Thursday, September,5; 1974, THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Seven Thursday, September 5, 1974 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Baseball Anemic hitting, rainouts destroy season Dear Student: By MARNIE HEYN ' When the dust and standings settled, it was a blah season for the Michigan baseball team. The Wolverines combined re- markably good pitching a n d fielding with remarkably insipid batting and worse luck with the rain to chalk up an unremark- able finish in the Big Ten, tied for third place with Illinois at 7-5. Six scheduled games were rained out and never made up. Had -all these contests b a e n played and won by Michigan, the Wolverines would have tied Iowa and Minnesota for the Big Ten title, all with 13-5 records. The race had been scrambled throughout the season, with only Purdue a non-contender. But the Wolverines had trouble with the normally impotent Boilermakers, falling twice at Fisher Field without scoring a run. Chuck Rogers was the b e s t pitcher in the Conference (al- though his ERA stats put him behind Jim Linn of Iowa) with a 5-0 won-loss record, 32 hits in 39 and two-thirds innings, and a 31-7 strikeoutto walk ratio. ACE Adams was a disap- pointingly adequate workhorse starting pitcher who wound up respectably among the B i g Ten leaders strictly by virtue of his control. He gave up only 16 walks in 612 3innings played, but he more than made up for that by allowing 62 hits. There are a few pitchers who show potential for next year. Towering Craig Forhan had a good ERA, but only managed to win half his decisions, due mainly to his teammates' in- ability to hit consistently. Tom Joyce had the second best ERA of the team, but gave up 21 walks in 35 innings. Larry Sor- enson has similar problems. The Michigan team won its conference standing mainly ona the basis of its pitchers' 3.00{ overall ERA. The Wolverines placed second in fielding in the Big Ten. The stats they racked up are not particularly impressive; they do demonstrate that Michigan fluf- fed games with the bat and not with the glove. ALTHOUGH Dick Walterhouse and Chris Burak wound up at the bottom of the conference Top 25, the team batting stats are a tear-inspiring saga rivaled only by General Hospital. Average total runs per confer- ence team: 63; Michigan: 35. Average hits: 102; Michigan: 80. Two count 'em home runs. Average total bases: 144; Mich- igan: 106. Conference batting average: .275; Michigan: .246. At least in this case, statistics don't lie. It was one of the least im- pressive offensive performances since the Cleveland Spiders of 1899, and it doesn't figure to be helped any next year by Bur- ak's graduation. Pete Ross, who hit .268 while switching between the mound and first base, has also departed, leaving Walter- house as the only returning player who batted above .250. Ironies are there, if you care to look for them. Mark Gren- kowski, a defensive replacement for gimpy-kneed Greg Buss, hit nearly as well as the man he re- placed. Big John Lonchar, the "clean-up" hitter, sent m a n y Michigan runners from the base- paths to their defensive posi- tions with a woeful .207 mark. LAST YEAR'S Wolverines not chore for the Wolverines since only failed to hit much, b u t Elliott Maddox left. when they hit anything, it didn't Unless Coach Moby Benedict go very far. Only 62 of the can come up with someone, the teams' 248 hits went for extra future, unfortunately, promises bases, and 46 of these were more of the same. Ross is the doubles. If watching Eddie only pitcher who graduated, and Brinkman and Aurelio Rodri- the survivors should be able to guez batting is your idea of fun, allow few enough runs to keep Michigan baseball is ideal to the Maize and Blue in just about your tastes, every game it plays. Michigan desperately n e e d s But the guys who take the hitters. Maybe Ted Williams mound for Michigan will be was right when he said hitting frustrated more than once by was the single hardest thing to the knowledge that a shutout do in sports, because nobody might be barely enough to send has been able to perform that the game into extra innings. It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan Campus. In our 86 years of continuous family ownership, we have been serving Michigan Men and Women with qual- ity merchandise in an unhurried atmosphere with that touch of 19th cen- tury courtesy. Whether you need a new pair of jeans or a tailored suit of clothes, we have it for you on one of our two levels. IN OUR VARSITY SHOP, you'll find a complete selection of Levis, Denims, Slacks, and all the young men's shirts, sweaters, and jackets that a student's life style re- quires. ON OUR MAIN FLOOR, you'll find a fine array of suits