Softball vs Indiana (DH) Tomorrow, 3 p.m. Alumni Field SPORTS Baseball vs. Indiana (DH) Saturday and Sunday,1 p.m. Fisher Stadium TeMc ia DilyThrsa, Apri 1, 99 Pge11 AROUND THE HORN: Hitters can see light that signals progress by Michael Rosenberg Daily Baseball Writer One week ago, the Michigan Wolverines couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, they couldn't even see the tunnel. Somewhere along the line, the team's season had taken a wrong turn, and it was cruising along the baseball equivalent of a dirt road in rural North Dakota, losers of 10 contests in a row. Today, the Wolverines may not be on the road to success, but they are making progress. After the team's fifth straight win, coach Bill Freehan summed up the causes of the turnaround. "Our pitching's been better, and ... our offense (has turned) around ut we played good defense, too," Freehan said. Three simple steps to turning around your baseball team: improve your pitching, hitting and defense. Good teams find a way to win. Until this week, Michigan kept finding a way to lose. It was almost as if the Wolverines were doing whatever it took to lose. A costly error in the late innings? Done. Poor decisions in the field? No problem. Leave too many runners on base? Consider them left. But Michigan hasn't made those kind of mistakes since back when Reggie White was on the Eagles. These days, it's all good fielding, smart decisions, and opportunistic hitting. Take yesterday's first game, for example. Bottom of the seventh, score 'ied, bases loaded, one out. Michigan had two chances to win the game. The '!irst chance, in the form of Nate Holdren, struck out. But the next batter, Scott Weaver, stroked a rope down the rightfield line to win the game. Of course, as collegiate baseball powerhouses go, Penn State and Siena Heights aren't exactly national contenders. The Nittany Lions are Big Ten cellar-dwellers, and the Saints ... who knows? Siena Heights is a good name for a golf course, not a baseball team. But that's not the point. More important than the five straight victories - at this point, Michigan's won-loss record is so bad it is almost inconse- quential - are the people contributing. Sean Coston, who hit his first two collegiate home runs this week, is a *ophomore. Rodney Goble, the Wolverines' best hitter this season, is also a sophomore. In fact, only four of Michigan's starting position players and two of its top pitchers are seniors, and most are freshmen or sophomores. In other words, the team is young, and young teams take time to gel. "I think we're really starting to come together as a team," Coston said. "We're putting things together. I think the team is just really excited about turning around the season." The Wolverines have played well lately, but one week does not make a season. Michigan needs to continue the improvement it has shown in the past week. The road is long, but the Wolverines just may have enough good young players to take them to their ultimate destination: success. Men' s laxseeks fourth straght eagume cl ub title tr tOr . Blue on a roll with victories over Siena OUGLA S KULR E W' R After a poor start to the season, the Michigan baseball team is on a five- game winning streak, and much of the credit goes to improved pitching. BASEBALL NOTEBOOK basebalplayers honored byBig Ten by Antoine Pitts Daily Baseball Writer Good things come in twos as the Michigan baseball team found out again yesterday at Fisher Stadium. The Wolverines (11-24 overall) swept a doubleheader for the second time in a row, beating Siena Heights (14-31-1), 5-4 and 5-2. With the victories Michigan upped its winning streak to five games after losing 11 of its last 12 games. "Learning how to win was one of our problems," Michigan coach Bill Freehan said. "That certainly gives us confidence." Both games saw Michigan come from behind to win. In game one the Wolverines scored four runs in the last two innings to pull off the come- from-behind victory. Siena Heights held a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth. Back-to-back homers by Scott Winterlee and Nate Holdren tied the game at four. In the bottom of the seventh, Wolverine Rodney Goble advanced to third with one out. Siena Heights coach Gordie Theisen instructed his pitcher, Todd Boike (3-5), to put the next two batters on. The intentional walks loaded the bases and set up a force out at every base. Loading the bases meant Boike would have to face Holdren again with the game on the line. This time the matchup went to Boike. Holdren went down on strikes, after being ahead in the count 3-1, for the sec- ond out of the inning. Scott Weaver cane to the plate next and promptly singled down the right field line to score Goble with the winning run. The seventh- inning rally completed Michigan's come- back and earned the victory for Bryan Santo (1-0) in relief. "We haven't come from behind hardly at all - I don't know if ever this year," Freehan said. "Hopefully we can use that mindset to our advantage this weekend in the Big Ten games." Winterlee starred for the Wolverines with a 2-for-3 game. His homer knocked in two runs and con- tinued the hot streak that got him named Big Ten co-Player-of-the- Week. Brian Simmons and Matt Copp also went 2-for-3 for the Wolverines. Game two saw Siena Heights jump out to the early lead again. The Saints scored single runs in the sec- ond and third innings to give them hopes once again of their first vic- tory ever over the Wolverines. Coming into the .game, Michigan was a perfect 16-0 against the Saints. The two early runs were all Siena Heights would get off starter and eventual winner Matt Humbles (1- 4). Matt Ferullo came on for two scoreless innings and Todd Marion finished things off for his fifth save. The Michigan offense was held in check until the fifth inning by Saints pitcher Chris Foerg (0-4). With two outs the Wolverines scored all five of their runs on four hits and two errors. Singles by Copp, Winterlee and Holdren as well as two Siena Heights errors gave Michigan its first two runs. Sean Coston then stepped to the plate and put the Wolverines into the lead with a three-run homer to left- center. Coston's second homerun of the year gave Michigan the lead for good. The relievers blanked the Saints the rest of the way to secure the 5-2 victory. "I'm estatic I could get a pitch that I could drive really well," Coston said. "We needed that third run so I was looking to get a single. He laid a fast ball down low and I drove it. I was very happy that we could pull this one out." Another reason for the two victo- ries was the stellar defense by the Wolverines. They committed just one error in the two games and turned two double plays to help their cause. Siena Heights committed four errors in the second game, two alone by shortstop Glen Scheerer. The two 'We're putting things together in terms of we're starting to hit the ball and pitch the ball real well.' - Sean Coston Michigan baseball player errors by Scheerer did not do any harm, but the two Saints errors in the fifth may have cost them the game. The recent success of the pitching staff gives Michigan even more to smile about. Back-to-back shutouts against Penn State along with, yesterday's performances has Freehan beaming. "It was great to get a couple of shutouts to turn it around," Freehan said. "Ray Ricken pitched a real good game on Sunday and Eric Heintschel pitched a shutout." Michigan now focuses its atten- tion back onto the Big Ten race. At this point the Wolverines stand at 3- 9 in ninth place. With a big weekend against the Hoosiers, Michigan can put itself back into the race. "Last weekend (at Penn State) was a very big weekend for us and this one will be too," Freehan said. "We cannot afford a .500 weekend." The recent games have given the Wolverines a new outlook on the rest of their season. "I think we're really starting to come around as a team," Coston said. "We're putting things together in terms of we're starting to hit the ball and pitch the ball real well." To make the Big Ten postseason tournament the Wolverines must fin- ish in at least fourth. Michigan is currently three games out of fourth and with doubleheaders every week- end there is still a chance for the Wolverines to make up ground. by J.L. Rostam-Abadi Daily Sports Writer Trying to make three into four. That will be the motto for the Michigan men's lacrosse team as it attempts to win its fourth straight Big Ten Club Championship title at Northwestern this weekend. "We should win, comparing our- selves talent-wise with the other teams," junior midfielder Ivan Frank said. The general consensus of the team echoed Frank's thoughts. "Basically, everyone expects to win," junior defenseman Ben Hohmuth said. "If we don't, it will be real disappointing." But the Wolverines are trying not to speculate too much. "We need to stay focused and not take anything for granted," Frank said. "Our goal this year has been to play our best each game. If we do *that, then we will win the tourna- ment this weekend." However, in the, not-so-distant past lurks the haunting memory of the Pittsburgh Invitational, where, Michigan returned with two of its three losses for the season. "Pittsburgh was the biggest dis- appointment this season, and will hang over us. A win will enable us to finish the season on a high note," Frank said. The Wolverines expect two major obstacles in their path this weekend. "Madison and Purdue will be the most challenging," Hohmuth said. Michigan defeated Purdue, 16- 10, at the Big Ten Regionals March 27, but has yet to see Wisconsin's team this year. "We've played a bunch of the Big Ten teams and beat them all pretty well," freshman midfielder David Reichel said. "But they (other teams) could come back with much improved teams and better skills. Nothing's