The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 5, 1985 - Page 7C

Wolverines miss series
despite powerful offense

"' h . ;f:;.
.. .4
v :
G. :T1.

' .
" ''

Daiy Photo by DAN HABIB
Second baseman C.J. Beshke was nailed at the plate in Michigan's Big Ten playoff loss to Ohio State at Ray
Fisher Stadium last spring. The Wolverines will lose Beshke but return a solid nucleus for the 1986 campaign.
MORROW, PANETTA KEY SECOND-PLACE FINISH:,
Softballers couldn't kill twin bill

By DAVE ARETHA
The 1985 Wolverine baseball
team failed to reach the
College World Series for only the
second time in coach Bud Mid-
daugh's six years at Michigan. But
don't be mislead. This was perhaps
the most awesome team in the 120-
year history of Michigan baseball.
The 1983 team was an explosive one,
having racked up more hit records
than the Beatles. Yet those guys were
a bunch of ping hitters compared to
the 1985 squad.
THE '83 Wolverines set school
marks with a .332 batting average, 7.1
runs per game and 51 homers. Pretty
impressive, until you compare the
numbers to those of the 1985 team:
.362 average, 8.9 runs per game and
(get this) 108 homeruns.
Also, the defense consumed
baseballs at a .976 clip, one of the top
marks in the country. And the pit-
ching staff, with its 4.51 ERA, gave up
less than half as many runs as the of-
fense scored.
It all added up to 55 wins, five more
than ever before. The Wolverines
lossed about as often as the Harlem
Globetrotters; their 55-10 record in-
cluded a 16-0 start, a 24-game winning
streak, and, at one point, a number-
three national ranking.
MICHIGAN may have gone to
Omaha for the World Series too if its
ace pitcher hadn't blown his shoulder
in mid-season.
Junior Scott Kamieniecki won his
first eight starts before being shelved
for the rest of the year.
With Kamieniecki gone, Michigan's
inexperienced pitching staff fell short
in the playoffs. The Wolverines
finished a surprising third in the Big
Ten playoffs and second in the tough
South I Regional at Mississippi State.
The pitchers yielded 69 runs in eight
post-season games.
MIDDAUGH admitted that the loss
of Kamieniecki could have cost
Michigan a trip to Omaha.
"I think we would have had a much
better chance with him. He's one of
the most premier pitchers around.
Certainly, with him being hurt, I don't
think we would have made the trip to
Mississippi State. We would have won
the tournament here (and thus would
have hosted their own regional)."
With Kamieniecki injured,
Michigan's top two starters became
freshmen - Jim Agemy and Mike
Ignasiak. Agemy fireballed his way to
the best record in school history (10-
0), while Ignasiak used finesse to
achieve a 9-2 record and a team-
leading 3.43 ERA.
BUT WITH the offense pounding the
horsehide out of the ball, the pitchers
often didn't need to pitch well to notch
a victory. (Witness Dave Karasinski's
8-1 record and 7.31 ERA).
Outfielder Mike Watters, who hit
just. 290 with two homers in 1984,
blossomed to hit .417 while also tying a
school record with 17 homeruns. He
also set school marks in hits (91), runs
(81), triples (10), stolen bases (20
and total bases (172).
Senior C.J. Beshke hadn't homere
since his first as a freshman. But i
'85, he cleared the fences seven times
batted .361 and committed just si
errors at second base.
Shortstop Barry Larkin, with hi
team record 66 RBIs and his Tram
mellesque defensive play, was name
Big Ten MVP for the second year in
row. And first baseman Ken Haywar

proved to be Michigan's all-time King
of Swing. He set career records in
nine of 12 offensive categories, in-
cluding batting (.376), homeruns (33)
and RBIs (207).
Hayward, Beshke and semi-
regulars Randy Wolfe (catcher) and
Jeff Minick (outfield) are the only
graduating seniors on the team.
Larkin and Watters, however, may
decide to go pro. If so, outfielder
Casey Close (.388, 16 HRs), first
baseman Hal Morris (team record

.863 slugging percentage), catcher
Eric Sanders (.429) and thir4
baseman Matt Siuda (.321) will. lie
relied on to swing the heavy metal.;
Perhaps the most important news.of,
all is the entire mound corps wil)
return in '86. That's important;
because, as Michigan proved in '85, asr
team just can't slug its way to ,the
World Series - even if it hits .362 and-
wins 24 games in a row. f +

