0 Poge 8 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 24, 1986 CHIG B SEB L 1986 Batsmen shoot to uphold rich traditions By ADAM OCHLIS When some athletic programs rebuild, it takes a couple of years and many long days at the ballpark suffering loss after loss in order to recapture the glory of the past. For this year's Michigan baseball team, the word rebuild is not in its dictionary. The Wolverines would rather look at it as a "resh- aping" and after posting a 7-2 record down in Florida, including the championship in the Rollins Baseball Week Tournament, Michigan is well on its way to keeping up the baseball tradition that has been so outstanding over the years. GONEFROMlast season's 55-10 team, perhaps the best in Michigan coach Bud Middaugh's six-year reign, are a host of superstars. Two-time All- American Barry Larkin, who set a school record with 66 RBI's, and Mike Waters, the home run leader, both passed up their senior season to sign pro contracts. Seniors lost to graduation include career hitting leader Ken Hayward, Big Ten batting champ Randy Wolfe, and two-year starting baseman C.J. Beshke. While the entire pitching staff returns, Michigan will have to replace eight of ten regulars as only Casey Close and Matt Siuda return. A hard order to fill? Don't tell the Wolverines that. "I think the team is really looking forward to win-X ning the Big Ten Championship," said Close, who also said it was dissapointing not to capture the crown last year. "I think we're looking beyond thatP as well. We really feel we have a good shot at makingr it to Omaha (site of the College World Series)." IF THE Wolverines do make it to Omaha in late May it would be Michigan's eighth appearance since 1953. But Michigan baseball extends further back than when hair was greased back and Elvis was the King. Since baseball's inception at Michigan in 1891, no Wolverine coach (there have been 15 of them) has a winning percentage below .579 (George Caldwell went 11-8 in 1894). Since 1900, Michigan holds a 37-4 advantage over opponents in which the two teams have played at least 10 games. And during the '80s, when the players are supposedly bigger, stronger and faster, and recruiting becomes more difficult, the Wolverines have won better than 75 percent of their games and they have captured four Big Ten championships and five consecutive regular season titles in the Big Ten's East Division. No one, however will take immediate credit for the Wolverines success over the years. The players cite great facilities and Coach Middaugh. Middaugh cites the players and Michigan Athletic Director Don Canham. "THE KEYS are that we have great facilities in com- parison to the other places around the. Midwest," said Close. "Unless a kid is going to go south or west to play, you cannot beat the program here, facilty-wise, it's plain and simple. It's the best program in the country." The senior outfielder is also quick to point out how invaluable Middaugh is. "He's got a lot to do with our success. He's been, able to get a lot for our program, whether it be:: uniforms or more bats," he said. "We, by far, have the most equipment of anyone in the country, and, there is no team that is treated as well as we are." -4 "THE REASON we're successful in baseball during my tenure is Don Canham," said Middaugh, who spent 12 years in Oxford, Ohio coaching at Miami University where he compiled a 356-173 record before coming to Michigan in 1980. "Here's an athletic director that allows me to do the things tha(, are necessary in the program. We have beautiful, facilities and they're always making improvements. He's not just looking at a football and basketball* program, he's looking at other programs as well. "And the type of players we get, I wouldn't trade} them for anybody. They're good kids and they've got:, their priorities straightened out." So, as today's doubleheader against Grand Valley marks the real beginning of this baseball season, a, different Michigan team will take the field in an at- tempt to create their own history. Replacing the number of players Michigan has lost from last year, and the quality they possessed may be hard for most teams, but for the Wolverines it's no big deal. > "I don't feel we'll ever have a losing record here'. just because of the way (Middaugh) prepares hisA teams each year. . . there's just no way I can foresee 'q a losing record at the University of Michigan," said, Close. FIRST BASEMAN PLAYS FOR TEAM: Morris holds batsmen together r By JON HARTMANN Togetherness is a word Michigan's baseball team uses often to describe the cohesion of its groups of rookies and veterans. Togetherness