Quest Career College

Dazzling Defense Keyed Solid Win

OMAHA, Neb. -- Ray Tanner has stressed solid defense throughout his 15 years as South Carolina's head coach.

Tuesday night, the college baseball world learned just how dazzling the Gamecocks can be with gloves on their hands.

Offense usually dominates the headlines, so many people will focus strictly on USC's ability to string together two-out hits in the early innings as the principal reason for Tuesday's 7-1 victory over Virginia.

But bullet proof defense, especially by the middle infielders, played an equally important role in the dominating win as well.

Which team leads the eight CWS teams in fielding percentage after four days? USC. The Gamecocks have made just one error compared to 54 putouts and turned three double plays.

Tuesday night's 1-2-3 twin-killing started by reliever John Taylor when Virginia had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning was the definitive moment of USC's convincing win.

But that was simply a single moment in an exceptional defensive performance marred only by a botched popup in centerfield before the momentum-switching double play. Except for that rare mistake, the Gamecocks put on an amazing defensive clinic for the 22,027 fans at TD Ameritrade Park and a national TV audience.

Shortstop Peter Mooney ranged in the hole to grab a sharp grounder and throw out a UVa runner, a play that made ESPN's daily 'Top 10' plays.

Second baseman Scott Wingo roamed to his right, stretched out to snag a bullet targeted for center and flipped the ball with his glove to Mooney for the force at second. USC almost turned a double play but the Cavalier runner barely beat the relay throw (in the view of the umpire).

"They take a lot of pride in playing defense," Tanner said when he talked about Mooney and Wingo. "They try to work together and they're good for each other. We're playing defense in the middle. We'll take what we get (offensively), but let's play defense. The game has changed. We've been pretty good."

Third baseman Adrian Morales made a nice play on a short hop. Left fielder Jake Williams made a nice running catch. Wingo made a couple of other plays that were beyond routine.

And on and on.

Tanner blamed the 'twilight' for USC failing to catch a popup behind second base. Mooney came out from his shortstop position, while Jackie Bradley Jr. raced in from center field.

Quest Career College shuts down | cleveland.com

Quest Career College, a vocational school in Parma Heights, has closed abruptly amid financial difficulties.

Students were surprised when they came to school Tuesday and were told by school staff that the college was shutting down. The school offers computer training in addition to dialysis technician and medical support and billing training.

Ivan Mervis, the school's director and co-owner, compared the school's difficulties to those recently faced by Myers University in Cleveland. The school is in debt, he said, and could not meet the U.S. Department of Education's demand for a $142,000 letter of credit.

"Unless somebody comes along and wants to invest in the school, we're closed," Mervis said.

Student Nellie Emerson, who was planning to finish her dialysis technician training in a few months, said nothing seemed amiss at class Monday.

"Even our teachers didn't know the school was closing down," Emerson said.

"I don't think it's fair," she said. "I don't think it's right. They said it's something that just happened. How did it just happen?"

Mervis, whose family bought the school in 2005, said he and staff will work with state officials to place students in other schools to finish their programs.

He said students may receive a tuition refund but said the process set up by the state is complicated. He declined to elaborate.

But he said he is closing the school with regret.

"Most of our students are working and have family obligations in addition to going to school," he said. "It takes a lot of motivation to do that and I want to encourage them to keep it up.

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