4 Women's Tennis vs. Ohio University Today Track and Tennis Building Page 8 SPORTS Softball vs. Bowling Green Tomorrow Varsity Softball Diamond Tuesday, April 8, 1986 The Michigan Daily Gibson homers hammer Bosox (Continued from Page 1)' advantage. Morris pitched seven innings, allowing 12 hits and one walk, to get the win. Despite retiring the first two batters in the final four frames he worked, Morris did not have a one- two-three inning. Former Red Sox star Bill Campbell pitched the eighth for the Tigers, set- ting down the side on three groundball outs. LEFT-HANDER Willie Hernandez came in to face Boston's lefties in the ninth. The 1984 Cy Young Award Win- ner retired the three batters he faced, including a strike out of Rice to end the game. Hernandez earned the save. Gibson saved the day for the Tigers and 51,437 fans. The subject of a bit- ter off-season contract dispute, the former Michigan State star proved that his troubles are behind him. "He is the kind of guy who can start a rally," said Evans, "and he is the kind of guy to finish a rally, too." BOSTON'S Wade Boggs killed as many rallies as Gibson started or finished. Last year's American League batting champion went oh-for- five, including striking out his first three at bats. Boggs left the bases loaded with one "K," and a player at third with another. In a surprise move, Tiger manager Sparky Anderson started Darrell Evans, the 1985 AL home run champ, at first base. Anderson had said he would use Evans only as a designated hitter against right-handed pitchers. But the 38-year-old opened at first against Hurst, a left-hander. Hurst went four and two-thirds in- nings, allowing eight hits and four runs. Stewart took the loss in relief. It was a relief for both pitching staffs when the game ended. Together, the teams combined for six home runs, two triples, two doubles, and 15 singles. Collins and Larry Her- ndon had two hits apiece for the Tigers. Grand openings for Indians- and Reds BALTIMORE (AP) - Mel Hall, in- serted into the Cleveland line-up after Carmen Castillo pulled a leg muscle during pregame warmups, drove in two runs yesterday as the Indians defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 in their American League opener. Baltimore's Mike Flanagan, who missed the first half of the last season with a torn Achilles tendon, walked Brett Butler to open the game, Joe Carter doubled, and one out later, Butler scored on Andre Thornton's grounder to shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. Hall's double, following a one-out walk to Tony Bernazard, made it 2-0 in the second. Hall scored when rookie Andy Allanson singled and left fielder John Shelby bobbled the ball for an error. Flanagan was lifted in the third af- ter Julio Franco doubled and Thor- nton walked. Brook Jacoby's single off reliever Rich Bordi scored Franco and Thornton came home on Hall's fly ball to center field, widening the In- dian's lead to 5-0. Reds 7, Phillies 4 CINCANNATI (AP)-Eric Davis and Dave Parker rocked Steve Carlton with home runs yesterday to catapult the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League's traditional season openera Davis' three-run homer in the second inning helped Mario Soto sur- vive an erratic performance and earn his fourth consecutive opening-day victory. Carlton, a 41-year-old left-hander with 314 career wins, allowed nine hits and all seven Reds run in four-plus in- nings. The' loss dropped Carlton's opening-day record to 3-9. A crowd of 54,960 - Riverfront Stadium's largest regular-season crowd since the ballpark opened in 1970- enjoyed sunshine and tem- peratures in the low 70s. Brewers 5, White Sox 3 CHICAGO (AP) - Ernest Riles' two- run homer and a rooftop blast by Rob Deer powered the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-3 victory yesterday over Tom Seaver and the Chicago White Sox in their American League opener. Seaver, extending his own major- league record with his 16th opening- day start, lasted 5 1-3 innings before the opening-day crowd of 42,265. He was charged with seven hits and all five Milwaukee runs. He is 7-2 on opening day for his career, 1-1 with the White Sox. Teddy Higuera, a 15-game winner last year as a rookie, allowed seven hits, walked four and fanned five in seven innings. THE SPORTING VIEWS Gibson coos .. . .. from rawn to well done By JEFF RUSH DETROIT W HEN KIRK Gibson left Michigan State he was better known for his abilities on the gridiron than on the baseball diamond. "But his potential is incredible," said Tiger management. "He'll get by on raw talent alone." "Raw" was the word to describe him. The results of Gibson's early at- tempts to hit a 3-2 curveball were about as successful as Detroit Mayor Coleman Young's attempts to be cheered by yesterday's crowd. Both struck out. To help Gibson over his tension for wreaking havoc in