4 Baseball vs. Northwestern Tomorrow, 1:00 p.m. Ray Fisher Stadium SPORTS' Softball vs. Akron Tomorrow, 3:00 p.m. Varsity Diamond The Michigan Daily Friday, March 31, 1989 'M'batters at Wildcats up next for baseball team BY STEVEN COHEN This weekend, the Michigan baseball team opens its Big Ten season with consecutive doubleheaders against Northwestern Saturday and Sunday at FiSher Stadium. Michigan,13-6, faces a team in Northwestern, 5-13-1, which seems headed in an opposite direction. The Wildcats finished tied for eighth in the conference last year while Michigan finished first. Their pitching has been woeful, striking out only 87 and yielding 135 walks in 133 innings. In contrast, Michigan's pitchers have struck out 133 batters and walked 87, in 148 2/3 innings. Michigan coach Bud Middaugh tentatively expects his starters to be Mike Grimes (2-1, 6.38 ERA) Ross Powell (1-0, 4.83,) Tim Lata (3-0, 0.87) Russ Brock (2-1, 4.86) and Jeff Tanderys (1-0, 2.45). The Wildcat pitching has been a bane to head coach Paul Stevens. "Right now, I don't have any complaints with our position players," Stevens said. "If we can get our pitching going I think a lot of good things will happen." Michigan should make it difficult for Wildcat starters Dave Van Winkle (7.14 ERA), Todd Krueger (7.71), Jim Robinson (11.91), and Tom Borgula (13:19) to decrease their considerable ERAs. Third baseman Doug Kaiser, who has been ailed by a shoulder injury, leads Michigan with a . 567 on base percentage. Phil Price, Greg Haeger, Matt Morse, Dave Everly, and Andy Fairman are all over .400. In addition, centerfielder Jim Durham, with eight steals in nine attempts, should create some action if the basepaths are flooded. Wildcat first baseman Chris Beacom, who last season hit a team-leading .365, has slumped to .230 this season. Shortstop Tim Buhe leads North- western in hitting, batting .333 including four doubles and five homers. Second baseman Todd Frese, a .298 hitter last season, is not expected to play due to injury. Despite the many factors in his teams' favor, Michigan coach Bud Middaugh is reluctant to pass judgement on Northwestern or his own squad. "At this point you really can't make judgments. All teams are contenders( in the Big Ten). Last year they played us awfully tough but you don't know how many people they're returning. We've had some good and bad moments. I think we're improving.f "Some players who were playing well don't play as well because you'reA probably going to see better competition. Some players who haven't been Michigan rightfi playing as well might play better. We'll have to wait and see." Saturday's win o home Page 10, for weekend am Akron on deck for Blue softball team t BY PETER ZELLEN The Michigan softball team, 20-6, will play the University of Akron tomorrow, but the game may not be as easy as it might seem. "They're (Michigan) an outstanding ballclub, but we're going after them," Akron coach Jill Arrietta said. A lot of people haven't heard of Akron but their well regarded in the softball world. The team is 11-8, but is ranked fourth in the Mideast region. The ranking system for softball works in the following manner: there are seven regions in the country, and each lists their top five teams. Those 35$ are then voted on by the committee as to who will be in the top 20. I Akron did not make the top 20 but remains one of the top 35 in thei country due to their regional ranking. Arrietta has taken the softball program a long way in its seven years of existance. The team started the 1983 season in Division II and had experienced much success. Then in 1987 the team joined Division I play and now Akron will playx its first season in the Northstar conference. Previously the team had always been independant. Akron's fiesty style of play is equal to their attitude towards improving- their standing in the softball community. "We play a bunt and run kind of game," Arrietta said. "We move the runners around a lot and we like to make the defenses make mistakes." The squad has no real stars but has a solid nucleus of players. Their pitching staff is led by senior Teresa Parker. The lefthander from Ohio has a record of 5-3 and sports an earned run average of 1.40. She should start thp first game against the Wolverines. The hitting is led by another senior, Kim Fausnight. She is currently, hitting .246 but in 61 at bats she has four triples and six runs batted in, Fausnight is a solid defensive player who patrolls rightfield and center. Because a victory against eighth-ranked Michigan would mean a chance to jump into the top 20, the Wolverines know that Akron will bedp, emotionally propelled. "They're going to be all pumped up to play us," said Michigan pitcher- thirdbaseman Jenny Allard. "It would make their season to beat us." A "Akron's a good program and they've got a good coach," Michigan coach, Carol Hutchins said. "They've got some good kids and I'd look for this te be a good series." Arrieta thinks so too. "Any time they're (a ranked team) in striking di.