Hockey Men's Basketball vs. Notre Dame vs. Northwestern Tonight, Tomorrow and Sunday,'7 p.m. Tomorrow, 1 p.m. Yost Ice Arena Crisler Arena Michigan Daily Friday, , Page 11 4 'M' hitters hope bad luck ends in trio of games against LSU Cagers to close Big Ten season ft ,} by Michael Rosenberg Daily Baseball Writer When God gave out luck, Michigan baseball coach Bill Freehan overslept. After suffering four one-run losses in their first 13 games, Free- han's Wolverines travel to usually balmy Baton Rouge, La., which is expecting rain and 40-degree. weather for the weekend. Michigan (3-10) is scheduled to play Louisiana State (7-3 going into last night's game against Central Michigan) to- day, tomorrow and Sunday. "We may have to play a double- header Saturday if it rains," LSU coach Skip Bertman said. Part of the reason the Wolverines can't catch a break is that they have trouble catching the ball. "We have been working on our fielding," Freehan said. "We are always looking to improve in that area." The team's inept fielding will put more pressure on the pitching staff. Ron Hollis (0-2, 5.21 era), Heath Murray (2-1, 3.57) and Eric Heintschel -(0-2, 5.19) will take the mound for the Wolverines. Hollis, Murray and Heintschel will face an LSU lineup which fea- tures three All-Americans, including second baseman Todd Walker, who is hitting .310 with three home runs and 17 RBI. Walker was touted as a preseason favorite for the Dick Howser Award, given annually to college baseball's best player. Grand Rapids native Harry Berrios (.368-2-12) and Russ Johnson (.368-2-9) combine with Walker to give the Tigers a formidable lineup. "We have a team that is capable of playing very well," Bertman said of LSU, which was a consensus preseason No. 1 but has struggled in losses to Lamar, Mississippi and Mississippi State. "It's too early to tell if we can contend for (the na- tional title). You've got to wait until April to make that judgment." LSU will pitch three righties against Michigan - Bret Laxton (2- 0, 1.06), Matt Chamberlain (1-1, 4.11) and Scott Schultz (1-1, 4.86). Bertman did not exactly change his rotation for the matchup with Michigan. When asked what he knows about the Wolverines, Bertman re- sponded, "Well, they're in Ann Arbor. Other than that I don't know much." Bertman's lack of knowledge does not translate to a lack of confidence. "We always expect to do well at home," he said. Michigan catcher Scott Winter- lee, the team's 1992 MVP, will re- turn to the team after sitting out several games with a sprained wrist. Winterlee will join a lineup which already includes sophomore outfielder Rodney Goble (.407, 4 stolen bases), senior outfielder Pat Maloney (.344, 2 HR) and sopho- more Scott Niemec (2 HR, a team- high 22 RBI). "You would think that the younger guys would be most intimi- dated (by perennial power LSU)," Freehan said. "But some of our un- derclassmen have really performed well for us against Oklahoma, Mi- ami (Fla.), and Florida, who are al- ways very good." One problem for the Wolverines could be strikeouts. Michigan batters have whiffed 112 times in 13 games, and the Tigers' pitching staff aver- ages almost one strikeout per inning. vs. Wildcats by Andy De Korte Daily Basketball Writer No one can eat just one. In the Michigan Wolverines' case, they have had 17 of the Big Ten variety and 29 overall. Tomorrow, Northwestern will be the last potato chip in a bag of 30 before the big enchilada - the NCAA tournament - starts next Thursday. If you think Michigan has victo- ries over every Big Ten team this season except Indiana, you are wrong. Because of the inclusion of Penn State in the Big Ten, Michigan plays Northwestern t6- morrow for the first - and only - time this season. Since last season's NCAA championship loss to Duke, a return ticket has been the focus of the Michigan squad. Side dishes of avenging the Duke setback or the Big Ten crown would have been welcome additions to the Wolverine palate, but nothing will taste as sweet as a National Championship. One loss to Duke and two to Indiana left the Wolverines shoot- ing for a No. 1 seed - the best in- gredient in a recipe for a title hunt. A Wolverine win will probably se- cure a top spot. Despite the Wildcats' ninth- place position in the Big Ten, Michigan has seen the best in its opponents, both ranked and un- ranked. "We've taken a lot of good ef- forts that have been red-letter games for a lot of people and for the most part we've responded fairly well," Michigan coach Steve Fisher said. "We're hoping we can win against Northwestern at home on Saturday and have a long run in the tournament." If a team with a 3-15 conference record can be said to be on a roll, Northwestern coach Bill Foster would say it about his. "It will be a wrap-up game for us and obviously we want to play as well as can," Foster said. "Our last four or five games have been our best this year." By winning two of their last four games, 62-59, at Purdue, and 100-89, against Wisconsin, the Wildcats broke several frustrating streaks. The victory at Purdue ended a six-year, 60-game Big Ten road losing streak