the outfield, the Tigers dragged Hall of Fame outfielder Al Kaline out of the broadcast booth to coach Gibson. Before then, Kaline had been a vociferous critic of Gibson. Though Kaline spent no time in the minors, it became clear that he thought Gibson had shortchanged the farm system. Critics abounded. Original comparisons to Mickey Mantle were scoffed at when Gibson started slowly. Soon his critics were suggesting that Gib- son trade in his Detroit Tigers' uniform for a St. Louis Cardinals' uniform - of the National Football League Gibson himself reportedly considered joining the Cardinals, who owned his NFL rights. That would have been the biggest error of Gibson's career. Instead, Gibson decided to stay with the Tigers. Things in Detroit haven't been the same since. The 1981 Tiger team was the first Detroit team to vie for the pennant since 1972. There to lead the Tigers in their drive for the 1981 division title was Gibson. Nothing could stop Gibson in the second half of the strike season. The talked-about potential became reality as Gibson batted .375 in the second half on his way to a .328 average forthe season. Most importantly, he became the one the Tigers relied on in the clutch. In an important August game against the Yankees, Gibson came to the plate against reliever Ron Davis in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, two strikes and a man on, Gibson belted the ball into the upper deck of center field. Fans danced outside the stadium in hopes of a Tiger pennant. It was Gibson who led the Tigers to their championship in 1984, and it was appropriate that Gibson sealed the World Series win with two home runs. But after the 1985 season, Gibson had a fallout with Tigers' management. Gibson didn't want a contract for only three years, and did want more money. "I'll puke before I sign a three-year contract," said Gibson. Gibson finally did sign, albeit at the last minute. It is the loyal Detroit fans who should be sick at any thought of losing Gibson. Gibson has become the heart and soul of the Tigers, and his per- formance yesterday typifies his importance. And though he may not be pleased with the contract he signed, the Gib- son seen yesterday will continue with similar heroics. Gibson won't let unhappiness over his contract deteriorate his play. If anything, he is likely to play harder and show that one of the other teams should have picked him up when he was available. Don't thank Tigers' owner Tom Monaghan for signing Kirk Gibson. That was but a small part of what made yesterday's performance. Gibson could have glided through spring training and the season, million-a-year contract in hand. But he didn't, and he won't. Consider yesterday as sup- porting evidence. 14 Associated Press Kirk Gibson jumps for joy after hitting the yesterday's opener. His four-for-four, five Tigers to a 6-5 victory. first of his two homers in RBI performance led the Tartars' coach relishes playing Blue E By JEFF RUSH Uncle Bill never had it so good. The 1986 version of A Family Af- fair takes center stage at Ray Fisher Stadium this afternoon, and win or lose, Wayne State baseball coach Angelo Gust will be a happy man. IF DIVISION II Wayne State wins, Gust's satisfaction will come from the Tartars' creaming of the nationally- ranked Wolverines. If Michigan wins, Gust will take pride in the ac- complishment of Michigan outfielder Christ Gust-Angelo's son. "As a father I want to see him do well and as a coach' I want to see us win. So far he's got the upper hand," said the elder Gust. The Wolverines swept last year's three games between the two teams, winning 21-1, 11-2 and 11-3. Scores like that probably make Angelo wish he had a son on every team to which he loses. SINCE HE doesn't, he is making up for it by "adopting" members of the current Wolverine squad. The senior Gust has become acquainted with many of the Wolverines simply because they are teammates of his son. He also has coached several of the players in the Adray Summer League in Detroit. Among father Gust's favorites are the seniors who belong to the same class as Chris: Casey Close, Dan Disher and Kurt Zimmerman, to name a few. "That was an excellent freshman class four years ago," said Angelo. "The majority of the kids on the team I'm personally familiar with, and I think this is a very fine ball club." Indeed it is. After losing last Friday to last year's national champion Miami Hurricanes, the Wolverines came back to beat Miami Sunday, 7-5. Casey Close belted a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Hurricanes, who are now ranked second in the nation. BUT ANGELO doesn't want to spoil 'these boys. A Wayne State win would suit him fine. And this club might be able to pull it off. The Tartars started the season with eight wins in their first ten games, in- cluding an 11-7 win over Division I Dartmouth. First