~t,- -k-- ---thunt MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL MILWAUKEE 7, Detroit 0 Seattle 6, CLEVELAND 1 BOSTON 10, Oakland 1 BALTIMORE 4, Minnesota 2 Anaheim 5, N.Y. YANKEES 1 Kansas City 3, TORONTO 2 TEXAS 3, Chi. White Sox 1 Houston 4, ST. LOUIS 2 COLORADO 10 Montreal 8 ATLANTA 15, Cincinnati 5 San Francisco 3, N.Y. METS 2 PRO BASKETBALL ORLANDO 100, Detroit 91 Minnesota 95, MIAMI 87 CHARLOTTE 94, Cleveland 82 Washington 131, PHILADELPHIA 110 CHICAGO 117, Toronto 100 L.A. Clippers 99, DALLAS 93 Golden State 103 DENVER 93 Tuesday April 15t 1997 9 .Softball tries to halt.skid Dy Josh Kleinbaum Daily Sports Writer Michigan softball coach Carol Iutchins spent the past 13 years build- ing her program into a softball power- house. Hutchins has spent the past 10 days watching that same program fall apart. -Today at 1 p.m., the Wolverines (5-4 Big Ten, 34-12-1 overall) will try to right their sinking ship as they start a 12- game homestand with a doubleheader against Penn State at Alumni Field. 9 The downward slide started eight games ago in Iowa on April 5, when Hutchins watched two of her best play- ers, pitcher/third baseman Sara Griffin and first baseman Traci Conrad, collide while fielding a routine bunt. Conrad suffered a sprained shoulder and a mild concussion but has already returned to the Michigan lineup. Griffin suffered a broken left arm and is sidelined indefi- nitely. Hutchins witnessed the collapse con- nue as her team dropped both of the games against Iowa-the second one in humbling fashion, 15-4. Things get worse for the Wolverines when they traveled to West Lafayette and split a doubleheader with Purdue on April 8. The loss in the nightcap marked the first time Michigan has ever lost to the Boilermakers. Hutchins' team survived a scare in its *ext two games - a doubleheader against Notre Dame in which the Wolverines needed late-inning rallies to win both games. But then the fall reached a crescendo when the Wolverines scored just two total runs against Northwestern this past weekend in a doubleheader split. That's the same Northwestern team that's rou- tinely in the battle for the Big Ten cellar. It was only the Wildcats' second Big Ten din of the season. "Fundamentally, we haven't changed anything'" Michigan outfielder Cathy Davie said. "I really don't know (what's wrong) at this point. It's frustrating. "It's definitely mental. We're swing- ing at pitches we don't normally swing at and falling into habits that we haven't been falling into all season." So today's doubleheader against the 'Nittany Lions is much more important an anyone ever thought it would be. It gives the Wolverines a chance to -rebound from their slump against a tra- ditional conference cupcake. "Last year, in the Big Ten standings, they finished towards the (bottom), but we can't think about that,' Davie said. "We have to go out like we would hgainst Iowa." Penn State (1-10 Big Ten, 20-12 over- all) is in last place in the Big Ten and has only beaten the Wolverines once in the 011-time series. The Lions have lost their last five games and 10 of their last 13. They have only two batters hitting over .300, and neither of them have been able to keep those averages up in Big Ten games. The Lions' strength is their pitching staff - a staff that has compiled an impressive 2.30 ERA. But that staff has not been getting run support from an offense that has averaged a measly 2.45 iis per game, more than a full run less than Michigan's average of 3.72. But the Wolverines' offense has been anemic of late. Their run production over the last eight games is two runs less Tthan it was for their first 39. "Hitters tend to have ups and downs a lot;' Davie said, "and maybe it's just bad timing that we're all down right now." The friendly confines ofAlumni Field Whould help the Wolverines snap out of their slump. They are undefeated in five home games this season, outscoring their opponents 31 to 10. Benedict predicts strong finish for Blue By Kevin Kasiborski Daily Sports Writer Michigan baseball - national cham- pions. In an era when the College World Series has been dominated by southern schools, that statement might have a funny ring to it. But the Wolverines have won two national championships in the history of the baseball program, and Moby Benedict was there for both of them, Benedict was a freshman shortstop on the 1953 champi- onship team and an assistant coach under Don Lund on the 1962 champi- onship squad. In 1963, Benedict took over the head coaching. reigns and remained the top man at Michigan Benedict until 1979. His teams compiled a 367-251-5 record over that time. Benedict (No. 1) and Bill Freehan (No. I1) are the only Wolverines to have their numbers retired. By Benedict's own count, 25 Wolverines who played under him later played in the major leagues. One of those is current Michigan head coach Geoff Zahn. "He pitched a doubleheader for me once against Northwestern;' Benedict said about Zahn. "He threw a beautiful game in the first game, and he only threw about 60 pitches. I said, 'Do you think you could go a little bit in the sec- ond game?' because I was little short on pitching, and that was the first day of the weekend. "He said he felt okay, so I told him to go as long he could, and he ended up pitching a complete game. So he pitched two games and won both.' Other Wolverines coached by Benedict who made it to the show include Dave Campbell, Steve Howe, Rick Leach, Leon Roberts and Lary Sorensen. "They have all been good, but the one that sticks out is Ricky Leach;' Benedict said. "He was just a great, great com- petitor. He was the kind of guy that his