* When was the last time a one-
hitter was pitched at Fisher
Stadium by the Wolverines?
\ j
IN,
'M' sports calendar
Women's basketball
Forrest Fires
Women's crew
Hockey
Baseball
Softball
Men's basketball
Major League baseball
2
2
3
3
4
5
6
8
8
M ,
7
Blue fans.
endure
year of
trageidies
t seemed like it would never end.
Heartbreaking loss followed
heartbreaking loss on the road to
insanity for most Michigan fans.
No lead was too big, no victory
assured.
It brings me to one simple
conclusion: There was some higher
power working against the athletic
program this season.
It all began on that fateful
Saturday in
September. For
most students
the moment
was surreal.
The ball was in
the air for an
eternity. As the
PAUL Colorado
BARGER players
Barger celebrated on
than Life the field, the
Michigan fans
sat stunned and
oeary-eyed in the stands.
But the Michigan football team
was resilient, and it played its way
back into the race for a national title.
But the game against Penn State
spelled another tragic loss and early
elimination from the national picture
for the second year in a row.
Sports Illustrated made matters
worse by featuring both losses on the
*Fover of its widely circulated
publication. ESPN showed the Hail
Mary every day until the ESPY
awards. Thanks to sports media's two
big guns, fans will be reminded of
these two games forever.
Relatively speaking, the losses to
Ohio State and Wisconsin were not so
bad. At that point, Michigan fans had
learned to accept defeat in stride.
Nothing could be as bad as the loss to
Colorado.
The season ended with a rather
unimpressive Holiday Bowl victory,
but at least it was over.
Then the basketball season blew
into town. The team was rated in the
top 25 in almost every preseason poll
in the nation. By the first week in
December, Michigan was nowhere to
be found in the polls.
All things considered, the team's
final record was not that bad. It was
the way that the team lost many- of its
games that is worth noting.
It began in the non-conference
portion of the season and continued
until the final game. Against Pennsyl-
vania, the team fought back from
ore than 20 points down, just to lose
See BARGER, Page 3
Hitters out-thrown by Illini
Michigan drops three of four to Illinois over weekend
By John Leroi
Daily Baseball Writer
Four games, four pitching gems.
Unfortunately for the Michigan base-
ball team, three of the stellar perfor-
mances came from the Illini pitching
staff. The Wolverines struggled for
the most part against Illinois, drop-
ping three of four games Saturday
and Sunday at Fisher Stadium.
Michigan's Matt Ferullo turned in
the weekend's best performance on
the mound in the Wolverines' 9-0
victory in game one Saturday. The
junior had a no-hitter until the final
inning, when Tom Sinak lined a bloop
single through the hole at shortstop
for the lone Illini hit. Ferullo (2-4)
faced 23 hitters, only two over the
minimum, in his one-hit shut-out. The
6-foot-5 righty fanned three batters,
walked one and plunked two others.
Cody Salter scattered nine hits over
six and one-third innings and struck
out three Wolverines in the second
game of the Saturday's twinbill. John
Oestreich (3-3) came on in the sev-
enth, surrendering only one hit while
striking out three, to pick up the win
for Illinois (4-4 Big Ten, 11-17 over-
all).
Sunday, Illinois' Sean Williams
(3-5) allowed just six hits and three
runs in a complete game victory.
Williams registered five strike outs
and walked four batters. In the night-
cap, Oestreich grabbed his second
win of the weekend. The senior hurler
gave up only three hits and one un-
earned run in seven full innings.
Oestreich walked only three batters
while striking out 11 to bring his
weekend total to 14.
"We didn't do it, we didn't finish
it up this weekend," Michigan coach
Bill Freehan said. "I don't know if it
was mental - we just didn't do it. I
know this isn't an offensive ballclub,
but we've got to score more runs."
In Temple's one-hitter, Michigan
(3-5, 10-17) scored at least one run in
each of the first five innings, includ-
ing a three-run first. Illinois starter
Jason Wollard (3-3) hit Rodney Goble
with a pitch to lead off the inning.
Shortstop Ryan Van Oeveren laid
down a bunt single to move Goble to
second. Both runners advanced on a
wild pitch and Scott Weaver knocked
in Goble with a grounder to first base.
Centerfielder Brian Simmons
walked, but was caught in a run down
attempting to steal second base. Sean
Coston then ripped a double of the
bag at third to Score Van Oeveren and
Chad Chapman singled home Coston
one batter later.
Third baseman Kelly Dransfeldt
knocked Wollard out of the game,
smacking his first pitch off the leftfield
wall for a double to lead off the sec-
ond inning. Kirk Beermann then
blooped reliever Matt McCully's first
pitch into short rightfield to score
-Dransfeldt and give Michigan a 4-0
lead.
Simmons scored in the third on
Sinak's throwing error and Coston
crossed the plate as a result' of a
McCully balk. Weaver and Simmons
both had RBI singles in the fourth
inning to give Michigan an 8-0 lead.
