Softball
vs. Western Michigan
Today, 3 p.m.
Varsity Softball Diamond
SPORTS
University Golf Course
Open to the Public
Tomorrow
The Michigan Daily Tuesday, April 1, 1986 Page 7
SOFTBALL TO VIE FOR BIG TEN TITLE
Pitchers anchor team...
By SCOTT SHAFFER
The softball team will take the Varsity Diamond field
for the first time in 11 months today when they play a
doubleheader with Western Michigan.
In those 11 months, the team has undergone major
changes. Five seniors are gone from last year's
Wolverines, a team that compiled a 28-20 record and
finished second in the Big Ten.
THE TWO players who will be missed the most are first
baseman Mena Reyman and shortstop Lisa Panetta. Both
Reyman and Panetta ended their careers ranked in the
top five in many of Michigan's offenseive categories.
With these two gone, head coach Carol Hutchins will
juggle her lineup in an attempt to regain some of the lost
offensive punch. "I have so many possible lineups and I'm
going to play whoever's hitting the ball well," said Hut-
chins.
Much of the lineup will also depend upon each particular
day's starting battery. "Half of our team are pitchers and
catchers, so our lineup will change from day to day," said
Hutchins.
WITH LESS of a scoring attack than last year, Hutchins
plans to play it conservatively on offense and rely on her
pitching staff to win games. While Lisa Ishikawa of defen-
ding Big Ten champion Northwestern is the league's best
pitcher, Hutchins strongly believes that "we have the
strongest pitching staff in the Big Ten."
The pitching is led by Vicki Morrow (15-5, 1.08 ERA last
year) and Michelle Bolster (8-9, 2.44). "Michelle has im-
proved tremendously from last year," says Hutchins.
Pitchers Julie Clark and Mari Foster will also see a
significant amount of work. "Most Big Ten schools really
only have one strong pitcher," said Clark. "Here we have
two powerhouses in Vicki and Michelle and two finesse
pitchers, myself and Mari."
HUTCHINS WILL use Clark and Foster in relief roles as
changes of pace to Morrow and Bolster. "When they start
to figure out our speed, I'll use Julie or Mari to throw off
their timing," said Hutchins.
The two will also get occasional starts to keep Morrow
and Bolster rested for the big games.
After the starting pitcher is set, the rest of the starting
nine will begin to take shape. Morrow will play first when
not pitching; otherwise Martha Rogers will move over
from second to play first.
Also assured of a position in the batting order is Alicia
Seegert. Seegert hit .337 last season, fifth best in the
league. Although primarily a catcher last year, she will
share the third base job with April Bagley in addition to
her backstop duties.
The key to the Wolverines' success in the Big Ten this
year is the ability of the freshmen to step in and con-
tribute. Hutchins used this year's spring trip to California
and Ohio to get the rookies' feet wet. The team did post an
11-4 mark, but Hutchins is still uneasy about the fresh-
men's status.
"Freshmen are freshmen all year no matter what. I
tried to use the trip as a freshman initiation, but 15
preseason games aren't enough to overcome the rude
awakening from high school."
Hutchins played at least two and sometimes all six
freshman in every game. She listed Pam Wright as the
most impressive of the newcomers. "Pam's been outstan-
ding offensively. She's fast, smart, and gets on."
*Cards lop
Duke for
tite,72m69
DALLAS (AP) - Freshman Pervis
Ellison scored 25 points, including
four in the last 41 seconds last night,
as No. 7 Louisville beat top-ranked
SDuke 72-69 to win its second NCAA
Sbasketballchampionship in six years.
Louisville, although hounded by
R Duke's pesky guards Johnny Dawkins
x and Tommy Amaker, grabbed the
' lead for good at 66-65 on Billy Thom-
''' pson's jump shot with 2:47 remaining.
Ellison, who had 11 rebounds, grab-
bed Jeff Hall's missed shot and put it
in with 41 seconds left for a 68-65 ad-
vantage. Then he snared a rebound
after a missed shot by Duke's David
z?.Henderson and was fouled. He made
two foul shots with 27 seconds
ypremaining.
Johnny Dawkins of Duke turned the
opening 20 minutes into a personal
showcase, scoring 15 points to help the
Blue Devils take a 37-34 halftime lead
over Louisville.
