4 Page 10 -The Michigan Daily -Tuesday, March 31, 1987 MICHI ZAN BASEBALL 1987 Midda ugh reshapes batsmen PITCHERS AND CATCHERS: Armed for success By PETE STEINERT Michigan's 1987 baseball season should determine just how good a craftsman head coach Bud Middaugh is. Middaugh will attempt to take a young team and shape it into a squad that performance wise will resemble his teams of years past. The eighth-year coach has averaged 45 wins a season, captured five Big Ten titles, and led the Wolverines to four College World Series appearances. Last year's team won the Big Ten title and finished with a 47-12 record. Despite its success, however, it seems unlikely that Middaugh will build this year's club in the same mold. Several key hitters have departed, leaving him with some inexperience in the lineup. "You're going to have to be a little patient I think with this club," said Middaugh who will settle for nothing short of perfection. "I like this club, but trying to find the combination and trying to settle in there where we can get some experience is going to be difficult for a while." MIDD A UG H can no longer enjoy the luxury of hitting sluggers Casey Close and Hal Morris in the three-four spots in the batting order. Close graduated, and Morris left a year early to sign a pro contract. Last year the two finished one-two in the Big Ten batting race. Close won the conference batting championship, hitting .469. He also set new Michigan season marks in home runs (19) and runs batted in (72). For his accomplishments Baseball America named him Collegiate Player of the Year. Obviously, the Wolverines will miss players the caliber of Close and Morris. Somehow Middaugh must compensate for his lost firepower, and it appears he will do this through pitching and team speed. THE PITCHING staff, unlike the rest of the team, remains virtually intact from a year ago. Starters Mike Ignasiak, Jim Abbott, and Chris Lutz return along with reliever Greg Everson. The four combined for a 27-7 record in 1986 on a staff that finished second in the conference in By GREG MOLZON Many ingredients go into making a winning baseball team, but most managers will agree that there's one essential to becoming a champion-pitching. Michigan head coach Bud Middaugh agrees with this assessment. "It does every year. Look at all the other stats. Look at pitching and defense, that will show you the teams that will play for the championship," said Middaugh. PITCHING will be especially important for a Michigan squad this season that lost most of its offensive power from last year and also five pitchers that had a combined 17-4 record. However, the return of a solid nucleus and some promising freshmen should make pitching the strength of this year's team. Wolverine pitcher Mike Ignasiak said, "I think we have one of the best pitching staffs in the country." The pitching staff will be led by righthander Chris Lutz, who went 7-0 last season with a 2.52 ERA. Lutz was even more impressive in the Big Ten, going 4-0 with a 0.67 ERA and was named first team All- Big Ten. IGNASIAK and Jim Abbott also return as two more reliable starters. Ignasiak went 8-3 last season and has been very impressive early this year with a 2- 1 record and 1.86 ERA. Abbott, the team's top southpaw, went 6-2 in 1986 and has struggled a little this year,1-1, while concentrating on improving his mechanics. Greg Everson returns as an experienced arm out of the bullpen. The senior went 6-2 with a 1.79 ERA last year and will be an important factor on the staff. "He's a big key for us because he has the capability to come in and shut the1 door down, and he's also got the; experience behind him," said Middaugh. 4 Lutz ... top returnee While the returning pitchers provide a solid core, questions remain concerning who will complete the rotation. Freshman Mike Grimes has apparently won one spot by going 2-0 on the spring trip and Middaugh is hopeful that Jim Agemy will be able to return from injury to take another spot. Agemy missed all but three innings of 1986 with arm troubles and won't be available for at least another month, but the righthander went 10-0 in 1985 and his return could be a big plus for the Wolverines. CANDIDATES to round out the rotation include sophomore Dave Peralta and freshmen Chris Starr, Ross Powell, and Tim Lata. Catchers Darrin Campbell and Mike Gillette form an experienced platoon behind the plate and should be a big help to the young pitchers. The two sophomores are both excellent defensive players and combined for only six errors last year. While Middaugh will split playing time between the pair, hitting will decide who plays most and the competition between the two should bring out the best in each of them. 4 4 4 Daily Photo by JOHN MUNSON Eighth-year head coach Bud Middaugh needs a big year from his pitching staff if he is to win his sixth Big Ten title. team earned run average. Middaugh has also added freshmen. Mike Grimes and Ross Powell who have shown promise in early season action. Both have started as well as pitched in relief. MICHIGAN will rely on their talented arms to keep opponents' scores down. "Last year we were scoring 10 runs a game," said Steve Finken, the team's top returning hitter (.358). "This year we might score maybe four or five-maybe less than that. "I feel that our pitchers can shut 'em down to under four (runs), under three, especially when you get a good performance out of somebody." "The pitching staff has got to perform this year for us to be successful," Ignasiak said. "I think everyone on the team will admit that." THE WOLVERINES also admit that they will try to use their team speed to