6 Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 27, 1984 DEFENDING CHAMPION.TEXAS THIRD AS i By JOE EWING If you took a look at the current college baseball rankings, you would think that the University of Michigan was located somewhere in the south or southwest and that its baseball team has already won at least 20 games this year. Or at least that's the impression you would get from the company that the Wolverines keep in the ratings. ACCORDING TO THE latest poll by Collegiate Baseball magazine, 19 of the top 20 teams in the nation hail from either west of the Mississippi River or south of the Mason- Dixon line, and have won between eight and 28 games. The Wolverines are the exception, being from the cold north and having won only a few of their contests so far. Holding down the top spot on the list of the best is Arizona State, which is returning most of its team from last year's third-place tie with Michigan at the College World Series. The Sun Devils, currently 22-7 and in the run- ning for their second straight Pacific Ten title, are led by All-American centerfielder Oddibe McDowell, who is hitting at a .400 clip with four home runs and 25 RBI. Sophomore Doug Henry anchors the Arizona State pit- ching staff with a 6-1 record and a 1.63 ERA. The Sun Devils' competition in the Pac-10 will be Southern California, which is 19-6 and ranked seventh. Pre-season All-American fir- st baseman Mike McGuire paces the Trojans tops rankings with a .333 batting average. McGuire is also a finalist for the U.S. Olympic baseball team. ANOTHER TEAM from Southern Califor- nia - San Diego State - occupies the number two spot in the poll with a 25-4 record. Shor- tstop Salvio Alfaro (.393, eight homers, 22 RBI) and first baseman Terry Jones (.381, 31 RBI) provide the offensive punch for the Az- tecs while pitchers Phil Torres (4-0, 1.69 RBI) Bill Blount (3-0, 2.50) and Scott Kannenberg (4-0, 2.84) give them the edge on the mound in the Western Athletic Conference's Southern Division. Number-19 Hawaii (17-8) will also be in the thick of things in the Southern Division while eighth-ranked Brigham Young (8-6) is the team to beat in the WAC's Northern Division. Brigham Young has struggled somewhat this year, losing three straight to NAIA power Grand Canyon College. However the Cougars, who won last year's WAC title, are expected to bounce back. Of course, the defending national champion - Texas - can't be forgotten either. The third-ranked Longhorns (19-6), who relied on strong pitching last year to win the Southwest Conference and national crown, have lost most of their mound staff to graduation and the pros and have been forced to pitch three freshmen. BREATHING DOWN the Longhorns' necks in the Southwest Conference is number-five Rice. The Owls, who have never won a con- ference title, sport an impressive 21-1 mark behind the pitching of David Hinnricks (3-0),: Tim Englund (4-0) and Norman Charlton (4- 1). Defending Atlantic Coast conference champion North Carolina holds down the number-four slot with a 16-3 record. Scott Bankhead (5-0, 1.96 ERA), who was a third team All-American last season, and sophomore Roger Williams (6-3, 1.20 ERA) head up the Tar Heel pitching staff. All- American catcher B.J. Surhoff (.429, three home runs), outfielder Todd Wilkinson (.362, five home runs and third baseman Jeff Hub- bard (.366, two home runs) lead UNC's offen- se. Two more California teams, California- Santa Barbara (28-4) and Cal State-Fullerton (21-9) round out the top ten with the sixth and ninth rankings, respectively. Both clubs will do battle for the Southern California Baseball Association title. Santa Barbara relies on the arm of All-American pitcher Brad Kinney (6- 1, 1.97 ERA) and the bat of third baseman Bill Geivett (.484, 11 RBI), and Fullerton counts on pitchers Greg Matthews (6-1, 2.36 ERA) and Steve Rousey (6-0, 1.36 ERA). The remainder of the top twenty consists of last year's Big Eight champion, Oklahoma State (9-6), Oral Roberts (12-4), Alabama (9- 2), South Carolina (9-2), Mississippi State (8- 3), New Orleans (11-3), Stetson (11-3), Oklahoma (11-1) and Arkansas (12-2). 