in addition to be- ing the first win against the Boilermakers since 1982-83, Northwestern's NIT season. The three-win tally in the conference represents the Wildcats' highest total since 1983-84. Still, it is difficult to imagine Foster maintaining optimism about playing No. 3 Michigan. "We were ahead at halftime there last year, and here it was four or five late in the game," Foster said. "We have to play as well as we can for 40 minutes because of the devastating way they score points." Northwestern is led by sopho- more forward Cedric Neloms and junior center Kevin Rankin, averaging 17 and 15.5 points, respectively. Rankin needs one point to gain sole possession of 12th place on Northwestern's all- time scoring list. The final difference could be the day of the game. Each of Northwestern's five conference wins over the past two seasons has come on a Saturday. "I T -ILLT i Steve Fisher lambastes a referee in Wednesday's overtime victory against Illinois. Michigan hosts Northwestern tomorrow in its final Big Ten game. Northwestern at Michigan Time: 1 p.m. EST. Place: Crister Arena TV: Raycom Probable starting lineups Northwestern (8-18, 3-14) Michigan ( Charles Howell, 6-10, Sr. F Chris Webbe Cedric Nelloms, 6-5, So. F Ray Jackson, Kevin Rankin, 6-11, Jr. C Juwan Howa Pat Baldwin, 6-1, Jr. G Jalen Rose, 6 Kip Kirkpatrick, 6-5, Jr. G Jimmy King, 1 r ,C r ? 6-i 13-3, 24-4) ,6-9, So. 8+6, So. d 6-9, So. 8, So. 5-5, So. .1 ' .. Michigan hockey looks to dispose of Notre Dame once and for all by Brett Forrest Daily Hockey Writer Leo Tolstoy did not author the script for the 1992-93 Notre Dame hockey season. However, when the Irish meet Michigan (23-5-2 CCHA, 27-5-3 overall) for a first-round CCHA playoff series this weekend at Yost Ice Arena, it may seem for them as if the final chapters of War. And Peace are being played out on the ice. Coach Ric Schafer's club finished the CCHA season with a 5- 23-2 record, losing to Michigan by scores of 5-1, 7-1 and 7-2. The Irish also played a fourth non-league game against the Wolverines in their first meeting of the season, losing 6- 1. Tonight's and tomorrow's contests will make it six times Notre Dame has had to play the No. 2 team in the country. And in the unlikely event that this best two-out-of-three series goes to a rubber match Sunday night, that number will reach seven. This makes for a difficult first year in the toughest league in college hockey. "We've played with Michigan; we competed our fair share in games," Schafer said. "But some- where along the line the bottom falls out. We want to stay close (tonight). To do that we need to play our best for the full 60 minutes because that's exactly what it takes." Notre Dame enters the game with scoring threats Jamie Ling (13 goals- 26 assists-39 points), Curtis Janicke (12-18-30) and Dave Bankoske (14- 15-29). Ling was recently named to the CCHA All-Rookie team and finished third in league scoring among rook- ies (12-22-34). Beyond these play- ers, though, the Irish lack the speed and size to stay with Michigan. "I expect them to go for a few home-run plays early on and throughout the series," Michigan goaltender Steve Shields said. "They have nothing to lose. They know their situation." For the Wolverines, this series represents the beginning of a post- season they hope will culminate once at Joe Louis Arena for the CCHA Championships and again at The Bradley Center in Milwaukee for the NCAA Championships. This weekend is important for Michigan to find a groove for the stretch run. "Each weekend builds on the previous one," captain David Har- lock said. "We're not going to be able to get away with a mediocre effort this weekend. We have to dominate every area of play." "It'll be a closer series than it looks on paper," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "We have to play with a lot of patience and do the things that have made us successful all year." Michigan enters the weekend as the obvious and overwhelming fa- vorite: Since the winter break, the .Wolverines are 14-2. In the same time period, they outscored their op- ponents 116-30 and had four double- digit scoring outputs. Schafer is well aware of the power and talent on the Michigan squad. "The end is near. There is no holding back - now more than ever," Schafer said. "There is no reason not to expend every ounce of energy. (Michigan) is the type of thing we'd like to become. We would like to have the confidence Michigan winger Cam Stewart shows a Kent State player why he is one of the most feared players in the CCHA. {;Y: 3 4' going into every game that Michigan has:" The Wolverines do have that confidence and are glad to finally be in the playoffs where games mean something again. They have a goal in mind. "The approach to the playoffs is much different from the regular season," Harlock said. "We have to put a good stand together in the weeks to come." "We know what we're playing for now," Berenson said, "to get td Joe Louis." Fine Films For March 12 and 13 From M-Flicks S The Verdict - 8:00 4 'N Corona f . ......... 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