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Autry wins court ruling vs. NCAA
Over NCAA objections, a Chicago judge ruled Northwestern sophomore
running back Darneli Autry, a theater major, can take an unpaid part in
a movie this summer in Italy. NCAA rules bar athletes from appearing in
commercial films, and it is considering an appeal. If Autry were found in
violation of NCAA rules, he likely would be suspended for a game and
made to pay back any money he received for travel expenses.
11
Thursday
April 4, 1996
9A
y and new
can't tame,
j Jllh Rose
DailySports Writer
LANSING - Yesterday's baseball
game between Michigan and Michigan
State did not count toward the Big Ten
standings.
1ft was the grand opening of Lansing's
Oldsniobile Park-the brand new home
of thminor league Lansing Lugnuts -
'the park's owners thought a game
een the state rivals would be a fun
way to kick off the spring.
Infact, the original plan was for the
Spartans to host Grand Valley State in
yesterday's game. But then it was de-
cided that the Wolverines would spur a
little more interest, draw a few more fans.
So you see,
the gafe wasn't
really supposed
to beall that im-
Eet. It was
posed tobe a
fun day for the
fans - almost
like an exhibi-
tion.
Try telling
thattoMicHigan
coach Geoff Zahn.
"Oh, it's a great ballpark, absolutely,"
Zahn said. "But you don't play Michigan
te just to play."
The game started out harmlessly
enough. Former Tiger and Michigan State
alum Kirk Gibson - who served as hon-
orary coach of the Spartans - waved to
the fans, and the over-capacity crowd of
6,267.actually sang "Happy Birthday" to
Lansing Mayor David Hollister after he
threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
But then the game began.
It was clear from the start that both of
se teams showed up at Oldsmobile
k to do one thing - win. All polite-
ness aside, they didn't seem to be inter-
estes in any of this "happy to be here"
stuff.
That's not to say the players weren't
having a great time-because they were.
But as the game wore on, the intensity
picked up, and no one seemed to remem-
ber - or care - that this game didn't
count in the conference standings.
eading into the bottom ofthe seventh
ig, the Wolverines held a 3-2 lead.
Then Michigan State came alive.
A pair of hits by the Spartans tied the
score, bringing the suddenly-fired-up
home team out of its dugout. Then Michi-
gan pitcher Pete Martay got Michigan
State's leadoff hitter to ground into a
double play, and the Wolverines roared in
approval. But Spartan shortstop Tom
Grigg roused the Michigan State faithful
seconds later, rocketing a solo homer to
*field to give the Spartans a 4-3 lead.
"I wasn't really looking to go deep,"
said the 5-foot-9 Grigg, who went 3-for-
4p the day. "I just get a power surge
eyry, couple of months."
Eventually, the Wolverines tied the
score and sent the game into extra in-
nings.
And when Michigan's Mike Cervenak
scored the go-ahead run in the too of the
h, the Spartan-partisan crowd was si-
tced. By the time Wolverine closer
John Arvai finally got the last out, he was
mobbed by his teammates on the field.
Michigan right fielder Derek Besco,
who homered and reached base three
other times, credited the park for much of
the excitement.
"When a game gets close like that, the
intensity always picks up," Besco said.
"But this park just adds to it. The atmo-
sphere, everything - this is just a great
llpark."
True, the players were taken by the
park:And why not? It is a beautiful park,
not to mention that it was only last week
when both of these teams were snowed
out on their home fields. Still, the view
wastl't quite as rosy from the Michigan
State dugout after the disappointing loss.
"Yeah, it's a great park," Spartan
tcher Carlos Fernandez said. "But man,
should've won that game."
y the end of the day, there were two
nanimous decisions. The first was that
hefangotagreat show in a great ballpark.
he second was that the players, although
mpr sed by the stadium, were much
ore concerned with winning the game,
hether it counted in the standings or not.
Blue edges State
in ld 10th,54
By Will McCahill
Daily Sports Writer
LANSING - Follow the ball. It's
what the spectators did all afternoon,
but what the Michigan State catcher
couldn't do at the game's critical mo-
ment.
A wild pitch in the top of the 10th
inning allowed Michigan to score the
game-winning run as the Wolverines
beat Michigan State, 5-4, before a
crowd of 6,267 in the inaugural game
at Oldsmobile Park in East Lansing.
Michigan had watched a 3-0 lead
turn into a 4-3 deficit before tying
things back up in the eighth and send-
ing the game into extra frames. Third
baseman Mike Cervenak started off
the Wolverine 10th with a single to
left, then moved to second when Spar-
tan pitcher Marty Patterson walked
rightfielder Derek Besco.
First baseman Bryan Besco moved
the runners up with a sacrifice bunt,
leaving Cervenak on third as catcher
Mike Haskell stepped to the plate.
Patterson ran the count to 0-2 on
the Wolverine sophomore -
Michigan's eighth hitter - before
throwing outside and in the dirt. The
ball squirted past Spartan catcher
Carlos Fernandez and bounded to the
backstop, allowing Cervenak to mo-
tor home with plenty to spare.