0 Daily Photo by JEFF SCHRIER Wolverine shortstop Barry Larkin pivots at second base to turn a double play against Eastern Michigan last season while the Hurons' Tony DeMarti tries to break up the twin killing. Le ty Wayne still right on target _m . By ROB POLLARD When Gary Wayne decided to turn down a contract offer from the Oakland Athletics organization last summer and opt for one more year of Michigan athletics, Michigan head coach Bud Middaugh and the rest of the Wolverines probably breathed a sigh of relief. Wayne figures to be a mainstay on the mound for Michigan this season, and the fact that he is the only ex- perienced left-handed starter, and one of only four seniors on the squad, makes his presence even more vital. THE 6-2, 175-pound Dearborn Heights native is coming off a successful 1983 season in which he pitched 70 innings, compiling a record of 7-2 and a sparkling earned run average of 1.81. He led the Big Ten with an ERA of 1.00 in league play, and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection. His strongest outing of 1983 was against Iowa in the opening game of the Big Ten tournament. Wayne started and pitched 813 innings of shutout ball, but wasn't around when Michigan scored in the bottom of the ninth to win, 1-0. If you get the idea that Wayne is stingy when -it comes to giving up runs, you're right. After the season the A's drafted the crafty lefty in the 23rd round. Had he not been bothered by arm trouble, Wayne might well be playing minor league ball in the Oakland organization right now. "I MIGHT have signed if I wasn't hurt," said the four-year letterman. "I wasn't throwing 100%. I wouldn't have gotten the kind of money I deserved. The 23rd rourid is pretty low. I think if I was strong I would have signed." Middaugh and company aren't the only ones who are glad their ace lefty bypassed the pros. Wayne considers himself fortunate to be back spending time in classrooms and libraries as well as ballparks. "I think it was a blessing in disguise that I was hurt, because now I'm glad I didn't sign. It's important that I earn my degree," said Wayne, a math major. "My education is very impor- tant to me." WAYNE HAS been an important part of Middaugh's pitching staff for the last three years. As a freshman he pitched 62 innings with a record of 6-2 and an ERA of 1.93. He was chosen to the All- Big Ten second team. Arm problems limited him to 41.3 innings during his sophomore year, but he still managed a record of 3-2 and an ERA of 1.74. If Wayne can avoid arm problems, 1984 figures to be a vintage year for him. The lanky lefty does not use gim- micks to get hitters out. He relies on three basic pitches: a fastball, cur- ve ball and change up. Tough, not ever- powering, Wayne manages to put a lit- tle something extra on the ball when necessary. "He has the capability of high velocity, mixed with a good curveball and changeup," said Middaugh. "He just knows how to pitch." Indeed Wayne's accomplishments would attest to his coach's praise. BUT WHILE Wayne baffled the Big Ten with his pitches last season, he was little more than a spectator in the College World Series. He appeared in only one game, pitching an inning and a third in relief in Michigan's 6-5 loss to Alabama. Nevertheless, he regards the two trips he made to Omaha (1981 and 83) with the Maize and Blue as high- points of his Michigan career. "It's a constant high to be able to think hey, we're one of the top teams in the country." According to the 21-year- old Wayne, Michigan could have won the whole tournament. "I think we were the best team out there (Omaha), and we could have won the whole thing, but things just didn't work out." ONE THING that has recently been worked out is Michigan's pitching staff. Wayne, along with righties Bill Shuta, Scott Kamieniecki and Casey Close, figure to form a solid starting rotation. "I think this year we have the capability of having the best staff since I've been here," said Wayne. "We have so many new arms. They'll make up for the loss of Rich (Stoll) and Dave (Kopf)." After the 1984 season Middaugh will be looking for new arms to offset the loss of Gary Wayne. Wayne has in- dicated he will sign with the A's after the conclusion of the season. For Michigan, this Wayne-out may be be more painful than bad weather. Spring Trip Hittin Name. Pos. Hal Morris, 1B..................................... Ken Hayward,1B.................................. RichBair.s.................................. Mike Watters, 2B-.............................. Casey Close, P-OF ............ Barry LarkinSS............................... Rob Huffman, OF ................................ Jeff Minick, OF .................................... C. J. Beshke, 2B............................ Mike Betz, C.................................. Kurt Zimmerman, OF-3B ......................... M att Siuda,3B..................................... Chuck Froning, DH ............................... Dan Teresa. IF............................... Chris GustOF .................................... Dan Disher, OF................................. Eric Sanders, C ................................. Randy W olfeC .................................... MICHIGAN.............. ................ Opponents ......................................... _-Pitch Name G CG ScottKamieniecki ..:......................2 G2 Ken Hayward ............................. 3 0 Dave Karasinski.......................... :3 0 Gary Wayne...............................3 0 Jerry Wolf ................................ 1 0 Paul Kasper .............................. 1 9 Jon W ood.................................. 3 0 Bill Shuta ................................. 2 0 Casey Close ...............................:3 0 Kevin Gl -es-.............................. D~an Disher ............................... 3 0 Paul Wenson............................I 0 M att Rudd ................................. 1 0 MICHIGAN .............................. 10 1 Opponents .................................10 5 Statistics G AB R H 2B-3B-HR SB BB R 6 10 0 s 2-0-0 0 0 10 29 7 14 1-1-3 0 6 1 19 35 2 14 3-0-0 0 2 10 32 19 12 2-1-1 1 6 10 30 10 11 1-0-3 1 3 5 18 4 6 1-0-0 3 1 8 11 6 3 1-0-0 1 1 8 24 4 6 2-0-2 0 2 5 9 2 2 1-0-0 0 5 3 5 0 1 1-0-0 900 8 16 5 3 0-0-2 1 6 9 28 1 5 1-0-0 0 2 8 13 0 2 0-0-0 0 1 4 9 4 1 1-0-0 1 3 6 9 1 1 0-0-0 0 1 8 4 1 0 0-0-0 1 1 3 2 0 0 0-0-0 9 0 2 2 0 0 0-0-0 0 0 RBI AVG. 1 .500 14 .483 5 .400 5 .375 8 .367 1 .333 1 .278 5 .250 1 .222 2 .200 3 .188 1 .179 2 .154 0 .111 0 .111 0 .000 0 .000 0 .000 6 10 286 57 86 10 285 82 85 17-2-11 9 40 49 .301 16-5-8 11 62 78 .298 ling SAV 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 W-L 2-0 0-1 0-2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-2 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 IP 14.7 3.0 6.3 10.3 3.3 3.3 4.0- 9.3 8.0 2.0 2.7 0.3 0.0 BB 2 6 6 3 10 10 4 4 3 0. so 13 2 6 10 6 4 3 6 5 0 0 0 ERA 2.45 3.00 5.69 7.84 8.10 8.10 9.00 10.61 11.25 13.50 23.83 27.00 90 Wa/vn e ...will sign after season 191 March 27 ..... GRAND VALLEY (DH) March 3 ,..... -at Miami (Ohio) (DH) Mareh31....,..at Miami (Ohio) (DH) April1..... . at Bowling Green (DH) April 4., WESTERN MICHIGAN (DH) April 7 ..;....... ..at Detroit (DH) April 8,. EASTERN MICHIGAN (DH) Aprl ,10 .,............ WAYNE STATE April 11 ...... SIENA HEIGHTS (DH) April 14 .... ..at Indiana(DH)* April 15. .... ,. at Indiaa(PH)* 84 Michigan Baseball Schedule 2 2 3-7 67.3 62 56 8.29 7-3 72 40 51 6.50 April17...... .FERRIS STATE (DH) April18 ....CLEVELAND STATE (D1 at 2:30 p.m.) April 19 .CLEVELAND STATE (DH) April 22.............. AQUINAS (DH) April 28 ....,.....OHIO STATE (DH)*r April29........OHIO STATE (DH)* May .........,....,. ADRIAN (DH) May 2.... .. ....,TOLEDO (DHi) May 5 ...,... MICHIGAN STATE (DH)* May 6 ........ at Michigan State (DH)* May8.........WAYNESTATE (DH) May 9 ...... at Eastern Michigan (DH) May 12,..............,at Purdue (DH)* May 13............ ,at Purdut (DH)* May 17-19 ..,.......... Big Ten Playoffs (at West Champion) HOME GAMES at Fisher Stadium Doubleheaders (DH ) start at 1:00 p.m. Single games start at 3:00 p.m. *Big Ten East conference games Trip Results March 16 ............................. ......................... Central Michigan 9. MICHIGAN 8 M arch 17..................................................................M ICHIGAN 7. Bradley 6 M arch 19 ......................................................... .....Bradley 10, M ICHIGAN 9 March 20 ............................................................... MICHIGAN 5, Bradley 3 March 21 ...........................................................Pan American 12, MICHIGAN'S March 22.......................................... Maine 10, MICHIGAN 9: Miami 13, MICHIGAN 2 March 23........................................... Maine 6, MICHIGAN 3; Miami 11. MICHIGAN 2 March 24.......................................................... MICHIGAN 4, Pan American 2 THE NE WCOMERS: Siuda highlights rookie cropj r. .... - THE PITCHERS &(ATCHERS: Hurlers hope to regain control KAMIENIECKI KARASINSKI By ROB POLLARD At the start of the season pitching is the biggest question mark for