An Oak Park Star Returns Home NEAL ZIPSER Special to The Jewish News A Brian Feldman worked his way into the rotation. Dream Come True Brian Feldman gambled and won, becoming U-M's top freshman pitcher. MIKE ROSENBAUM Special to The Jewish News p lay it safe or go for broke? Many athletes face this type of deci- sion when choosing a college. For Brian Feldman, the decision seemed made. • He was not highly recruited un- til his senior season at Detroit Country Day, when the left-handed pitcher went 8-0 and earned All-State honors. He received a good scholarship offer from a good baseball school, Miami of Ohio, and was set to sign. 58 FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1991 But the day before he planned to commit to Miami, Feldman recalled the days when he attended University of Michigan baseball games. He remembered seeing future major leaguers like Jim Ab- bott and Barry Larkin. And Feldman had always dreamed of playing for the Maize and Blue. So "on a whim," he says, he called Ann Arbor, then went there to speak to U-M baseball officials, who were aware of his senior-season heroics at Country Day. "I sat down and talked with them for about two, three hours or so . . . and I decided I was just going to go for it. "Because they were on pro- bation, there was no scholar- ship money available. I turn- ed down practically a three- quarter scholarship at Miami to do this." He also entered the season with an uncertain position on the U-M pitching roster. But, despite missing most of the fall workouts due to a stress fracture in his ankle, Feldman established himself as the team's number five Continued on Page 60 s a senior at Oak Park High School in 1988, Jason Novetsky had several college baseball coaches knocking on his door. Novetsky, a left-handed pit- cher who finished with a 1.90 earned run average and two no-hitters his senior year, decided to try Southern Mississippi University. But things didn't pan out. During a practice just prior to the start of the season, Novetsky suffered a back in- jury. "It wasn't a serious -in- jury, but I was red-shirted for the season," Novetsky said. "It's true what they say about Southern hospitality, but I didn't know a soul down there, and that was the main reason I decided to leave. Peo- ple were pretty nice to me, but they had hints I was a Yankee!" The 6-foot-2 hurler was given a full-ride scholarship at -the University of Detroit- Mercy and the opportunity to join teammates already familiar to him from his days of playing for Oak Park, Fern- dale Legion and his Adray Appliance summer team, which finished third national- ly in 1989. Still having freshman eligibility, Novetsky had his ups and downs in his first "real" college season. He finished 2-8 with a 6.96 ERA on a team that finished 24-25. But he did pitch two complete games, including a 5-4 win over Xavier in which he gave up three earned runs in seven innings and a 9-5 victory over Dayton, in which he gave up one earned run in seven innings. "It wasn't a good year," he said. "My best game was pro- bably when I pitched nine in- nings in a 4-3 loss against nationally-ranked Notre Dame!' Novetsky, now living at home, has found time to com- pile a 3.4 grade point average. With school now recessed for Jason Novetsky: Pitching At U-D. the summer, the psychology major said time to study hasn't been a problem. "It was strange at first," he said. "A lot of our away games were during school and now that school is over, we have a lot of home games!' Being a sophomore means Novetsky is eligible for baseball's major league draft after this season. "I have talked with a couple major league scouts, but nothing means anything un- til something actually hap- pens," he said. "It doesn't matter where I play, because just playing is part of my dream!' ❑ Hoosier Hotshot Marty Wolf turned up the power this season at the University of Indiana. The West Bloomfield High School graduate entered this campaign with just one home run in 91 college games. But Wolf entered the final week of the season with 12 homers this year, tied for second best on the team. In 61 games, Wolf was hitting .352 with 69 hits, including 11 doubles and four triples. Wolf had also driven in 49 runs and scored 57. Wolf had six game- winning RBI this year. His best game came against Big 10 rival Iowa, when Wolf had four hits, in- cluding two home runs. He also enjoyed three, three- hit contests. Wolf's high school coach, Jeff Snarey, recalled how Wolfs talents bloomed dur- ing his years with the Lakers. "He started out as an infielder in his first var- sity experience. His junior year he was a combination infielder-catcher-pitcher, kind of a utility person!' As a senior, Snarey made Wolf a catcher. In that year, Snarey said, Wolf, "did a tremendous job for us:' Wolf now plays outfield. This was Wolf's senior year at Indiana, but since he was redshirted as a freshman he has another season of eligibility left. ❑ — M.R.