is rooming with three of your teammates. Seniors Casey Close, Kurt Zimmer- man, and Eric Sanders live together in Barry Larkin's old house. TOGETHERNESS is perhaps the word that most effectively describes Hal Morris, the junior from Munster, Ind. who will bat cleanup and start for the Wolverines at first base. While platooning with All-American Ken Hayward last year, Morris ran up some impressive statistics. In just 95 at-bats, he recorded 10 home runs, the eighth best total in Michigan history, and 36 RBIs. His .421 season average is Michigan's four- th best all-time. And Morris broke the Michigan slugging percentage record with an .863 mark. Despite these accomplishments, Morris is not chasing personal goals. "If I play well, that's great," he said. But what I would like would be to see the team do well." ONE AREA IN which Morris says the Wolverines are doing well is coaching, par- ticularly with their inexperienced infield. "I think assistant coach (Danny) Hall and coach Middaugh have done a real good job with us," he said. "We've turned out double plays a lot better because they've really worked on that." When Morris came to Michigan, he was not a flawless defensive player. "My freshman year, my throwing was really erratic," he said. "But I think I've improved a lot since I've been here and I think it's due to my coaching." Morris owns a lifetime .993 fielding percentage, going errorless in 81 chances two years ago and making just two errors in his 199 chances last season. He can remember both mistakes. "ON ONE OF them, the webbing broke in my glove as I was catching the ball and it went through. So I didn't like that. "The other one was against the University of Detroit. The guy hit a line drive and it just popped out of my glove, which I didn't really mind. What the coaches teach you is to make sure the ball goes above your glove, to stay underneath the ball." Head coach Bud Middaugh has been impressed with Morris' ability to handle throws to first. "I don't think there's any infielder that's afraid to let it go, knowing that if a ball goes in the dirt, Hal's got a good shot at picking it out," he said. "So they turn it loose. It gives the infielders confidence knowing he's over there." MORRIS GAINED some confidence playing for Harwich in the Cape Cod (Mass.) League last sum- mer. "We played with wood out there, and I think it was really beneficial, getting that experience," he said. Of course, he was not alone in the Cape Cod League. Michigan outfielder Chris Gust and pit- cher-outfielder Dan Disher were on a competing club, and Casey Close played alongside him. "It was the same situation (with Close) as we have now," Morris said. "He hit third and I hit fourth, so I kind of got used to doing that." MIDDAUGH also enjoys the Close-Morris con- bination. "That's helped Casey, the fact that he's had Morris hitting behind him," he said. "Morris has jumped right into the four-hole, and he's taking tremendous responsibility there, and he's rea done a good job." Morris was not informed that he was a starter un- til Michigan's Spring Trip opener on March 7. Buit he has responded, finishing the trip with a .525 average, three homers, and 21 RBIs. All three totals were second only to Close's. Close and Morris are the nucleus of the Wolverines offense, but they are also part of the "unique togetherness thing" that Middaugh has mentioned. "I think the team's getting really close," said Morris. "We're pretty loose, and that's the way we should play."4 Morris has some appreciation of the art 6f' coaching, having taught at the Michigan baseball camp. "I think you can really influence those kids," he said. "When you get a chance to coach, it helps you appreciate what your coaches are trying to teach you." Sounds like a man who has his act together. Daily Photo by DAN HABIB Hal Morris, Michigan's cleanup hitting first baseman, tosses the ball to the pitcher covering first for a putout. Morris had only two errors last year in 199 chances for a.9 90 fielding percentage. INFIELDERS: Concrete at the corners, By JEFF RUSH OUTFIELDERS: Seniors lead outfield Great baseball teams usually have strong individual players up the middle of the field. Such teams as the 1927 Yankees, the 1961 Yankees and the 1984 Tigers all started experienced, talented players at cat- cher, second base, shortstop and center field. The good news about the 1986 Wolverines' infield is that first baseman Hal Morris and third baseman Matt Siuda are both ex- perienced and talented. The bad news is that while the infielders up the middle may be talented, they aren't very experienced. AT SECOND base, sophomore Steve Finken missed