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 MAGAZINE Fridays in The Daily 763-0379 ', . .:..~ You can . . . advertise your skills, 6 SOLUTIONS TO YOUR PROBLEM Use these numbers to call the Michigan Daily _ g , 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. DODGE GRADS HAVE MORE FUN! You need one more credit to graduate - a credit RATING! 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