Saturday, May 22, 1976

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Page Eleven..

Blue eyes diamond title

0

By RICH LERNER
The race for the Big Ten
baseball championship will re-
ceive its checkered flag this
weekend, with three teams still
in the running. Michigan, Michi-
gan State and Minnesota each
have a shot at winning the
title and the berth in NCAA
Mid-East regional that goes
along with it.
The Wolverines play the Spar-
tans in a two-game series, meet-
ing today in East Lansing be-
fore coming to Ann Arbor to-
morrow. The Gophers host Iowa
in a doubleheader tomorrow.
There are six possible outcomes
in each series: a complete rain-
out, a split, a sweep by either
team, and the possibility of only
one game being played, with
either team winning.
Multiplying the six possible
outcomes together, there are
36 combinations. In 24 of the
possible combinations, t h e
Wolverines would come out as

champions, and would tie Min-
nesota in a 25th. Minnesota
can win in eight combinations
and tie State in another. Only
two possible outcomes would
make the Spartans undisputed
champs.
Michigan can clinch the title
for the second year in a row,
by not losing. A two-game
sweep, a rainout or winning one
game and having the other
rained out, would send Michigan
into the Mid-East regional.
If Michigan and MSU split, the
Wolverines w o u I d still be
champs, if Minnesota loses a
game or is rained out. But if
the Spartans sweep two games
from Michigan, the Wolverines
are knocked out of title con-
tention, and the Spartans enter
the picture. A Spartan sweep
and a Minnesota-Iowa split
would cause a tie between Min-
nesota and Michigan State. If
Minnesota does better than a
split and the Spartans sweep, the

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Gophers wear the conference
laurels.
Should Michigan lose one
game to State and have the
other rained out, and Minnesota
splits, Michigan and Minnesota
would tie.
In case of tie, the NCAA
representative would be de-
cided by the number of runs
scored in the series between
the two teams that tied. If
Michigan and Minnesota tie,
Michigan would go to the
tourney. If Minnesota and
Michigan State tie, the Go-
phers would gain the tourney
berth. However, the second-
place team may still earn an
at-Inree berth if the NCAA so
decides.
Clear as pea sonn, right.
Michigan coach Moby Benedict
will send out Lary Sorenson to
the pitcher's mound, today, to
face the Sartan's ace right-
hander Chuck Baker. Baker
leads the Big Ten in earned
run average, with a mark of
0.85 and 2-1 slate. Sorenson is
second behind Baker with an
e.r.a. of 0.90, and a 4-1 record.
Overall. Sorenson is 8-1 with an
e.r.a. of 2.05.
S u n d a y, the Wolverines'
Mark Weber will take the hill
anainst either Jim Kniivila or
Lrry Pashnick. With two tin-
oressive performances in his
last two starts, Knivila has
lowered his e.r.a. to 11.10.
Ontfielder Al Weston naces the
Sartan hitting attack, rating
seond in the conference with a
.455 bttina average. Catcher
li-k Seid is hitting at a .313
The Sarans are fifth in the
leaue in hitting with a .256
averase and are seventh in
pitchine. Michigan is hitting .260
and leads the Big Ten in team
pithisg.
The Sartans are eighth in
Big Ten fielding, wi the W-
verines fifth and leading the
loop in double plays.
Maaor League
Leaders
Player Club G AB R H Pet.
Carty Cle 30 111 20 44 .396
LeFlre Det 23 97 18 38 .392
G.F rett KC 30 120 70 43 .35s
Bands Cal 2u 105 20 37 .352
Lynn Bsn 77 80 14 28 .350
Home Runs
Ystroemski, Boston, 7; Hendrick,
Cleveland, 7; Horton, Detroit, 7;
Otis, Kansas City, 7; Fisk, Boston,
6; Bonds, California, 6; Ford, Min-
nesota, 6; Burroughs, Texas, 6.
Runs Batted In
Rudi, Oakland, 31; Burroughs,
Texas, 28; Horton, Detroit, 24;
Chamblis, New York, 24; Munson,
New York, 24.
Pitching (4 Decisions)
Fitzmorris, Kansas City, 5-0, 1.000;
Siaton, Milwaukee, 5-1, .833; W.
Campbell, Minnesota, 5-1, .833; D.
Ells, New York, 4-1, .800; Bird,
Kansas City, 4-1, .800; J. Brown,
Cleveland, 3-1, .750; Lyle, New York,
3-1, .750; R. May, New York, 3-1,
.750; Briles, Texas, 3- .750.
NATIONAL LEAGE
Player Club G AB R H Pet.
Rose Cin 35 143 32 55 .385
Tore NY 21 79 2 29 .367
McBride St.L 24 96 13 35 .365
DoRader SD 27 97 16 34 .351
w.Crawford StL 78 998 14 34 .347
Home Runs
Kingman, New York, 15; Schmidt,
?hiladelphlia, 15; Monday, Chicago,
8; Cy, Los Angeles, 8; Cedeno,
Hlouston, 7.
Runs Batted In
Kingman, New York, 35; Schmidt,
uhiladelphia, 31; Monday, Chicago,
29; Griffey, Cincinnati, 27; T. Perez,
Cincinnati, 26; Cey, Los Angeles, 26.
Pitching (4 Decisions)
Lonbog, Philadelphia, 6-0, 1.000;
Matlack, New York, 4-0, 1.000;
Hough, Los Angeles, 4-0, 1.000; C.
Metzger, San Diego, 4-0, 1.000;
Rooker, Pittsburgh, 5-1, .33; Koos-
man, New York, 4-1, .800; Christen-
son, Philadelphia, 4-1, .80; trom,
San Diego, 4-1,.800.

