7 The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 25, 1997-11 .Six-game homestand this week for road-weary Blue baseball Wolverines will face Ball State today, Western Michigan tomorrow By Kevin Kasiborski Daily Sports Writer After playing 19 of its first 20 games on the road, the Michigan baseball team is set to begin a six-game homestand this week. The Wolverines will host Ball State at 2 p.m. today and Western Michigan at 3 p.m. tomorrow before starting a four-game weekend series with Penn State on Friday. Michigan enjoys an 11-0 all-time series advantage against Ball State. Ball State's loss on the last day of the 1996 season dropped the Cardinals from third to fifth in the Mid-American Conference, keeping them out of the league playoffs. Ball State did manage 32 wins last season, however, third most in school histo- ry. But with all eight position players who started last season for the Cardinals return- ing for the 1997 campaign - including four seniors - Ball State is in good posi- tion to finish near the top of the MAC this season. Ball State's top offensive threat is senior first baseman Ed Farris, the 1996 MAC player of the year. Farris had 15 home runs last season and has already cranked out seven this season. He set a school record with three in one game against Fairleigh-Dickinson on March 8. "It's hard to top a season when you were selected as your league's most valuable player," Ball State coach Rich Maloney said. "But I honestly think Eddie is better now than he was last year. He's swinging the bat as good as I've ever seen." Maloney took over the reins of the Ball State program last ~nts season - inheriting a team that went 15-41 in 1995 - and guided the Cardinals to a 32-20 mark last season, the largest turnaround in school history. "Last season was a good year," Maloney said. "This pro- gram needed to experience win- ning, and we did that. We just came up a bit short at the end of the season, but that could turn into a positive." This year Maloney has put an f emphasis on running. Ball State has stolen 50 bases in 56 attempts, after stealing only 36 bases in all of '96. Six Cardinals have four or more steals, but the chief thief is cen- terfielder Justin Love. Love hasn't been caught in 17 attempts, and his speed is also invaluable on defense. "Justin could establish him- self as one of the premier players in our league this season," Maloney said. "He can really go get the ball. "He saved us a boat load of runs last sea- son." Michigan (2-2 Big Ten, 11-9 overall) only has one player with four steals (Bobby Scales), but that hasn't stopped the Wolverines from scoring runs. Michigan had scored at least six runs in 17 straight games before being held to three this past Sunday in a 3-2 victory over Purdue. Four Wolverines currently sport averages above .400: Derek Besco (.434), Jason Alcaraz (.433), Brian Bush (.415) and Scales (.403). With the offensive output fairly consis- tent, Michigan's success of late has been determined by pitching, which has been erratic at times. The Wolverines have a team ERA of 7.24. Sophomore Brian Berryman (1-1) is the probable starter against Ball State. Berryman's fellow sophomore, J.J. Putz, was named Big Ten pitcher of the week for his performance in a 7-2 win over Purdue on Saturday. Putz pitched a complete game, allowing only five hits and striking out a career high 12. It was the most opponents fanned by a Wolverine in a conference game since Ross Powell struck out 12 against Ohio State in 1988. In two career starts against the Boilermakers, Putz is 2-0, with two com- plete games, one shutout, 23 strikeouts and a 0.64 ERA. Michigan's series with Penn State over the weekend will follow the new Big Ten format. Instead of playing doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday, there will be nine- inning single games on Friday and Sunday, sandwiched around a doubleheader (two seven-inning games) Saturday. MARK FRIEDMAN/ Mike Cervenak and the baseball team slide into Fisher Stadium this week for a six-game homestand. M' women's tenms waxes Boilermakers, *#Spartans ByAan Gomez Fr the Daily Performance under pressure is what makes the difference in the world of sports. The Michigan women's tennis team took on a high form of pressure - playing in front of one's parents - and dealt with it almost perfectly over Parents' Weekend. The Wolverines manhandled Michigan State and Purdue, beating them, 9-0 and 8-1. "We dominated," Michigan coach Bitsy Ritt said. The bashing started against the Spartans on Friday at the Varsity Tennis Center. Michigan started off by sweeping the doubles matches, then proceeded to win every singles match-up. After the Spartans moved on, the. Boilermakers stepped in Saturday and suffered the same fate. With only one loss, the Wolverines continued to roll as they pushed their undefeated mark in the Big Ten to 5-0. "In our previous two dual matches we got off to a bad start in either doubles or singles," Ritt said. "But (against Purdue), we brought both of -4 them together." Even with the slow starts, Michigan didn't take too long to pick up the speed in the weekend's matches. The lone senior on the team, Sarah Cyganiak, set the pace by winning all her matches while playing in the No. I spot. Her record now is 9-2,, but more important, she has yet to lose a conference match (5-0). "We've basically been doing it with our attitude and our desire to' play," Cyganiak said. Junior Sora Moon, whose match with Purdue's Jennifer Embry con- tinued for more than an hour after all the other matches were done, showed plenty of heart in the three- set match. "We're not worried about Sora," Ritt said. "She's a great competitor and is always there." Sophomore Tumeka Harris, who had struggled so far this season, was impressive in her two wins. After a rocky start, Harris' record in the conference is still 4-1. 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