baseman Steve Toth and right fielder Brad Silverstein lead the offense. After weekend action against Saginaw Valley, Toth's average was still above .400 and Silverstein led the team with three homers. The two probably will occupy the third and fourth spots in the lineup. Though their numbers don't match those of Michigan's third and fourth hitters (Casey Close and Hal Morris), the Tartars have greatly outhit their op- ponents thus far. "WE'RE MORE or less gappers, really," said Tartar assistant coach Rich Kortkizko. "We don't rely on the long ball, but we score a lot of runs and rely on our pitchers to do well." The pitchers are led by fireballer Rich Wood. In Wood's first 18 and one- third innings, he collected three wins while striking out 30 and allowing only three earned runs. Coach Gust in- dicated that if Wood sees action against the Wolverines it will be in the relief role. "The key to beating Michigan is to make the plays. They put the ball in against you. We can defense that." said the elder Gust. "You really can't defense a home run," he said, obviously worried about Michigan's long ball ability. But you know he won't be too unhappy if the person coming home has the name "Gust" on the back of his uniform. 4 M'falls to Gophers, 7-2 From staff reports Yesterday's hero is today's goat. Casey Close committed two critical errors to help Minnesota to a 7-2 victory over Michigan last night at the Metrodome in Min- neapolis. After his heroics Sunday against Miami, Close could not catch up to two Dave Hentges' line drives in two different innings, leading to three unearned runs for Min- nesota. Close, however, was not the only culprit as the Wolverines had seven errors in all. Jim Abbott, had trouble as well. He was knocked out of the box in the fourth inning and was even- tually charged with four runs. Daily Photo by SCOTT LITUCHY Michigan's Kurt Zimmerman slides into second in a late March contest against Grand Valley State. Zimmerman is no stranger to the coach of the Wolverine's next opponent, Wayne State. Tartar coach Angelo Gust's son, Chris, plays with Zimmerman for Michigan. SPOR TS OF THE DAIL Y: rackster tandem stands out Ailing 'M' netters to battle with Ohio U By EMILY BRIDGHAM Running just a second shy of the Michigan' half-mile record, Omar Davidson's second leg in the two-mile relay earned the Wolverine track team a fourth-place finish in the Texas Relays Saturday. "When you talk about range, Omar's got to be one of the best quality runners in the country because he can run from the 300 to the 880. He blew everybody out today," said head coaci Jack Harvey. "He got the baton in third and gave it to Steverson about 20 yards in front." got some recognition because we held the lead for a leg-and-a-half or so," said Harvey. The race was the third time in three weeks the Wolverines have competed against the superior Southern teams and the results have been deflating, in seconds that is. The only other Wolverine in action Saturday was triple jump sensation Butch Starmack whose performance failed to qualify him for the finals. Starmack is presently five inches off the NCAA qualifying standard of 52-8. Women fare well time was 8:44.8. SUE SCHROEDER, another All-American, took fourth place in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:02. "I'm happy with what they (Schim- dt and Schroeder) did," said Henry. "But they will of course do better. "They both trained really hard and came through in the meet. I didn't think they'd do better because of how hard they trained last week. Since this was our first meet, my goal wasn't for them to be at their peak, but rather to just be competitive." for improvement. DOUGLASVOLAN Golfers place tenth The Michigan's men golf team had a frustrating weekend, finishing tenth in a fifteen team field at the Purdue, Inivitational. However, the Wolverines were' without two of their top players, Chris Westfall (ankle) and Scott Chipokas (sore back). Michigan was lead by senior cap- tain Peter Savarino and freshman Hersh Patel. Savarino shot 221 and Patel 226 over the three-round tour- By ERIC MAXSON Still fighting nagging injuries and coming off weekend losses to powers Miami of Ohio and Northwestern, the Michigan women's tennis team faces off this afternoon against Ohio University at the Track and Tennis Building. Ohio, of the Mid-American Con- ference, isn't expected to give the Wolverines too many problems. However, this will be the first outside to play Ohio, filling the sixth singles slot. Wise also will team with Leslie Mackey in second doubles. Doubles, a trouble spot all year for the Wolverines, is especially nettlesome considering the recent injuries. Paula Reichert and Erin Ashare, the only doubles team to pull out a victory over the weekend, will play in the first spot. Monica Borcherts and Susie Patlovich will round out the lineup,j