for sure." Last month, the Wolverines wound up with the first seed at the Big Ten Regionals at Purdue. By winning the Eastern regional, Michi- gan expects to be matched up with the eighth seed of the Western region. "We feel we're well prepared," freshman defenseman Scott Van Aman said. "We're happy with our seed, and we're looking forward to playing." Michigan has won the last four of five Big Ten club titles. Unfortu- nately, one major factor may interfere with the Wolverines' pursuit of victory. "We are going up very short- handed," Michigan coach Bob Di- Giovanni said. "In addition to about a half-dozen injuries - three or four of which included starters at one time or another - final exams and study schedules have knocked off three or four additional players. So, instead of 23 or 24, we're going to have only about 17 or 18 members making the trip. "This in itself makes it a real challenge to repeat this year," Di- Giovanni said. "We're going up without depth - a team needs to have depth. The lack of depth can end up hurting you." DiGiovanni expects the competition to step up its play against Michigan. "When you win as often as we do, everyone is out to get you. They seem to play their best games against you," he said. But the Wolverines are deter- mined to make their mark. "We feel confident that we can beat everybody who shows up," ju- nior co-captain Tony DiGiovanni; said. "We're really excited - these are the last games of the year. Con- fidence is our key to victory." by Bret Johnson Daily Baseball Writer Two Michigan baseball players were rewarded for their outstanding play last week by the Big Ten conference. Senior shortstop/catcher Scott Winterlee received recognition as co-Big Ten Player of the Week for his outstanding hitting. Winterlee was 4-4 in a loss to Eastern Michi- gan last Wednesday. This weekend, Winterlee had a 3-5 game and two 2-4 games against Penn State, help- ing the Wolverines win their first conference games of the season. With his performance,Winterlee raised his batting average to .326. The Pitcher-of-the-Week award was also shared by a Michigan player. Sophomore Ray Ricken picked up the honor after his 8-0 complete game shutout over the Nittany Lions. The victory stopped a nine-game Big Ten losing streak and was the team's first complete game shutout of the year. DPJA VU: The Michigan pitch- ing staff was seeing double at Penn State this weekend. Two starters threw the team's first two complete game shutouts of the season. Ricken won the second half of the doubleheader on Sunday, 8-0, rais- ing his record to 1-4. In the next game, Eric Heintschel (2-4) followed by hurling the second shutout of the season. What was the score? You guessed it: 8-0. IT'S ABOUT TIME: The two shutouts this weekend marked the first time this year the team had blanked its opponent in consecutive games. The Wolverines achieved this mark for the first time since 1989, when they pulled it off twice. HOMER BINGE: Michigan transfer Sean Coston came into this weekend's games at Penn State with no career home runs. However, in Monday's first game he hit one out to help the Wolverines to an 8-0 victory. Yesterday, Coston launched his second homer against Siena Heights. The three-run game-win- ning round-tripper capped off a five- run fifth in the 5-2 win. M*A*S*H CANCELLED: The Wolverines' version of a hospital ward grew significantly smaller this past weekend as both Nate Holdren and Scott Timmerman returned af- ter absences from the lineup. The Penn State contest marked the first time Holdren had played organized baseball since the summer. A knee injury sustained during the football season had kept him out until Sun- day. His return proved to be pros- perous, as he hit .364 for the four games with one home run and four runs batted in. Timmerman also re- turned in the first game of the Penn State series. JUST AS I EXPECTED: In the seventh inning of the first game against Siena Heights, with one out and Michigan's Rodney Goble on third, the Saints intentionally walked two Wolverines to load the bases for the recovering Holdren. "I wasn't surprised they did that," Michigan coach Bill Freehan said. "Nate has trouble running. I think they were hoping he'd hit a ground ball." Holdren struck out. THANK YOU, USA TODAY: Al- though its impact may be debatable, the Wolverines are now 5-2 since they received national press in USA Today. Last Wednesday, the national newspaper ran a feature on the Michigan baseball program, Free- han, and the attempt to rebound from the probation it endured for the 1990-91 seasons. GOT THEIR NUMBER: The Wolverines kept their perfect record against Siena Heights yesterday. The two come-from-behind victories raised their all-time record to 18-0 against the Saints. __ DEPARTMENT OF RECREATIONAL SPORTS ga m A- I;mo r Luc Ipa'l AL W£ INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM SPRING/SUMMER IM ACTIVITIES!!!