Wax, who generally bats
seventh, after Memran, is hit-
ting .339 with one home run
and seven RBI. "I started off
doing really well . . . Now it's
kind of tailed off but I'm still
hitting the ball well," he says.
Wax, says Marten, "is a
great centerfielder. He's got
great speed, he's got a great
arm, he's thrown two runners
out at the plate. (Offensively)
he's moved the ball well, he's
got one home run. He's mov-
ed the ball better than I
thought he would. He's real-
ly concentrated on his hit-
ting."
Markowitz figured to be the
Chargers' number four pit-
cher, until John McGough
hurt his arm. McGough's in-
jury, says Marten, "kind of
hurt us at the beginning, but
Jason Markowitz has pitched
so well as our number three
starter, so it really hasn't hurt
us that much!'
Markowitz, a righty, is 6-0
with a 2.20 ERA. He has
struck out 32 hitters in 351/2
innings. Markowitz pitched
his best game, and first com-
plete game, on May 18 in a
5-0, one-hit win over West
Bloomfield. Markowitz struck
out four, walked three and
held the Lakers hitless for six
innings. The lead-off batter in
the seventh broke up the no-
hitter with a ground single to
right. "I was a little upset"
about missing the no-hitter,
Markowitz admits, but he
adds with a smile that "a one-
hitter will do!'
Markowitz is a fastball-
curve-changeup pitcher who
tries to keep hitters off
balance with his moving
fastball. He credits the team's
defense as the key to his suc-
cess. "I have good confidence
in my team, they're playing
great defense . . . that's why
my record's so good!'
When he does not pitch,
notes Marten, Markowitz
becomes part of the Chargers'
great defense. "Jason is pro-
bably the best defensive
rightfielder that we've ever
had. He makes some catches
that are unbelievable. He's
got a nice arm out there!'
Roth plays DH and the out-
field. "He's a good hitter,"
says Marten. "He's a good one
to have at ninth because he
can move the runners up and
he does an excellent job of
bunting. He has good speed,
we can steal him!'
Roth's background is dif-
ferent from most of his team-
mates because he was cut
from the 1985 freshman
team. "I was upset about it,"
he recalls, "but I didn't give

up. I still had hope!'
Roth improved his hitting
and made the junior varsity
squad as a sophomore, moved
up to the varsity last season
and into the starting lineup
this year.
"This year I'm doing pretty
good," says Roth, who is bat-
ting .270. "I can do a little
better at hitting. But my
fielding's pretty good."
Kaplan, says Marten, "will
be our starting second
baseman next year . . . He's
really improved his skills!'
Marten also expects Levin-
son to start in 1989. "Danny's
gonna be our first baseman
next year . . . Danny's really
improved his hitting."
Lyons "has a lot of potential
to be a good pitcher and a
good baseball player," says
Marten. "He's got a nice arm,
he's a very good fielder!'
When the team achieved its
lofty ranking, s ays
Katkowsky, "We started get-
ting a little bit cocky . . . but
our captains made sure that
we just kept our goals in
perspective and didn't get too
above ourselves. It was a
great accomplishment but .
we've still got to keep going,
we can't stop!'
Wax recalls "the first few
games when we were ranked
that high, we came out kind
of nervous. But we've been
there for about three or four
weeks now It's just like when
we weren't ranked at all!'
"They've been pretty cocky
all year," says Marten, with a
chuckle. "They've hung in
and accepted it. They want to
be number one. That's a good
sign. Just because they're se-
cond, they don't want to stay
there. They want to keep mov-
ing up!'
Can they go all the way to
the state final? "If our pit-
ching's strong and we don't
have any breakdowns," says
Wax, "and everyone stays 'up'
we can go all the way!'
"We can win it all," agrees
Katkowsky. "The coaches
seem to think so — that's who
ranks 'em — and I think we
can do it:'
"It's gonna be tough. It's
hard to say." says a more
cautious Marten. He feels
that his team's strength, the
defense, will be the key factor.
"Collias is a dominating pit-
cher, but once you get past
him our other kids are hit-
table. If we make the plays
behind them there's always
that chance, but that's so far
away. We've got to beat
Seaholm first, that's gonna be
the toughest test!" ❑

First Mme
Eve r !

Summer Memberships
at Franklin

Join Franklin for the
summer and enjoy full
use of all the club's
facilities... including a
great new outdoor
pool, bar and grill!
Your Summer
membership also means
you'll take advantage of
the latest in workout
equipment. Like a
floating aerobics floor
Nautilus, treadmills, and
Lifecycles. And dozens
of tennis and racquet
courts.
This summer enjoy all the extras that make Franklin
the Midwest's finest workout facility. Stop by at
29350 Northwestern Highway, just west of Franklin
Road in Southfield, or call us at 352-8000.

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FRANKLIN
Fitness 8. Racquet Club

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