Page 16-Tuesday, May 16, 1978-The Michigan Daily
Blue elinches title share
Batsmen split
with Hawkeyes
By GEOFF LARCOM
Another chapter in the 1978 Michigan baseball success
story was written last weekend, as the Wolverines, following a
rainout at Northwestern, split a twinbill with Iowa, 10-1, 0-1, to
assure themselves of at least a share of the Big Ten title.
The split leaves Michigan with a smoking 12-2 record in the
Big Ten and at 25-12 overall. A loss by Michigan State (10-4 in
conference play after yesterday's 3-0, 19-4 sweep of North-
western) would give the Blue nine sole possession of the cham-
pionship.
IN THE OPENER, Rick Leach and Scott Anderson keyed
the 13-hit Wolverine attack with three hits apiece, while
sophomore southpaw Steve Howe scattered seven hits in
raising his season mark to 8-2.
Iowa's Jeff Jones singled in the only run of the nightcap
with the bases filled and none out in the bottom of the seventh
to snap Michigan's 10 game winning streak. Craig McGinnis
took the loss, allowing only six hits, three in the final stanza.
In winding up their regular season, the Wolverines will face
Wayne State in a doubleheader tomorrow at Fisher Stadium,
and then take on the Spartans over the weekend ina home-and-
home series, at East Lansing Saturday and back at Fisher
again on Sunday.
Should Michigan sweep the Spartans, it would post its
highest Big Ten winning percentage in 33 years. In addition,
the series will pit the Big Ten's first and second leading hitters
in a battle for the batting championship. MSU's Tony Spada
leads the race at present with a .514 conference log, while Rick
Leach, with five hits overall at Iowa, has raised his Big Ten
average to .468, .412 overall.
SHOULD LEACH remain over the coveted .400 level, it will
mark the first time since 1961 that a Wolverine hitter has tur-
ned the trick, the last having been former Detroit Tiger star
Bill Freehan.
Howe, undefeated in conference play with a 5-0 record,
should pitch Saturday, while McGinnis will take the hill at
home on Sunday.
Steve Howe
BATTERYMATES PROVIDE POWER, PITCHING
I
May, 5
By CUB SCHWARTZ
Special tothe daily
DETROIT-Ralph Houk made only
one trip to the mound last night and that
was at the end of the game to
congratulate his pitcher Jim Slaton.
The Tiger righthander scattered just
five hits enroute to his fourth win of the
season and his first complete game,
and got help from catcher Milt May's
three-run homer, as Detroit defeated
Seattle, 4-2.
The Tigers scored first in the second
inning on a single by Lou Whitaker, who
advanced to second on a ground ball
and came home on a Jason Thompson
single. The first baseman went two-for-
four at the plate, extending his con-
secutive game hitting streak to 12. X
The Mariners battled back to take a 2-
I lead in the top of the fourth. Second
baseman Julio Cruz walked and then
laton sink Mariners. 4-2
advanced to third when Slaton's pickoff
throw was wild. Craig Reynolds
sacrificed him home to tie the game.
Steve Braun walked and Bruce
Bochte's double moved him to third.
Rupert Jones was intentionally walked
in hopes of an inning-ending double
play, but third baseman Bill Stein
spoiled that strategy by sacrificing to
center field, scoring Braun.
Slaton finally got John Hale to ground
to second, ending the inning and the
Mariners' scoring for the evening.
The Tigers retaliated in the bottom of
the fourth, collelcting three runs on a
towering blast by May in the upper
'deck of right field. Rusty Staub lead off
the inning with a single and Thompson
doubled to set up May's homer, which
came into a stiff wind.
Tim Corcoran followed witr a double
to knock Seattle starter Glenn Abbott
out of the box but the Tigers failed to
move Corcoran around.
Slaton was particularly tough in the
late innings, retiring the final 11 bat-
ters. The win moved his record to 4-1
and helped considerably his bloated 5.54
ERA.
The rain delayed game was played
before only 8,412, the smallest crowd so
far this year at Tiger Stadium. The
game, which took only one hour and 49
minutes to complete, was also the shor-
test of the year.
Detroit winds up the brief two-game
series with Seattle tonight, with Rick
Honeycutt (2-4) on the mound for the
Mariners and Milt Wilcox (2-1) han-
dling the starting assignment for the
Tigers.
