valvano famously said, “Don’t ever give up.”

Presbyterian plays its first Big South home baseball series beginning on Friday with the first of three games against Radford.

The Blue Hose and Highlanders play Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 4 and Sunday at 2.

Presbyterian (13-16, 4-2 Big South) played its first six league games on the road.

Center fielder Joel Dragoo has put up superb offensive numbers so far. The junior from Beckville, Texas, is batting .381 with 37 hits, 28 runs, 38 RBI and a .742 slugging percentage with nine doubles, a triple and eight home runs..

Shortstop Brody Fahr, a senior from Greer, is batting .381 with 28 runs, 20 RBI, seven doubles, three triples and one homer.

The big gun for Radford (9-17, 2-4) is outfielder Cameron Pittan, batting .392 with 17 RBI and a .529 slugging percentage.

Greenwood swept a junior-varsity doubleheader from Laurens, 9-4 and 3-2, on the Eagles’ home field Thursday.

Down three, the Raiders rallied with two runs in the top of the fifth inning in game two. Karson Vinson took the loss in spite of allowing just one earned run and fanning five in 3-1/3 innings.

Tristian Buzbee lashed a pair of doubles to lead Laurens’ (10-6).

The Eagles broke open the first game with three runs in the third inning and five in the fourth.

The Raiders withstood the third inning, scoring three runs of their own in the top of the fourth. Two LDHS errors – not to mention a home run, single, walk and hit batter – buried them in the bottom half.

Samuel Adams homered for Laurens, and Noah Hughes, who took the loss on the mound, cracked a double.

After winning its first eight games, Laurens has dropped six of its last eight.

Daniel Eagen is Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week.

The junior righthander earned the award for his 11-strikeout performance in a five-inning stint against Gardner-Webb, won by the Blue Hose, 6-2.

Over six appearances and 27-2/3 innings, the Fuquay-Varina, N.C., product has fanned 51 of the 100 batters he’s faced.

The Charleston Southern series that begins Friday is crucial to PC softball hopes.

The Buccaneers and Blue Hose are both 3-3 in the Big South. Overall, CSU is 16-17 and PC 13-24.

After a 6 p.m. game on Friday, the teams play a doubleheader on PC’s diamond Saturday at 1.

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