The 6-foot-2 senior guard outscored.
the entire Cardinal team 11-8 in the
first 4:08 of the game, including seven
consecutive points in a 42-second span
on a pair of jumpers, a lay-in off a
Louisville turnover and a free throw.
Associated Press' Louisville kept itself out of the lead
Duke's Tommy Amaker (front) lunges for the loose ball as Herbert Crook with 14 turnovers to nine for Duke in
of Louisville loses his balance in first half action in the NCAA champion- the first half and the Blue Devils also
ship game last night. Louisville won, 72-69. had eight steals to Louisville's four.
Morrow, leads way
By LISA CHERNEV
Dwight Gooden throws a blazing.
fastball. Mario Soto, a tricky change
up. And Charlie Hough a dancing
knuckleball. Vicki Morrow, the sof-
tball team's pitching ace, can throw
all of these pitches-plus five more.
Most softball hurlers throw four pit-
ches, the fast ball, change-up, rise
ball and drop ball. Morrow's reper-
toire reads longer than War and
Peace. It includes an off-speed drop, a
curve ball, a knuckle ball, and a screw,
ball. "You don't see that in too many
pitchers," said head coach Carol Hut-
chins, of the Wolverine's "Most Out-
standing Pitcher" for 1985. "That's
what makes her such a great pitcher.
Not only can she throw them, but she
has control. She can throw a strike
when she has to."
THE JUNIOR right hander started
pitching in the second grade after her
elementary school coach told her she
didn't have enough control and she'd
never make it as a pitcher. "I guess it
gave me incentive," said Morrow,
who uses a windmill motion.
Morrow has since made a home of
the mound. She is 5-1 so far this
season, and already has two no-hitters
and a perfect 0.00 earned run
average. The Wolverines are 11-4, and
ranked number 15 in the country.
This success on the mound is nothing
new to the Waterford native. she
grabbed All-State honors in her junior
and senior years at Pontiac Catholic
High School, and her senior year she
led them to the Class C state cham-
pionship. In her two years in high
school she pitched 16 no-hitters.
MORROW'S abilities aren't limited
to the mound, either. When not pit-
ching, she sometimes starts at first
base. "Her tremendous bat keeps her
in the lineup," said Hutchins. Before
last weekend's series, Morrow was
batting .500 in the number three spot.
According to second baseman Nan
Payne, Morrow has no trouble with
playing first base. "She never seems
nervous. She's always under control
and confident and she always knows
what to do in every situation."
That comes from outside experience.
"No one taught me," Morrow said. "I
learned by watching others and
listening, and by doing it."
THE BULK of her experience
comes from playing for the Budweiser
Bells, in Parsippany, N.J. during the
summer who play in the Major Fast
Pitch League. "It's the closest thing
to pros (of which there are none),"
said Morrow.
She was discovered during a
Michigan game against Ohio State.
"The umpire was from New Jersey.
She gave me the number of who to
contact (from the Bells) and they flew
me out for a tryout."
Respect for Morrow is spreading
around the Big Ten as quickly as
chicken pox among third graders.
Sharon Drysdale, head coach of def-
ending Big Ten champ Northwestern
said, "Morrow did an excellent job
against us last year and she'll only be
better after one more year."
There hardly seems room for im-
provement. Last year she had three
wins against the Wildcasts, and she
allowed only one unearned run in 23
innings. "She was very well prepared.
She threw well and didn't let the poor
weather conditions affect her," said
Drysdale.
The Wolverines finished in second
place last year, behind Northwestern.
With Northwestern's loss of some
key players to graduation, the
Wolverines are looking to fill the slot
at the top of the Big Ten. "Our biggest
problem is we usually play down to
our opponents," Morrow said. "If we
can get over that, we can do well."
THE SPORTING VIEWS
t1
Armed and ready...
...Royals to rule roost
By ADAM SCHEFTER
Surprise, surprise. The Kansas City
Royals will win the 'not so wild'
American League West. But this time
the road to the division title includes
many obstacles. The obstacles could
spring out of anywhere - from Min-
nesota, to Seattle, to even Oakland -
and any one of these possible sleepers
has the potential to dethrone 'the
Royalty'. Here are the teams in order
or their finishes.