- tance, you have to go for them," said the Akron coach. "We can't be takep lightly." ROBIN LOZNAK/Ooily' elder Phil Price rounds third base during last over Eastern Michigan University. Blue splits pair with Western BY JAY MOSES The Michigan baseball team tried its best Wednesday to reenact "How the West Was Won." There were only two problems. The matchup took place only as far west as Kalamazoo, and the Wolverines only took one of two games from Western Michigan. The Broncos won the opener,10-4, despite committing six errors, and Michigan took the nightcap, 4-3, in eight innings. In the first game, Western Michigan (9-4-1) beat up on three Wolverine pitchers. Sophomore left-hander Kirt Ojala was the starter and loser. First- year player Eric Persinger also saw action, but he had a difficult outing, giving up six earned runs in only 1 and 2/3 innings. Sophomore Dave Everly led the attack, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Matt Morse also contributed, going 2-for-4. In the second game, Russell Brock started on the mound for the Wolverines, going five innings. The win went to junior Mike Grimes (2-1), who went 2 1/3 innings, giving up one run and striking out four. "It looks like Grimes has been throwing real well," head coach Bud Middaugh said. Michigan had to scratch and claw for almost all of its runs. This state of affairs was helped by the Broncos' shaky defense and the Wolverines' hustle. This was evident in the second game, when the Wolverines scored the winning run in the eighth inning. Everly walked, stole second, and scored on a Texas-league pop-up by first-year catcher Mike Matheny. The University of Michigan . School of Business Administration Black Business Students Association presents WMets are mu chi too 73w tpg good for NL East he Sortna vews+ th S~rtia VIWS theSD~tiI BY ANDREW GOTTESMAN Ok, every time I write about baseball, tons of people get mad because of my, well, slight New York biases. So this time, I'm not going to tell you how good the Mets are or by how much they're going to- win their division. Except for one thing - the NL East will be a New York Feast. Now that I've said that, we can discuss^ who will follow the Let's Goes, and you can't scream at me. ALSO, I don't really want to scrutinize the strengths and weak- nesses of each team in predicting NEED ADVICE IN CHOOSING YOUR CLASSES?? GET ADVICE!!'! Free Guide to Student Evaluating on Professors and Classes AVAILABLE AT MASON HALL, ANGELL HALL, UGLI, & DORMS NL EAST what place they'll come in. If you're not first, like the Mets are going to be, there really isn't any reason to belabor the fact, is there? The Pirates seem to be the popular favorite to unseat the Mets. Uh-uh. No-way. Nope. Won't hap- pen. Not in a million years. Can't be done. Yeah, right. Maybe in your dreams. Well, not this season, anyway... What the Bucs did has to be one of the stupidest off-the-field moves ever. In getting rid of general manager Syd Thrift, they lost the man who engineered their rise from the cellar to prominence. And what do they do? Force him out and replace him with Larry Doughty. That would be like firing Steve PALESTINE SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE Invites Interested applicants to pick up applications for the 1989 Delegation to the Occupied Territories -available at the MSA Office, PSC Office (4203 Michigan Union), and at The Michigan Daily -deadline for pick up Tuesday April 5, 1989 -for further information call 665-9620 Fisher and rehiring Bill Frieder as coach of the Michigan basketball team. Oh, and don't forget that the Mets (just imagine that you're not actually reading this right now) beat Pittsburgh 12 out of 18 last year. And thank heavens the Phillies are in this division. Their starting rotation won 19 games all last season. (I won't mention at this juncture that the Mets pitching staff this season is once again the best, featuring David Cone, Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez and Bob Ojeda. The five won 77 games in 1988.) AND THEN there's the Chicago Cubs. Now here's a team I really like. They play in a great, old stadium in the middle of a baseball city. There aren't parking lots surrounding Wrigley, no retractable domes over its top (too bad they ruined the whole ambience by playing in a spring training complex called HoHo-Kam Park. For God sakes, that sounds as if it should be in my home state of New Jersey.) Unfortunately, they seem to be completely in the dark about playing baseball. Oh, they are. It's too bad they had to put those lights in. Now the Cubs don't even have tradition to go with mediocrity. Well, maybe a losing tradition. Not to mention (and I won't) the fact that the Cubs only home run hitter will be Andre Dawson while those New Yorkers sport Kevin McReynolds: (27 HR, 99 RBI's), Darryl Straw-+ berry (39, 101) and Howard Johnson' (24, 68). And who knows what; Gregg Jefferies can do in a whole: season? The Expos play in Olympic: Stadium, now fully equipped with a retractable dome. That's a fitting name, since this is a team that: might (and I stress might ) have a chance against the Canadian national: team in the next Olympics. The' Canadian national hockey team, that is. Now don't tell me how Montreal: is perennially close. I've already said: that second through fifth places don't: count for anything.; And what kind of name is the- Expos ? What are they exposing,: how terrible they are? Besides, they: wear red, white and blue. Those: colors should be reserved for real: American teams, like the Mets. (Sorry, short mental lapse.) I'm going to tell you right out -t no sugar coating - I hate the: Cardinals. They play on that' ridiculous artificial turf with track stars (possibly from the Expos Olympic team?), not baseball players. I really wouldn't care if the entire team got run over by the Clydesdales on one of Augie Busch's jaunts around the outfield. 4 Enough said. I hope all of those readers from anywhere west of the Hudson aren't' offended. Well, yes I do. Let's Go Mets! I, Looking Ahead, Looking Anew The Challenges for Black Managers In the Nineties "The Challenges for Senior Managers" Steven Lewis Ford Motor Company "The Challenges for Middle Managers" Charlene Watler Dow Jones & Company "The Challenges for Entrepreneurs" Loren Monroe Pierce, Monroe, & Associates, Inc. CLASSIFIED ADS! Call 764-0557 Chick Corea Digs Eclipse You Can Too Eclipse has presented Jazz legends such as Ella, Miles, Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, Art Blakely, Modern Jazz 4