and sports coats for those special occasions and all the appropriate accessories. Our fine selection of footwear completes. our total apparel picture. From head-to-toe, allow us the opportunity to serve you by satisfying all your clothing needs as we have for the past five generations of Michigan students. Bo's Michigan teams have won 48 of 55 Glenn E. (Bo) Schembechler, Michigan's 13th head foot- ball coach, is in his sixth season in charge of the Wolver- ines and during that time his teams have won 87 per cent of their games. Going into the 1974 season, Bo ranks in the top three among all active coaches in winning percentage with a mark of .793 built over 11 years as head football coach at Miami of Ohio and Michigan. During his tenure at Michigan Bo's teams have won 48 games, lost six and tied one, won or shared four Big Ten titles and ranked in the Top Ten every season. The 10-10 tie with Ohio State last November extended Michigan's home unbeaten string to 29 games since a loss to Missouri in October, 1969. Meanwhile, Bo has been voted national Coach of the Year (1969) and the Big Ten's Coach of the Year (1972) as he has compiled the best winning percentage of any Michi- gan football coach since 1900 (.882). Schembechler replaced Bump Elliott, now Iowa's Ath- letic Director, as head coach at Michigan in 1969 and is only the fourth head coach of the Wolverines since Fritz Crisler was appointed in 1938. At Miami, Schembechler posted a 40-17-3 overall record and a 27-8-1 record in the Mid-American Conference. His teams won two MAC co-championships, finished second twice and tied for third once. He has never coached a losing team. With 88 career victories under his belt, a perfect season and a win in the Rose Bowl would give Bo exactly 100 wins. WILD WILDS A Quality Importers, Haberdashers and Tailor's STATE STREET ON THE CAMPUS SINCE 1888 HOURS: Monday thru Saturday 9-5:30; Friday Nights 8:30 f Daily Photo by TOM GOTTLIEB A RARE BUT WELCOME sight for Michigan baseball fans last season was a run. Here Dick Walterhouse crosses the plate but pitching, as usual, carried the Wolverines. i- 4 SED FE X T B is 0 K S UP TO 1/3 OFF U L R I CH'S ANN ARBOR'S FRIENDLY BOOKSTORE Championship Football at Student Rates Six Super Saturdays for Just $18 r BICYCLES Complete Bicycle SALES & SERVICE SPECIALIZING IN QUALITY FRENCH 10-SPEED BICYCLES VALGAN & VITA SPRINT We selected these lines since they are both Hand Made and Quality Bicycles from Top- Notch small manufacturers. This means better T+ t '° N t ' 1 / .r' I U .. + rig r1 i i i Il I + _ R,. . : iir At ttt ihrh t ."Winning Jootball in- volves more than t he 22 men on the field and. I am con- vinced that the great Michi- gan students have conlrib- uted much to our record. I hope they will give theirl ean Mhe same kind olsupport in 1974. -Bo Schembechler- OUR TENNIS SHOP WILL FEATURE! . HEAD . WILSON . BANCROFT The Top Metal and Wood Rockets available today! You will get custom Fitting and Stringing Also a Complete Line of Accessories! " A A - Wolverines Chase 1974 Title The Michigan football team has given the campus three straight Big Ten titles, four out of the last five and 29 straight home games without a defeat. Obviously, the Wolverines are a special attraction and in 1974 students can watch their classmates play six home games for just $18, the price of a season ticket. Such a bargain rate for a season ticket not only presents the Wolverine team, but the entire spectacle of Michigan football including the marching band, the acrobatic cheerleaders and the sheer fun of the crowd itself. And, of course, there will be fine opposition once again as Big 8 power Colorado, Navy and Big Ten rivals Iowa, Mich- igan State, Minnesota (Homecoming) and Purdue will all challenge the Wolverines' streak. Coach Bo Schembechler has the fastest backfield in Michigan history and astrong defense anchored by All-America safety Dave Brown ready for another title run so 1974 Wolverine football should be more than worth the price. Complete ticket miforma tion is prillted elsew/here in t1he /, HI section o his special eiun . 1974 Schedule Sept. 14 IOWA C.. ')1 C InCinRAnn Student Football Ticket Information " Students will be charged for (heilr football tickets through the Student Accounts Office. Price for the 6-game home schedule is just $18, less than half-price. " Each student will be given a football coupon during regis- tration. The coupon may be ex- changed for a season ticket on the, dates listed below. Tickets will be distributed at Yost Ice Arena Sept. 6, 9-11. Hours of distribution will be from 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. " Priority will be based on number of years in attendance a Michiian and ticets s hould