all of the 1985 season after breaking his leg. And Jim Durham is a freshman. On the other side of the bag, Doug Kaiser and Billy St. Peter are both freshman, and sophomore Jeff Kiel saw little action last season. "You're literally putting a lot of new faces out there," said coach Bud Middaugh. "As a result we try to get a lot of people ready to play and we just let them go in there and play themselves in or out. We're going to be flipping some people there for awhile." NOBODY WILL be flipping first baseman Hal Morris. In addition to his being a solid 6-3, the junior's bat and glove are among the best on the team. He hit .421 last season to place third on the team in that category, and slugged .863 to break the team record. But it's Morris' glove that his teammates talk about. With his size, not too many balls escape Morris' reach. And that reach is nearly flawless, allowingonly two errors in two seasons. "I have a lot of confidence in Hal," says fellow infielder Finken. "Even if you do throw on in the dirt I have confidence that he'll pick it: up plus he's got a wingspan that is pretty big. You can throw the ball anywhere in the area and he'll probably get it." The story on Siuda is much the same at third. "He's just a great, great third baseman," said outfielder Casey Close. "He's got great hands and he's proven himself defensively for three years (two seasons and this year's practices)." SIUDA HIT .321 last year, but struggled on this season's spring trip. After 32 at-bats, Siuda is hitting only .219. "He's going to have to show a little more punch at the plate," said Middaugh. An individual who did show punch at the plate during the spring trip is freshman Billy St. Peter. The fifth-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds batted .281 while playing in all nine games. Those nine games may be his only collegiate experience, but he certainly isn't lacking talent. Sharing time at shortstop will be Jeff Kiel, who was the team's shor- By JON HARTMANN When you talk about the Michigan -outfield, you have to talk seniority. Four candidates for a starting position are in the final year of their Michigan careers, and all have impressive credentials. Chris Gust, Michigan's leadoff hitter, was an injury-plagued pinch runner for his first two years. But last season he clutch-hit his way to a second-place finish (.474) in the Big Ten batting race. This spring, he played his way into the lineup by hitting .438 and stealing four bases in as many attempts. Gust will play left and center field. THE PLAYER who will move Gust from center to left is Dan Disher, "as fine a defensive player as you'll find in the country," according to Michigan head coach Bud Middaugh. Disher led the team with 11 steals in 12 attempts last season while hitting .319 with 15 RBIs. But Disher's pitching duties will prevent him from playing full-time out- field. Casey Close's offensive prowess is so well documented that it needs no further comment. He has been hitting the cover off the ball all spring. And, in addition to his hitting talents, he is the anchor of the team, the most vocally supportive of Michigan's outfielders. Completing the outfield's Big Four is Kurt Zimmerman, another clutch hitter who had 13 two-hit games last season and received the 1984 Big Ten Tournament MVP for an eight-for-13 performance. Zim- merman the number-two hitter in the Wolverine lineup, describes himself as a team player. "MY ROLE IS primarily to execute, to make the hit and run and to advance the runner in scoring position," he said. Zimmerman will play left, but move to designated hitter when Disher is in the outfield. Not a senior, but still a man with experience is sophomore Eddie Woolwine, who hit .339 and stole five bases in his first season at Michigan. This spring, Woolwine DH'd and collected a team-best four sacrifices. Woolwine may hit in the number five position. KOURTNEY THOMPSON is another newcomer who could see some playing time. Thompson comes straight from four years of baseball at Detroit Northwestern, where he played in a Michigan-Illinois all-star game with Michigan teammates Mike Gillette, Jim Abbott, Bill St. Peter, and Sean LaFountaine. Middaugh figures Thompson could add some impetus offensively." Middaugh is attempting to rotate his rookie outfielders in with the veterans. He describes it as a season-long process. "The first few games," he said, "they may not stick out but they're getting some playing time, so if someone goes down, we hope we have someone ready to jump in. It's important to have that flexibility earlier in the year. Morris ... big wingspan Gust ... leads off with gusto &wig I _ti