By BRAD MORGAN
Led by shortstop lisa Panetta at the
plate and right-hander Vicki Morrow
on the mound, the women's softball
team concluded its season last May
10-11 by splitting a four-game series
with Minnesota to finish 16-8 in the Big
Ten and 28-20 overall.
The 16-8 mark was good enough for
second place in the conference, four
games behind the Northwestern Wild-
cats. The Wolverines had won three-
of-four .games from Northwestern
early in the season, and first-year

terrible, but good, and we just never
got there. We were definitely an up and
down team, and Minnesota is a good
example of that. We played like the
Big Ten champs the first day (6-2 and
2-0 wins), and the next day, we were a
different team (3-0 and 10-6 losses).
The team's inconsistency certainly
didn't rub off on Panetta or Morrow.
Panetta, a senior out of St. Clair
Shores, set season and career marks
for triples, and earned first-team All-
Big Ten honors, hitting .369 in con-
ference play (.367 overall). Panetta
also tied for the team lead in stolen
bases with 14 and tied for second with
17 RBI.
Hutchins praised Panetta, and said
her numbers were a slight surprise to
the coaching staff.
"SHE JUST exploded this year,"
exclaimed Hutchins. "We knew she
was a good player, but she just played
out of her mind. She was really a team
inspiration."
Morrow, a second-team All-Big Ten
selection last year as a freshman,
duplicated that feat this year by going
12-3 in the conference with a 0.96 ERA.
Overall, she finished 15-5 and was
named Michigan's Most Valuable
Pitcher at the team's banquet.
"Vicki Morrow and Lisa Panetta
were the biggest factors in our
second-place finish," said Hutchings.
"When the going got tough this year,
(Morrow) got tough. Last year, she
tended to fall apart as the going got
tough."
TWO WOLVERINES who found the
going a little tough last year were
freshmen Michele Bolster and
Bridget Venturi. Both newcomers
were expected to contribute, but
Bolster, a pitcher, and Venturi, a
third baseman, were victims of
"freshmanitis", according to Hut-
chins.
"It's hard for those freshmen to
come right in out of high school," ex-
plained Hutchins. "Third base is a
tough way to break in for Bridget, but
we know she'll come back and turn it
around, she was just a little bit scared
out there.
"With Michele, we know it's the
same thing, and we know she'll learn
from it and bounce back. We're not

worried about them at all."
Besides Morrow and Panetta, Mena
Reyman and Alicia Seegert were also
named to the second All-Big Ten
squad, and rookie coach Hutchins was
rewarded for her efforts by being
named Big Ten coach of the year.
Reyman and Mary Bitkoski were
named to the first-team Academic
All-Big Ten squad.
At the team banquet, additional
awards were given. Panetta was
named Most Valuable Player, Martha
Rogers was named Rookie of the
Year, and Bitkowski took home the
Maize and Blue Award for leadership.

Venturi
... a case of "freshmanitis"
head coach Carol Hutchins was upset
her team finished behind the Wild-
cats.
"I HAVE to say that we were
shooting for the top," said Hutchins,
who served as 'M' assistant coach for
two years before taking over the top
spot. "After we knocked off North-
western the first weekend, we were a
little disappointed we didn't win it.
"I can't say I'm not happy with
second because I am, but still, second,
isn't good enough."
Throughout the Big Ten season, an
inability to sweep doubleheaders
proved to be the Wolverines downfall.
Of the 12 league twinbills, Michigan
could manage no better than a split in
six of them. Hutchins said the team
just never seemed to find a good
groove.
WE STRIVED to be consistently
good every day, not great and not

Take
Advantage
of Our..

Hutchins
... "second isn't good enough"

RUSHs

SIP [

LIST COURSE NUMBER
DEPARTMENT INSTRUCTOR COURSE NO SECTION NO
E-eT / / 7

BEST BIKE SERVICE IN TOWN
ONE DAY (24 hr.) REPAIR

Simple as 1-2-3
1. Just till it out.
2. Hand it to one of
our clerks.
I rii \/ n k nlro .Il k^

V',p


BEST PARTS PRICES




i

I