their advantage. Middaugh will keep his baserunners on the go by way of base stealing, hit and running, and bunting. "Maybe we can utilize some of the team speed that we have," Middaugh said. "We'll stop taking so many pitches and be a little more aggressive at the plate. "We're going to have to steal bases. We're going to have to take some chances. We're going to have to hit behind guys. Stuff like that we just have to do, and with a young club, we've just got to keep working at it and working at it." The ultimate question is can Michigan repeat as Big Ten champs? The answer will become clearer as the season wears on when Middaugh knows exactly what he has to work with. "I worry about Michigan, and I let everybody else worry about themselves," Middaugh said. "If we can get our players doing what they can do best and play to the best of their ability, then I know we're going to be in contention." "I think we'll be all right," Ignasiak said. "Bud gets it out of us one way or another...that's how he is." . w I T 4 Ignasiak beats out competition By GREG MOLZON When evaluating pitchers, there are certain qualities like speed and control that can be easily measured. However, what often separates the best pitchers from the average ones are the intangibles. One such intangible is competitiveness, and that is what has made Michigan pitcher Mike Ignasiak one of the winningest in Wolverine history. "He's just an unbelievable competitor," said head coach Bud Middaugh. Armed with a fastball clocked in the high-80s and three other pitches (slider, curve, and changeup) that he can throw with accuracy at any time, Ignasiak has moved into eighth place in the Michigan record books for career wins in only two seasons. ALTHOUGH the junior is blessed with some great pitching ability, he knows what has been the key to his success. "My competitiveness," Ignasiak said. "When I get out there it's a totally different world. It's just me and the catcher." Ignasiak is so intense that it has actually caused problems for him in the past. "If he has a problem, it's his temperament because he's so bulldogged," Middaugh said. "(That) is good, but you've got to keep it positive which he's done this year." In fact, Middaugh compared Ignasiak's fiery attitude to another pitcher in the state of Michigan. "His worst enemy is himself, which is true of any great pitcher. Just look at Jack Morris," said Middaugh. COMING TO the University of Michigan from Anchorville, Ignasiak wasted no time finding a spot in the Wolverine rotation his freshman season. He went 9-2 with a 3.43 ERA and won the Geoff Zahn Award as Michigan's top pitcher. In his sophomore campaign, Ignasiak said, "I didn't have a very good season." His ERA ballooned to 5.07, nevertheless, he led the team in wins at 8-3 and finished second on the staff in innings pitched and strikeouts. Through the first eleven games of this season, the righthander has been the Wolverines' best pitcher. He is 2-1 with one save and a 1.86 ERA in five appearances, both starting and relieving. HE FOUND perfection in the home opener as he dominated a helpless Grand Valley team. Ignasiak pitched four innings without allowing any runners to reach base or any hitters to hit the ball out of the infield. Although Middaugh took him out to work some other pitchers, the coach said, "He may have pitched a perfect game if I had let him. I think he's probably throwing as good as I've ever seen him throw right now." Michigan catcher Darrin Campbell said, "Most of the time, he's OUTFIELDERS: Ever-changing cast By SCOTT SHAFFER Just who are the starting outfielders? That's a tricky question, and it's almost impossible to get a short answer out of Wolverine head coach Bud Middaugh. "I don't believe in a set club. I believe in a guy that works hard in practice as well as in games. If they show me that kind of work, I'm going to get them in the lineup. So I'm not just looking for three outfielders," said Middaugh. Leftfielder Ed Woolwine pulled a groin muscle last week which complicates matters further. The junior is expected to be out of action for three weeks. Woolwine hit .343 last year, second best among returning players. "Eddie's just had the worst luck all year with injuries. If it's not one thing it's another. It's too bad this happened because we really need him a lot," said fellow outfielder Tom Brock. GIVEN MIDDAUGH'S philosophy and Woolwine's injury, the outfielders can all expect a chance to prove their ability. The one constant in Middaugh's outfield for now is Greg McMurtry. The freshman was the top draft choice of the Boston Red Sox last June but will roam centerfield for the Wolverines instead of in the minors. While playing flanker for the football team last fall, he had little . 1 q 4 Woolwine ... out for three weeks Steve Finken, the team's top returning hitter at . 358 will probably play the outfield more frequently when infielder Doug Kaiser returns from his hamstring injury. Middaugh has been playing Finken at second. BROCK SHOULD see considerable action in the outfield as well. Primarily a rightfielder, a nagging shoulder injury has limited the junior's throwing ability lately, causing him to play a few games at designated hitter. But the injury is minor and Brock, who hit .263 last year, expects little trouble from it any more. Sophomore Kourtney Thompson is one of the players that Middaugh uses in a system that Daily Photo by DARRIAN SMITH Michigan pitcher Mike Ignasiak's intense competitiveness has helped make him one of the Wolverines' top pitchers. shape, and things like that," said Ignasiak of his brother who was a Detroit Tiger pitcher in 1973.