Chapman hit a homerun over the
leftfield wall in the fifth, his second
round-tripper of the year.
Chapman went 2-for-3 at the plate,
knocking in two runs and scoring two
himself. Coston also finished 2-for-3
with an RBI and two runs scored.
Weaver also notched two RBI for the
Wolverines.
In Saturday's second game, the
Wolverines looked to have a comfort-
able 4-1 lead late in the contest. How-
ever, Michigan lost in extra-innings
when Bill Antonacci laid down a bunt
-to score Justin Busche from third in a
perfect suicide squeeze play.
See BASEBALL, Page 5
Matt Fleury and the\Wolverlnes drop
weekend to Illinois.
WEEKEND
SCORES
.Baseball
Michigan 9, Illinois 0
Illinois 5, Michigan 4 (8 innings)
Illinois 9, Michigan 3
Illinois 4, Michigan 1.
Softball
Michigan 11, Indiana 1
Michigan 7, Indiana 0
Michigan 6, Indiana 2
Michigan 12 , Indiana 2
Women's Tennis
Michigan 5, Miami (Fla.) 4
Michigan 6, South Florida 3
Men's Tennis
Michigan 7, Purdue 0
Michigan 6, Illinois 1
Modest leadfer
Kovach succeeds with memories from past
By Danielle Rumore
Daily Softball Writer
t was the worst day of her life.
Kelly Kovach was a sophomore
in high school, and her brother,
Mikey, had just been killed in a car
accident. Her high school academic
and softball career was well
underway, and her future looked so
bright.
And then tragedy struck her life,
a tragedy which made her own
future seem unimportant and
meaningless. Her brother, and
friend, had just passed away and it
appeared that the pain would not go
away.
"I always wanted to dedicate
something to him and I didn't want
to do something and fail," Kovach
says. "The whole Michigan thing
has been for him, especially my
senior year. I have little things that I
do. He played hockey in high
school and I have his skate cleaner
(towel). He always had it with him
at his games."
The No. 5 Wolverines boast a
21-3 overall record after last
weekend's series at Purdue.
Michigan blanked the
Boilermakers. 4-0, outmuscling
them in every category of play.
Kovach had a great series.
She upped her pitching record to
8-0 after pitching two games in
which she gave up only three runs.
From the plate, she collected seven
hits and five RBI.
This weekend, Michigan hosted
Indiana (3-1 Big Ten, 13-12
overall), the defending Big Ten
champions. Kelly's parents,
Michael and Georgia Kovach,
traveled to Ann Arbor to watch the
series and to celebrate their
daughter's 22nd birthday today.
As Kelly waits for the start of
the second game, she can't help but
think about her brother. She has her
brother's towel with her - she
always does. It's her own way of
keeping his memory alive.
"I keep it in my bag and I rub
my ball with it (before games),"
Kovach says.
Her teammate and good friend,
senior Lesa Arvia, picks up the ball
and hands it to Kovach. Lesa does
this every game - it's a ritual.
"It's hard to explain why we do
See KOVACH, Page 9
Softball r4ns win
streak to 18 games_
y Tim Smith
aily Sports Writer
There was an unfamiliar sound in
the air Sunday afternoon for the Michi-
gan softball team.
It was a sound the No. 6 Wolver-
ines (8-0, 25-3) were not so familiar
with this season.
It was the sound of silence.
After sweeping the first of two
double headers on Sunday against
rdiana (3-5,13-16), the Wolverines
found themselves tied at zero going
into the sixth inning of game three.
The familiar ping of bat hitting
ball that has helped Michigan domi-
nate i nnnnnentc all ceannn lnp
could get a break. We put the bat on
the ball and made some contact and
got going."
Jennifer Smith and Lesa Arvia got
things started for the Wolverines in
the inning with back-to-back singles.
After Kellyn Tate's fielder's choice,
Michelle Silver lined one off Hoosier
third baseman Aimee Lonigro's glove
to load the bases.
Kathryn Gleason followed with a
fielder's choice allowing pinch run-
ner Erin Martino to score first run to
give the Wolverines the 1-0 lead.
After Tate scored on a fielding
error and center fielder Cheryl Pearcy
coredon. cingle h knovach to make
Baseball returns, but
fans should stay away
o, that's it.
After 232 days of posturing and bickering with a little negotiating
mixed in, the baseball strike came to an end Friday.
The replacement players have been sent packing, having never played in a
regular season game, and Opening Day 1995 is now set for April 2$.
Everything is close to being back to normal -
unfortunately.
What's unfortunate? The fact that on the 28th,
despite everything that has transpired in the last eight
months, fans will flood back to major league
stadiums.
Americans love baseball, and they'll return to the
ballparks.
{ They'll do this in spite of the fact that baseball
RYAN doesn't give a damn about them. The strike didn't
WHITE end because the players and the owners missed the
White on game and it sure as hell didn't end because they felt
Taroet bad for the fans.
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