Friday, April 9, 1999 - The Michigan Daily - 11 Michigan upend coi y toffGagnon DailySports Writer The first 500 Michigan baseball 110 to be admitted to today's series- oftener with Ohio State will find theiselves the lucky recipients of a free T-shirt. But Michigan coach Geoff Zahn knows its going to take more than mere luck if his Wolverines want to escape this weekend's match-up with their shirts on their backs. Michigan's battle with the Buckeyes begins at 3 pm and stretches over a fo game series. like shirts for the Michigan faithful, things won't come easy for Zahn's club as they set to square off with Big Ten pacesetter Ohio State. The Buckeyes enter today's contest looking to extend a 13-game win streak that has propelled the squad to a perfect, 4-0 conference mark. " Meanwhile Michigan will resume conference play after a pair of mid- w~k wins over Mid-American C~erence foes Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan. The wins helped Michigan climb to a 17-13 standing on the season after splitting last weekend's home series against then-conference lead- itg Illinois. Yet despite his club's non-confer- en-ce fowl slaying in the drubbings of the Falcons and Eagles, Zahn says his club realizes the importance of tFg weekend's conference show- Former 'M star, Abbot Msi first ST. LOUIS (AP) - Jim Abbott s erely making contact in his first ma eague at-bat wasn't a victory. Abbott, who was born with only and, wondered what all the fuss was ab e day. The former Michigan standout recei standing ovation for grounding out ird in the Milwaukee Brewers' 9-4 los he St. Louis Cardinals. "It's a nice acknowledgment from ans," said Abbott, who went 0-for-2. " .can't say I take a lot of pride getting f off the hands and getting applause fo id rather do something and feel a li n deserving of it." ore this season, Abbott played exc ively in the American League, wher esignated hitter bats instead of the pit r .. He grounded out against Kent Merc the third inning and took a called th rike in the fourth. it took a perfect play by third baser ernando Tatis to catch him by a half-s naa chopper that started the third innin "That would have been a trivia questio ker said. "The guy's a great athl nt don't take anybody for granted. 1 o treat him like every other hitter in t ineup." Abbott didn't exactly treat Mercker I very other pitcher. 'I haven't seen too many lefties, so ooked like Randy Johnson out there," aid.,"Kent wasn't throwing real hard, .me he was," Mercker found the Johnson referee in ie rnight have to get (the bat) starte ittle earlier on Randy,"' Mercker said. .Abbott hopes his hitting - like itching - becomes less of a curiosity. "It's not anything I'll look back on herish, that's for sure," he sa Hopefully I can improve and make a li omen gyn nto NCA CAAS ontinued from Page 10 or the Wolverines. In Tuscaloosa, Ala. hey started on vault and overcame it, inishing second behind the Crimson t id that was where their luck ran out. Michigan's trip to Los Angeles for ast year's national championships was ot so eventful. Its score during prelim- nary competition kept Michigan out of he "Super 6" for the first time since 993. Baseball looks to nference best OSU down. "There's no question it's a big weekend for us," Zahn said. "We knew coming into last weekend that our next three would see us face peo- ple ranked ahead of us." And after giving Illinois its only two conference losses of the year, No. 5 Michigan will look for more of the same as they host the Buckeyes in this weekend's four-game home stand before travelling to Minnesota to face the third-ranked Gophers. To contend against the fearsome Buckeyes, who enter the game on the heels of a 16-1 steamrolling of Ashland, Zahn says the Wolverines must continue the type of play that has boosted them to a 5-3 conference record. "We need to play heads up, con- centrate and just continue to play our game," Zahn said But that likely will prove to be no easy task against an Ohio State squad that has bewildered opponents all season long in building its 19-6 season mark. The Buckeyes weren't without a bit of offensive muscle Tuesday, as the team tallied a total of 23 hits in upending Ashland while every Ohio State starter earned a hit in the game's first three innings. Not to be outdone, Michigan's offensive prowess this week has given fans something to cheer about, while bolstering Zahn's optimism for his team's chances this weekend. TODAY Who: Michigan vs. Ohio State Where: Ray Fisher Stadium When: 3 p.m. On The Line: The Big Ten best Buckeyes will look for their 13th consecutive win as they open a four-game series with Michigan. The first 500 fans to the Fish will receive a free T-shirt. "We swung the bats pretty well," Zahn said. "With the wind blowing the way it was, getting 12 runs on 12 hits was nice to see. This weeks' wins were just two more solid wins. We need to keep that going as we head into the weekend." Leading the Wolverines into this weekend will likely be right-hander Luke Bonner, who looks for his fourth win. The veteran hurler leads his team with 35 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched this year, while toss- ing two complete games in four starts. Meanwhile offensively, Michigan second baseman Bobby Scales will look to up his current hit streak to 14 games, while the senior co-captain has reached base safely in every game this season. - a- -1# DANA IINNANE/Daily Michigan pitcher Bryan Cranson and the Michigan baseball team battle new conference-leader Ohio State in a four-game series beginning today at 3 p.m. The first 500 fans who come to today's game will receive a free T-shirt. Maine investigates post : championship ruckus t By Kristen Dobler The Maine Campus ORONO, Maine (U-WIRE) - Bystanders watched as signs, tires, bottles, screens, benches, wastebaskets and even chalkboards were thrown into a victory bonfire on the mall Saturday night, but no one expected a snowmobile to be kindling. "I just saw it come tearing down the mall and couldn't believe my eyes," said Jake Metzler, a junior forestry major. Even if some of