KANSAS CITY - They say that pit-
ching is 90 percent of the game. Such
is not the case for the Royals. It's 99
percent with the other one percent
being attributed to third baseman
George Brett. Their starting five con-
stitutes perhaps the best staff in the
American League. Bret Saberhagen
(20-6, 2.87 ERA) will be hard pressed
to repeat last year's performance.
But Charlie Liebrandt, Danny
Jackson, Bud Black, and Mike Gubic-
za will be thereto pick up the slack if
Saberhagen falters, and Dan Quisen-
berry is still one of baseball's premier
relivevers. The offense is at best,
weak.
Last year they were the second-
worst hitting team in the American
League (.252), and only hapless Texas
scored fewer runs. Take away Brett's
.335, 30 HR, and 112 RBI's and the of-
fense is punchless. Nevertheless, this
problem will be overcome as the
Royals will dominate the division. Oh
yes, and Buddy Biancalana will con-
tinue his assault on Pete Rose's all-
time hit record.
MINNESOTA - Yes, that's right.
The Twins will challenge for the title.
With a pitching staff that includes
Bert Blyleven, Frank Viola, Mike
Smithson and John Butcher, and with
such young superstars as Kirby
Puckett, Tom Brunansky, and Kent
Hrbek, it would be hard not to.
Trading Tim Teufel to the Mets leaves
a void at second base, but the hope is
that Steve Lombardozzi (.370 in 28
games last year) can step in. If Lom-
bardozzi can team with shortstop
Greg Gagne to form a solid defense up
the middle, the Twins could go from
the middle of the division straight to
the top.
SEATTLE - Last year the
Mariners finished with a 74-86 record
even though eight pitchers sat out
with injuries at various times. This
year, they are the darkhorse pick in
this division. They have an excellent
starting lineup including third-
baseman Jim Presslev (.275. 28 HR.
84 RBI's) and outfielder Phil Bradley
(.300, 26 HR, 88.. RBI's), and prize
prospects in second-year outfielder
Ivan Calderon (.286, 8 HR, 28 RBI's in
just 67 games) and rookie shor-
tstop/second baseman Danny Tar-
tabull (.300, 43 HR, 109 RBI's in Triple
A).
If the pitching stays healthy this
year, and newly acquired catcher
Steve Yeager can provide leadership,
the Mariners just may catch everyone
else by surprise.
OAKLAND - Jose Canesco sums it
up in Oakland. If he can put the num-
bers on the board that he did in the
minors (.327, 41 HR, 140 RBI's), the
A's will receive a jolt in the arm. Even
more waves will be created by the bay
with Joaquin "McEnroe" Andujar,
who brings his fastball, temper, and
winning ways to Oakland. A big key
will be whether Micky Tettleton can
step in and take over the catching
duties left by Mike Heath.
CHICAGO - If the White Sox fail to
make news on the field you can bet
that new general manager Ken
Harrelson will keep them in the the
news with his antics off the field.
Already he has hired an attitude
coach to teach the club "how to win."
To get results on the field, they'll have
to shore up the infield. Newly
acquired Wayne Tolleson will help.
Also, Carlton Fisk must be able to
make the adjustment from behind the
plate to left field, and the starting pit-
ching, minus Britt Burns, must have a
big year. (One wonders if the at-
titude coach can teach the team all of
that).
CALIFORNIA - This hodgepodge
team will manage to win some games,
a tribute to manager Gene Mauch's
uncanny ability to make more with
less. He did the same thing last year
and the Angels finished only one game
behind the eventual World Cham-
pions. However, it's one year later
and such oldtimers as Bob Boone,
Reggie Jackson, Doug DeCinces,
Bobby Grich, and George Hendrick
are one year older. This team would
have cleaned up five years ago.
TEXAS - They have a great young
manager in Bobby Valentine, a solid
prospect in outfielder Pete Incaviglia
(48HR, 143 RBI's in 75 games at
Oklahoma State), and a lock on last
place.
Tomorrow: NL East
WEEKEND
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Daily Photo by PETE ROSS
Michigan softball pitcher Vicki Morrow backhands one at practice
yesterday. The Wolverine workhorse has hurled two no-hitters and has
yet to allow an earned run in six decisions this season.
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