16A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 13, 1997 'M' softball relying on The Michigan softball team will participate in this weekend's Lady Seminole invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. The Wolverines are led by a domi- nant pitching staff with a team 1.19 ERA: FILE PHOTO/Daily By Tracy Sandier Daily Sports Writer The No. 6 Michigan softball team (18-5-1) might want to consider taking up residence in Florida. After returning to Ann Arbor Sunday night from the Speedline Invitational in Tampa, the Wolverines are returning to the Sunshine State. Today the team leaves for Tallahassee to participate in the weekend's Lady Seminole Invitational. Competition begins tomorrow with games against Miami (Ohio), Southern Illinois and Florida Atlantic. Saturday brings Iowa State, Georgia State and the beginning of the tournament's playoffs. Historically, Michigan has performed well at the Invitational. The Wolverines were the 1995 champions, and last year, the then No. 7 Wolverines finished sec- ond. Pitcher and third baseman Sara Griffin, who recorded her 65th career victory last weekend, was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association National Player of the Week. She pitched two shutouts during the team's spring trip, helping to lower the team's ERA to 1.19. One came against No. 16 Michigan State, while the other was against No. 14 South Florida. At the plate, Griffin hit a grand slam against Marshall. Freshman pitcher Jamie Gillies is also having a strong season, with a 4-2 record and four complete games. "Key for us has been pitching and defense," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. "We're fielding .968 through the first three weeks of the sea- son. I am most pleased with the consis- tency we have shown defensively. All three pitchers are throwing and each is doing a good job." Putting together a strong offense, the team has a solid .304 batting average. Outfielder Lisa Kelley has improved on pitching,.. her 1996 average of .354 with a.487 clip this year. Likewise, outfielder Cathy Davie is hitting 72 pointszbter at .375. Yet, Hutchins would liketo'fee more uniformity. "We still need to be consistent irbur hitting, especially doing a betterjob versus the better pitchers we fa," Hutchins said. "I am pleased with' the improvements made by several of players over their 1996 numbers, but I want to have everyone hitting more consistently." With only a couple of weeks until the the Big Ten season, Michigan is con- centrating on working out any kinks. "We (are looking) to keep everyone sharp these next two weeks, and we xIo that by playing games and getting out- side for practice," Hutchins said. "We'll continue to throw all three pitched no one is tired before the six-'x grind of doubleheaders. And we will try to get consistent at the plat." _,. Spartans' Berens suspended after alcohol-related accident. By Marc Vieau and Joseph Swavy The State News A Michigan State hockey player has been suspended because of his involvement in an automobile accident last weekend. CC NA Junior center Sean Berens was given a one- Playof f game suspension by coach Ron Mason Tuesday Who: Michig and will sit out Friday night's CCHA semifinal Bowling Gre game with Miami (Ohio) at Detroit's Joe Louis sate vs. Mh Arena. Where: Joe L If the Spartans advance to Saturday's cham- When: 5; 8:3 pionship game, Berens would be eligible to TV: PASS play. He is practicing with the team and will continue to do so, Mason said. The accident occurred at shortly after midnight Sunday at the corner of Division and Linden streets, Lt. Louis Muhn of the East Lansing Police Department said. S' ;an According to Muhn, Berens, 20, was driving a car eastbound on Linden and collided with a northbound vehicle driven ' a 16-year-old East Lansing resident. Both drivers received minor injuries, as did a 16-yeafld passenger in the northbound vehicle. Muhn said alcohol was a factor in the incident, but wouldn't release further details becausethe vs investigation is still open. Muhn also said a cita- Michigan tion was issued, but would not specify who w ii (Ohio) cited. uis Arena Berens, who is tied for the team lead in points, p.m. will be missed during Friday's game. "It is a rather unfortunate situation because Sean is a really good kid," Mason said."But rules have to prevail." "Sean feels bad about this. In this situation, we discussed it and felt that it was in the best interest of the team to make this decision." , STREAK Continued from Page 15A his first complete-game shutout of the year last week, a three-.hitter against Maine. He has not allowed an earned run over his last 17 innings. The Wolverines face Kansas State for the first time ever on Saturday. J.J. Putz is expected to start against the Wildcats, who have a 10-6 record on the season. Kansas is coming off of a sweep of Nebraska and is led by shortstop Heath Schesser and Scott Poepard. Schesser leads the team with a .508 batting aver- age and 36 RBI while Poepard is batting .433 with 23 RBI. Putz, who has a 1-0 record on the sea- son, is coming off his strongest pitching performance to date, in which he held Virginia Tech to five hits and two runs in six innings. Michigan winds up the weekend Sunday against Pepperdine. Last season, the Waves finished second in the West Coast Conference with a 19-6 confer- ence record. Zahn was an assistant coach at Pepperdine until his hiring as Michigan's head coach. "There are players there that I love"' Zahn said. "It'll be great to see them, but I would love to beat them." Sophomore Luke Bonner is expected to start for the Wolverines against Pepperdine. Bonner is 1-2 this season, and picked up his first win against Virginia Tech last week. In order to win this weekend, Michigan will need both strong pitching and the same good hitting that propelled it to eight wins last week. The weatherin Michigan has helped the team's cause. "We've been fortunate to get outside both days so far," Zahn said. "We want- ed to work on a few things, our fielding, pitching and hitting." Junior Derek Besco, last week's offen- sive star, was named one of the Louisville Slugger's National Players of the Week as selected by Collegia Baseball. Besco highlighted Michiga, offensive display in Winter Park with a .486 batting average, four home runs and 22 RBI. Besco was not the only player who performed well in Florida. "Bryan Kalczinski played well; Zahn said. "Also, (freshman) Rob Bobeda has been a surprise." Through 12 games, Bobeda is batting .385 and has scored 1I1 runs. Announcing the be Strbt Fri twn1 1996-1997 j: .... i. N w. Money." Check out the Salary Supplement, available ap EYE m.41aUa sad0 ...:. 7