every baseball manager. Who will be his depen- dable starters? Who will be able to come in and keep the game close in the middle innings? And perhaps most im- portantly-who will be the man to snuff out those late in- ning rallies? These questions have been floating through th6 mind of coach Bud Middaugh recently. According to Middaugh: "Pitching, as always is the key to the success of any team and is always the biggest question mark." ALTHOUGH the Wolverines lost two of their top starters from last season (Rich Stoll and Dave Kopf), they are returning three members of last year's starting rotation. The three are senior Gary Wayne and sophomores Scott Kamieniecki and Casey Close. Wayne is coming off a 7-2 year in which he led the Big Ten with an ERA of 1.00. He is the lone lefty starter on the team. Kamieniecki, a second-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers in 1982, is coming off a fine freshman campaign in which he posted a 5-1 record with an ERA of 2.84. His SHUTA BAIR building). He should do very well this year." Shuta may play a key role this year for the Wolverines. If he can overcome the control problems that have plagued him previously, he will give Michigan a solid fourth starter. Shuta got Michigan's first win of 1984-a 7- 6 triumph over Bradley, despite yielding six runs in less than five innings. MICHIGAN'S edition of Rollie Fingers may come in the form of Ken Hayward. Hayward doubles as the Wolverines' first baseman, which deprives him of the chance to warm up in the bullpen before strolling to the mound. Hayward earned his first collegiate save with two innings of scoreless relief in the win over Bradley. The two freshmen who will have a significant impact on the pitching staff are southpaws Dave Karasinski and Jon Wood. Boh will be used mainly in relief. Others who may toe the rubber during the course of the year are freshmen John Grettenberger, Paul Wenson, Paul Kasper, and junior Matt Ruud who sat out the '83 season due to arm trouble. The man behind the Michigan arms is senior catcher Rich Bair. A first-team All-Big Ten selection in '83 ,lair WOOD SIUDA By JOE EWING If there is one thing that all Michigan baseball players have in common, it's that at one time or another they're all rookies. Bill Freehan was a rookie once, as was Rick Leach, Lary Sorenson, Steve Howe, Barry Larkin and Matt Siuda. MATT SIUDA? Well, Siuda's name may not be as familiar as the others, but if all goes right for the freshman third baseman, some day his name might be as familiar as those former Michigan greats. According to Michgan coach Bud Middaugh, Siuda has the best chance of the 15 Wolverine newcomers to win a starting position on the nationally-ranked Michigan squad. "I WOULD think that in the freshman class the person with the most potential to start is Matt Siuda," said Middaugh. "I'm going to give him a shot at third; he has a lot of talent.'' But things could get tough down in the hot corner for the rookie from Muskegon who hit .591 during his senior year in high school and was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth round of the amateur draft last June. MORIS Huffman the nod in centerfield just before the spring trip. Huffman hit .440 last year while leading his Hamilton (Ohio) High School team to the state AAA title. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in June. Middaugh also has aspirations for two freshmen lefthand -pitchers, Dave Karasinski and Jon Wood. Karasinski was 12-0 with a 0.59 earned run average and 161 strikeouts last year at Utica High School. WOOD, meanwhile, was highly-recruited as a junior at Northside High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana but didn't pitch much in his senior because of a shoulder injury. Nonetheless he was still able to compile an impressive 32- 1 high school career record and looks like he will be ready for this year. Middaugh also likes what he sees in catcher Mike Betz and first baseman Hal Morris. Both will probably see playing time at their regular positions and in other roles. Betz hit .458 with four home runs in 24 games last season at Dearborn Edsel Ford. In addition, the rookie backstop cracked a bases-loaded double that brought in the winning run in a 5-3 victory over Bradley in his first collegiate at bat this spring. Morris also appears to be a fine hitter. While at Munster (Indiana) High School last year he hit at a .482 clip and I i