The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 14,1992 - Page 11 MSoftball faces Spartans kr .......M' coach Hutchins' alm a mater may beeasy prey by Meg Beison Daily Sports Writer Looking to maintain the solid at- tack which resulted in a four-game sweep over Penn State this weekend, the Michigan softball team heads to East Lansing today for a double- header against the Spartans. This week marks the middle of the Big Ten season for the Wolverines (6-2 Big Ten, 19-15 overall) as they will play eight games in four days. Michigan will face Michigan State, non-conference opponent Western Michigan, and will round up the week with four games in Indiana. Michigan State finished seventh in the Big Ten last year with a 2-22 record, and has gotten off to a simi- lar start this year. It has recorded only one victory in eight conference contests and is 2-18 overall. Michigan downed the Spartans all four times last year, but encoun- tered some close games - 2-0, 3-0, and 6-4. Michigan was more con- vincing in the final matchup of the BASEBALL Continued from page 10 coach Ed Turek knows the team still has some improvements to make. "We're still working on the little things, the things we've been preaching all year long," Turek said. "I think we struggled a little bit against Minnesota, but overall the team is getting a lot better than they were at the beginning of the season." Helping in that improvement process is the return of the team's three football players from spring practice. With the Blue-White game complete, Nate Holdren, Pat Maloney, and Todd Collins can now focus their energies fully on the baseball side of their talents. "The football players have been struggling the last couple ofweeks because they haven't been able to play or practice with us too much," Turek said. "Nate got to play Sunday and he had a big home run for us. Pat's gonna help us defensively more than anything because he's a good defensive outfielder. I think once they get back into the swing of things, they'll be able to help us down the line." year winning, 12-5. "We are definitely capable of beating Michigan State, but softball is a funny game," Coach Carol Hutchins said. The Wolverines learned in the season opener against North-western that it is crucial to look past woeful played on the varsity softball and basketball teams. Hutchins has posted a 22-6 record against her alma mater in her eight years as head coach. "My team knows that I am as Blue as they come," Hutchins said. "I have great memories, but I'm a 'My team knows that I am as Blue as they come. I have great memories (from Michigan State), but I'm a Wolverine and I'm looking to kill the Spartans twice.' - Carol Hutchins Michigan softball coach records and past performances. Michigan's two conference losses this year came against the Wildcats who were fifth in the Big Ten last year with a 9-15 record. If the Wolverine-Spartan rivalry is not heated enough by itself, hav- ing Hutchins as a head coach only adds to the fire. Hut-chins graduated from Michigan State where she Wolverine and I'm looking to kill the Spartans twice." Although Hutchins admitted she has been known to sing the Spartan fight song every once in a while, she plans to treat the contest as she does all other conference games. "We need to be up for every in- ning," Hutchins said. "If we can maintain the enthusiasm, we'll be in good shape." ANI U . I lIUJ IVI. fYJl Michigan catcher Karla Kunnen bats in an earlier contest this season. The Wolverines travel to East Lansing today to face the Spartans who fell to Michigan four times last season. eTigers finally win, drop Indians, 7-5 CLEVELAND (AP) - Left fielder Albert Belle dropped Tony Phillips' fly ball with two outs in the ninth inning yesterday, allowing two runs to score and giving the Detroit Tigers their first victory of the sea- son; 7-5 over the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers' 0-6 start had matched their worst since they went 0-8 in *952. They also were 0-6 in 1959. With the score tied at 5 in the ninth, Detroit put runners at first and second against Rod Nichols (0-1) on a forceout by Milt Cuyler and Dan Gladden's fourth single of the day. Phillips then drove a ball to deep left that turned Belle sideways. It hit in and out of his glove for a two- base error, scoring both runners. Cleveland committed three errors in the inning. Mark Leiter (1-0) retired two bat- ters in the eighth for the win. Mike Henneman pitched the ninth for a save. Cleveland starter Dave Otto blew a two-run lead by giving up two home runs within a span of three pitches in the seventh inning. A three-run homer by Rob Deer put the Tigers ahead 3-2 - their first lead in any game this season - and Mark Carreon followed with another homer. Deer had missed the previous four games because of a stiff neck. Cecil Fielder's sacrifice fly off Nichols in the eighth made it 5-2, but the Indians tied it with three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Mark Whiten hit an RBI single and Brook Jacoby followed with a two-run double off reliever Les Lancaster. Cleveland scored a run off Frank Tanana in the second on Kenny Lofton's RBI forceout and another in the fourth on Mark Lewis' sacri- fice fly. -11 I Do You? I. .-a Our Advertising Campaian Promise RECORDs A Song For WE ARE A InkEeryEar! TICKET CENTER CAMEO (Above Good-Time Charley's) Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Ph: 663-5800 K___ms - Hours: m.-Thurs. a.m.-10 p.m. Fri .-Sat. 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