presence on the ball club made the other guys come up to his level. "Whenever things were going bad, he'd get after them. He'd go in the dugout and get at them, and I'd just kind of move off to the side." Leach and Howe were Wolverines during Benedict's last appearance in the College World Series in 1978. Michigan opened the tournament with a 4-0 victo- ry over Baylor, but was eliminated after! losses to Southern California (11-3) and North Carolina (7-6). "Michigan last appeared in the series in 1984. Benedict says northern schools are at a disadvantage because, even though teams like Michigan take trips south dur- ing the spring, their first game is usually their opponent's 10th or 15th game. "Its not a level playing field, particu- larly at this time of year," Benedict said. "The thing most people don't realize is that (southern teams) never come indoors, they stay outdoors all year. We go over and practice in the field house,w and that's like taking a bath with your shoes on - you never get your feet clean. Our kids struggle to start with, but we'd like to play (southern teams) here in May. We'd be competitive with them." Benedict said Zahn has done a good job with the current group of Wolverines. While he isn't sure if they will hold off Ohio State to finish first in the Big Ten, he likes the way the Wolverines play. "Its difficult for me to evaluate because I don't know what Ohio State has" Benedict said. "But they are play- ing hard. They are a little short on pitch- ing because they've had a couple injuries, a couple of sore arms. You win this game with pitching and defense, not with a baseball bat.' Before continuing its run for a Big Ten title at Indiana this weekend, Michigan will play two non-conference foes during the week. Today at 3 p.m., the Wolverines face Bowling Green at. home, and tomorrow they will travel to; Western Michigan to take on they Broncos. Bowling Green is the only team to shut out Michigan this season, recording a 5-0 whitewash April 1. MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily Moby Benedict, who participated in Michigan's only two victories in the College World Series, said that pitchers like Marion Wright will need to improve their performance if the Wolverines want to compete with Ohio State for Big Ten supremacy. tennis must improve doubles,, for chance against Notre Dame - By John Friedberg Daily Sports Writer The doubles competition may seem like a small part of a dual tennis match. Three doubles matches are played to determine one point out of seven. No big deal, right? _ Wrong. Take a " closer look at the Michigan men's tennis team's sea- son. Its 7-10 record seems mediocre, but it can be traced to one main factorj - the perfor- mances of its doubles combinations. In March, Michigan lost five matches during a seven-match losing streak by the score of 4-3. In each of the matches, Michigan split the six singles matches and lost the doubles point. That one point made Michigan 7-10. Over the weekend, Michigan was able to capture the doubles point against Penn State. That was only the third time the Wolverines earned the point in confer- ence play and only the third time all sea- son. Maybe the coaches have found what they have been looking for. The play of the new No. 2 doubles combination of freshman Matt Wright and sophomore Jake Raiton improved to 4-2 in Big Ten play. Juniors David Paradzik and Miki Pusztai have also improved to 4-2 in the Big Ten. These two combinations are the only two with records above the .500 mark this year. Last year, Michigan's doubles was considered a team strength. Seniors John Costanzo and Peter Pusztai went 11-7 in the top spot. Big Ten No. 2 doubles was dominated by then-sophomore Arvid Swan and senior Geoff Prentice, who went 14-4 in conference play. The biggest challenge this year was to find combinations that fit together. After all, doubles is more team-oriented than any other facet of tennis. "I think that finding combinations that play well together was a big challenge this year," Michigan coach Brian Eisner. said. An injury to junior transfer Brook Blain also dealt the Wolverines a set- back in doubles play this season. Blain, who transferred from Florida, was slat- ed to team with Swan at the No. I dou- bles spot. But Blain's back would not allow him to play much this season and the combination managed just a 2-2 record. Perhaps Eisner has found the right combinations for his squad in Wright and Raiton, and Paradzik and Pusztai. If he has, the rest of the conference should brace itself. Five of Michigan's six singles players have winning records in the conference, and the sixth, Swan, is 4-5. "We have to continue to improve indi- vidually and as a team," Eisner said. "We think we have the right combinations.' "Winning the doubles point is some- thing we have to continue to do." If Michigan can carry over its doubles success from the Penn State match, it has a chance of repeating as Big Ten champions. Tomorrow, Michigan plays Notre Dame for the 55th time - the longest- running non-conference rivalry the Wolverines have. Michigan owns a 37- 17 record against the Irish. If Michigan wants to keep up its Irish domination, the Wolverines will probably need the dou- bles point. Again. You're invited to the 18th Annual MicLuiqan Leaderslup Awards Ceremonij Honor the Wonders A The ceremony will honor outstanding contributions JOS HfMS/aily The Michigan men's tennis team will have to work its doubles play If It wants to beat Notre Dame today. The Wolverines have a record of 3717 against the Irish. EYearbooks are coming Available for pick-up on the Diag or in the Fishbowl