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THE MAN in the monkey suit is Danny Litwhiler, baseball
coach of Michigan State for the last 12 years. His Spartans vie
with Michigan today at East Lansing and tomorrow in Ann
Arbor for the Big Ten title.
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Ruggers face Flint
The Michigan Rugby Football Club meets the Flint Rugby
Football Club today at 2:00 p.m. at Wines Field. The Wolverines,
now 6-1 on the season, finished second in the Big Ten tournament
held during April.
Last weekend, the Blue, led by inside center Bill Conway,
forward Walt Holloway and fullback Danny Goolick walloped
Travers City 29-0.
"We're very pleased with our progress at this point in the
season," said Conway, president of the 17-year-old club.
Brawl sidelines Lee
BOSTON - Pitcher Bill Lee, injured in a brawl during Thurs-
day night's baseball game with the New York Yankees, will be
lost to the Boston Red Sox for at least five weeks.
Lee returned from New York Friday and was examined at
Hahnemann Hospital.
The Red Sox' team physician, Dr. Thomas Tierney, said
the pitcher suffered torn ligaments in his left shoulder-his
pitching arm-and the arm will bemain in a sling five weeks.
"They didn't tell me much. They just said I should take two
aspirin and some matzoh ball soup," said Lee.
Technically, the injury was diagnosed as a tear in the
acromio clavicular ligaments.
Lee also had a bruise under his left eye as a result of
winding up under Graig Nettles during the fight that erupted
in the sixth inning of the game in New York.
Asked if he thought there would be any retaliation in tonight's
game with the Yankees, Lee said, "I suppose Luis Tiant could get
a little wild.
"Luis has control problems." Lee said he planned to return
to New York for tonight's game.
AP
Umps support strike
PITTSBURGH-Four National League umpires refused to cross
the picket line of striking stadium vendors Friday night, but the
Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs played anyway with a make
shift crew of local sandlot officials.
The vendors' picket line was honored by the regular umpiring
crew of Lee Weyer, Nick Colosi, Ed Montague and Paul Runge.
So the Pirates summoned four sandlot umpires to handle the work.
In addition to the umpires, the picket line was also honored
by the ground crew, electricians, ticket sellers and ushers.
--AP

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