The Spartans tried to rally against
Michigan closer John Arvai but fell
just short.
Arvai got within one out of the win
before allowing a single to right and a
walk. But he was able to slam the door
with Cervenak's help, getting Michi-
gan State's sophomore designated
hitter Kevin Kernen to ground out to
third.
"I think I was trying to be too picky,
as far as hitting corners," Arvai said
after picking up his second win of the
season. "But then I finally said, 'Just
throw it,' and that's when I started
throwing strikes."
The Wolverines, behind starting
pitcher Mike Hribernik, bounded out
to a 3-0 lead behind slugging from
shortstop Kelly Dransfeldt and Derek
Besco.
Besco made history in the bottom
of the second as he sent a Brian
Murphy pitch well over the left-field
fence, giving Michigan a 1-0 lead.
The dinger was the first at the new
field.
Dransfeldt soon followed suit. With
second baseman Kirk Beermann hav-
ing knocked a single off Spartan starter
Brian Murphy (literally; Beermann's
drive bounced off Murphy's right hip
and forced him to leave the game),
. Dransfeldt put a Bernie Gibbons pitch
off the wire fencing at the top of the
left field fence.
A shaky couple innings for Michi-
gan southpaw Pete Martay let the
Spartans back into it. The rally was
highlighted by shortstop Tom Grigg's
deep - indeed, unplayable- shot to
the nether reaches of left, which gave
Michigan State a 4-3 advantage.
Although Michigan's opponent was
from the Big Ten, the win - due to
the game's special circumstances -
will not count in the conference stand-
ings. The Wolverines (6-2 Big Ten, 9-
15 overall) face Western Michigan
tomorrow at home.
JOE WESTRATE/Daily
John Arval picked up the win In Michigan's 54 extra-Inning victory over Michigan State yesterday in Lansing. The win was
Arval's second on the season and the Wolverines' ninth overall.
Men's golf tries to get back on par
By John Friedberg
Daily Sports Writer
After struggling last weekend in
windy Texas at the Dr. Pepper invita-
tional, the Michigan men's golf team
hopes to end its season-long funk in
stormy West Virginia.
Michigan is one of 18 teams in this
weekend's Marshall Invitational in
Huntington, W.Va., beginning Friday.
The event is scheduled to be played at
the Guyan Golf and Country Club.
The weekend features some familiar
foes for the Wolverines. Rival Ohio
State is the favorite of the strong field.
Xavier's top player, Jim Zettler, took
home top individual honors last week-
end at the Dr. Pepper invitational. He
led the Musketeers to a seventh place
finish in Dallas. Miami (Ohio) is com-
ing off a ninth-place showing at the Dr.
Pepper invitational.
This 54-hole tournament is a golden
opportunity for the Wolverines to re-
cover from their recent lackluster play.
"Hopefully, we have the right group
of guys this weekend," Michigan coach
Jim Carras said. "We hope to play our
way into the top five this weekend, but
it (the invitational) has a good, strong
field. Many of the teams are in District
four and we will be up against them for
the rest of the season."
Carras has once again shaken up the
lineup for this weekend. Senior captain
Chris Brockway is back in his familiar,
No. I slot after missing last weekend's
Dr. Pepper invitational.
Brockway had played in 14 consecu-
tive tournaments before sitting out last
weekend. The senior from Ann Arbor
has struggled this year. His 77.4 aver-
age is the highest of his Wolverine
career.
Junior Kyle Dobbs is in the No. 2 slot
for Michigan. He is coming off a disap-
pointing 40th-place showing last week-
end. While Dobbs struggled in Texas, he
has still been Michigan's most consistent
golfer this year, posting a 76.68 average.
Moving down to the No. 3 spot is
freshman Isaac Hinkle. Hinkle has
struggled with his consistency this sea-
son. His 237 last weekend is a far cry
from his career-best df 226 that he shot
in the fall.
Keith Hinton will be manning the
No. 4 position over the weekend. The
sophomore from Port Huron has also
found difficulty regaining last year's
form. The only walk-on making the trip
this weekend, Hinton looks to improve
upon last weekend's 235 in Dallas.
Brent Idalski moves into the No. 5
position after not playing in last
weekend's invitational. The left-hander
from Alpena is trying to improve upon
his efforts of the fall season, which he
ended with a 79.5 average.
Junior David Jasper is out of the
lineup this weekend . Jasper came back
from last weekend's tournament very
sick.
"Jasper's absence is gonna hurt us,"
Carras said. "David's been our most
consistent golfer lately, but we hope to
do well without him this weekend."
Jasper was Michigan's top finisher
last weekend. His 226 was his best 54-
hole effort of the year.
The Wolverines hope to do something
this weekend that they did not accom-
plish last weekend.
They hope to start playing up to their
own expectations.
"There is no getting around the fact
that we are struggling right now," Carras
said. "I don't think any of us expected
to be at the level we are based on last
year's success.
"Marshall always provides a tough
field and we're going to have to play
our best to be there at the end."
JOE WESTRATE/Daily
The Wolverines celebrate Derek Besco's second-Inning home run yesterday.
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