the crowd didn't see the snow- mobile driving across the mall, everyone heard it. "It heard it coming and then all of a sudden tons of us started running because we thought it was going to blow up, said Sonja Fjeld, a senior com- munication major. Though a male student held a "Where's my snowmobile?" sign at Monday's pep rally, Public Safety has yet to determine who the snowmobile's driver was and whether it was the owner who drove it into the bonfire. Public Safety is currently investigating the inci- dent and other destructive events that occurred on campus after the University of Maine hockey team won the NCAA national championship. Damage to university property totalled $2,000, but additional damage to students' cars totalled close to $4,500. Instead of arresting, summoning or physically attempting to stop the crowd's actions Maine's Public Safety chose to take different measures. "They had a reason for it and it doesn't mean they're just standing back," said Joe Carr, spokesman for the university. "Another type of action could have made the situation worse." The decision was made with the bystanders' interest in mind, Stormann said. Despite people jumping into the bonfire and people dancing on benches with fire underneath them, no injuries were reported to Public Safety. Rachael Dunton, a first-year undecided student whose Volkswagen Golf was turned over on its side near the bonfire, felt more should have been done. "Four officers watched it [my car] be tipped over," she said. "What are they are good for if they can't protect the students? What are they there for?" After hearing chants about throwing cars into the bonfire or flipping them over, Dunton went to move her car, which was parked on a street near the crowd. Once the car was turned back over, Dunton asked her friend to move the car because she didn't think she could handle driving. When Public Safety found out the car didn't belong to her friend, an officer made him get out of the car and made Dunton move it. Stormann said officers pulled people, who were bouncing cars up and down on Long Road, away from the cars so they wouldn't tip them over. Dunton's comments surprised him and he said Public Safety would be willing to find out who the officers were and discuss the incident. A second car with New Hampshire license plates was also tipped over in the Stodder parking lot. Amelia Carignan, a senior communication major, said she saw people trying to flip a cop car over, but the cruiser was able to drive away. As it was leaving, the students around had a hard time breathing and Carignan said she heard rumors that tear gas had been let off. While Public Safety doesn't carry tear gas, it does carry pepper spray. Zubik said he said he wasn't aware of pepper spray being used, but he had not reviewed all of the reports or spoken with all of the officers involved. Stormann said most of the crowd wasn't to blame for the destruction and simply wanted to cel- ebrate the event. Despite the pouring rain, a crowd of more than 200 people surrounded the blaze for several hours. "I'll never forget that night, it was awesome. We just celebrated. Screaming, jumping around. get- ting it all in" said Sonja Fjeld, senior communica- tions major. "It was a good time." Carignan, a senior communication major, said the entire campus was filled with excitement. "You could hear everyone screaming as soon as the game was over," Carignan said. "I thought it was really exciting. It was good to be on campus and I was glad I didn't go home." The down side of the event can't be ignored, though, Carr said. Dunton said she was extremely disappointed with her peers' actions. She figured the students would stop once they realized the car's owner was right there, but it didn't happen. "These are kids I go to school with and it really disturbed me. When you have a face to put with an object it's not just an object. Most people who have a face to put with an object would think, but they didn't." Outside of the incidents surrounding the bonfire, few others occurred, Zubik said. Both of the goal posts on the football field were torn down, but the university was able to put them back up. AP PHOTO Former Michigan pitcher Jim Abbot took his first Major League at-bat in yesterday's Brewers- Cardinals game. Abbot, who was born with one hand, had not previously batted, because he was in the American League where teams play with a designated hitter. better contact next time out." Like Abbott, Brewers manager Phil Garner didn't think it was a big deal. "That doesn't surprise me with him," Garner said. "He swung the bat OK in spring training and got a hit. He'll handle the bat OK. He'll do fine." Abbott was 1-for-4 at the plate during spring training with two groundouts, a fly- out, and a sacrifice bunt. Balancing the bat with his right arm, he singled off Seattle's Butch Henry in spring training March 10 - his third career hit in spring training. On March 28, 1992, he singled for the Yankees off Florida's Mike Myers, now a Brewers teammate. On March 18, 1991, he tripled for the Angels against San Francisco's Rick Reuschel. Abbott, who signed with the Brewers in January, had been looking forward to being a complete player for the first time since high school. "It was fun," he said. "I enjoyed getting out there between innings and thinking about something else rather than pitching. "It feels a little bit more like when you're a kid playing. You get to play all the aspects." anasts go A regionals doing differently come Saturday is altering any of the things that has earned them its lofty post-season rank- ing. "Our athletes recognize the fact that they are the most successful when they are relaxed, and have the most fun," Plocki said. In addition to being relaxed, there are more keys to the Wolverines' attempt at nabbing their first-ever, national cham- pionship. "We have been talking a lot about how each athlete has to understand that F Easy-access top pocket Horseshoeshaped zipper for easy access Removable compression pocket organizes smallI items IC Summer in Europe. inh intrviwA in f C- II