I fj4~'iJLeague Staedixgo
AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST
W L Pct. GB
Detroit.............19 9 .678 -
Boston..............22 12.647 -
New York ...........18 12 ,608 2
Cleveland........... 14 16 .468 6
Milwaukee.............14 17 .451 6%/2
Baltimore ............13 17 .423 7
Toronto ............... 12 19 .387 9
WEST
Oakland.............22 10 .687 -
California............19 12 .612 211
Kansas City ...........18 13 .580 312
Texas ................. 15 14 .517 51/2
Seattle ................ 12 24 .333 12
Chicago............. 9 19.321 1012
Minnesota............10 23 .303 121
Yesterday's Results
Detroit 4Seattle 2
Oakland3, Cleveland 2
Torot.oCalifornia 6
New York 4.Chicago I
Texas 8, Milwaukee6
tansastCity 3, Boston I
Todays Games
Oakland (Keough.2-1) at Cleveland (Clyde,-o)
California (Aase, 2-1) at Toronto (Underwood,
1-Sor Clancy.2-2),n
Seattle (Honeycutt, 2-4) at Detroit (Wilcox, 2-1), n
New York (Hunter, 2-3) at Chicago (Wood, 3-3), n
Baltimore (Palmer, 3-3) at Minnesota (Goltz, 0-3)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
EAST
W L Pct.
Philadelphia......17 11 .607
Montreal............17 14 .548
Chicago ............... 16 15 .516
Pittsburgh...........14 16 .467
St. Louis ............... 14 19 .424
New York............14 20 .412
WEST
San Francisco ......... 20 12 .625
Cincinnati............19 14 .576
Los Angeles ........... 18 14 .563
Houston ............... 13 16 .448
San Diego............13 18 .419
Atlanta................12 18 .400
GB
112
2%/
4
5 1
6
112
2
512
612
7
'M' netters advanee
to midwest regionals
BY BOB WARREN
Class be seated. Today's lesson is tennis tournament competition. The
instructors are the members of the Michigan women's tennis team because
they are the most qualified teachers in the state of Michigan.
After winning the state AIAW tournament last Friday over Michigan
State the women netters did not become complacent, as they proceeded to
create all-Wolverine finals in both the singles and doubles portions of the in-
dividual qualifiers.
TEAM CO-CAPTAIN Kathy Karzen won the singles championship over
her third singles teammate, Sue Weber, 6-3, 6-3. Karzen reached thefinals by
defeating Eastern Michigan's Barb Fischley, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. Karzen had
defeated Fischley in straight sets on Thursday when Michigan defeated
EMU in the team competition.
"I wasn't playing too well in the first set against Barb because I wasn't
concentrating," Karzen said. "Still, Barb was playing well, especially with
her good groundstrokes that set me up for her to put me away. After I was
down 5-1 in the first set, I started concentrating and took control in the next
two sets.
"Playing against Sue in the finals was fun. It was nice to see her on the
other side of the net. It was a different kind of match than our challenge
matches. Instead of playing long points, it was quick because Sue was
aggressive and maybe a little over-anxious."
ALTHOUGH Weber lost the finals to Karzen she still gained a bid to the
individuals at the Midwest AIAW this weekend at Muncie, Ind. along with
Toni Serges of Central Michigan and Fischley. Michigan's Leticia Diaz-
Perez also received a bid after her defeat of Central's Kelly Serges, the tour-
ney's third seeded player.
"I was real happy about the bid," commented Diaz-Perez. "It's a shame
Whit (Stodghill) and I couldn't get one for doubles."
Diaz-Perez and Stodghill lost to teammates Karzen and Ann Kercher in
the doubles finals, 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday.
"IT WAS a fun match," said Kercher.
"Yeah," agreed Stodghill, "because we knew everybody from the team
there was less pressure on us during the match."
"The doubles was a good match," Stodghill said. "We got killed in the firt
set, but we had a chance to take the second set when Ann was serving at 4-3.
Then Ann swatted a few and it was all over."
So there is our brief lesson in playing and dominating a tennis tour-
nament. The next session will be Friday through Sunday in Muncie, and if
the professors prepare some excellent lectures there, the final exam will be
at the national AIAW tournament at Salisbury, Maryland on June5.
Last night's resultsnot included
Today's Games
Cincinnati (Seaver, 1-4) at Montreal (Twitchell.
2-2)n
Atlanta (Boggs, 1-3) at New York (Koosman,
2-3).n
Philadelphia (Lonborg. 4-2) at Houston (Richard,
2-3).n
St. Louis (Urrea. 2-4) at San Diego (Owchinko.
2-2).
Pittsburgh (Candelaria, 2-5) at Los Angeles
(Hooton, 2-4), u
Chicago (R. Reuschel, 3-2) at San Francisco
tKnepper. 4-1). n