Sticking It
Wme of the top lacrosse teams in the
country visit Ann Arbor this weekend
for a round-robin at Oosterbaan
Fieldhouse. Check out the story online.
michigandaily.com/sports

SPORTS

FRIDAY
MARCH 31, 2000

11


'M' seeks first Big Ten win in Bloomington

By Dena Beth Krischer
Daily Sports Writer

Having sat out the last three games,
freshman outfielder Blake Rutkowski
might get a second chance to prove
himself when the Michigan baseball
team (0-4 Big Ten, 7-13-1 overall)
takes on Indiana (1-3, 18-10) today
to start off a four-game series.
After last weekend's bootfest -
when Michigan committed 18 errors
against Minnesota - it's a wonder
why Michigan coach Geoff Zahn has
pulled Rutkowski from the starting
lineup, considering he is one of only
four Wolverines to sport a flawless
1.000 fielding percentage.
Perhaps it's because he's a fresh-
man. Although Zahn has willingly
started at least three freshmen in the
past two games against Western
Michigan and Bowling Green,
respectively.
Perhaps starting Rutkowski at left-
bench has stemmed from something
that has ailed as many as six of the
Wolverines - a batting average of
less than .200.
Yanking Rutkowski was the result
of the freshman not being quite as
consistent with his bat as he is with
his glove, consequently losing the
battle for the centerfield slot to senior
tri-captain Rob Bobeda.

Bobeda has reclaimed his position
as the centerfielder and although
Rutkowski is pretty torn up about
being replaced, he does understand
why, since he is, after all, only a
freshman.
"It comes with the territory,"
Rutkowski said. "I respect that. Rob's
playing really well in center right
now. A lot of the guys in the outfield
have been hitting right now - I
haven't been hitting much. I'm just
kind of used to it."
Rutkowski went 0-for-5 against
Minnesota before being replaced by
fellow rookie Gino Lollio in the sec-
ond game of Saturday's double head-
er.
This weekend, Zahn said
Rutkowski may get his chance to
redeem himself if the situation per-
mits.
"He's struggling a little bit at the
bat," Zahn said. "That's the main rea-
son he's not in the lineup right now.
He's like everybody. Guys that are
struggling just have to plug away and
keep working."
During Rutkowski's hiatus, Zahn
has had to make some rather major
outfield and infield rearranging. Now
that Bobeda is in the centerfield slot,
Zahn has moved senior infielder/out-
fielder Jay Dines into right field,
leaving the first base slot open for

whoever can fill thevoid.
All of this moving around and
fielding practice for Bobeda has been
very beneficial for his game mentali-
tv.
"You get back in the flow of the
game by playing defense," said
Bobeda, who has five putouts and one
assist to compliment his 3-for-7
streak since'being back in the out-
field.
"Jeff (Trzos) has given us a big lift
at first base," Zahn said. "He's played
very well and he's swinging the bat
very well."
Over his past nine at bats, Trzos

has posted a team-leading .444 aver-
age at the plate, with four hits and
two RBI to compliment his flawless
defense.
Starting Trzos in the infield rather
than on the mound may be just what
the Wolverines need to make its Big
Ten comeback against Indiana. But
since he is a regular hurler, wouldn't
he rather send 90 mph fastballs
against the Hoosiers?
"Hopefully I can do both," Trzos
said. "But it's coach's idea that mat-
ters. It's certainly hard to warm up in
between, but we'll figure it out. We'll
think of something."


Michigan vs. Indiana
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Michigan: Leveque (1-2, 4.32)
Indiana: McClellan (23 5.300) -

MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daiy
TIo get its first Big Ten win of the season the Wolverines will need good pitching
from the likes of Vince Pistilli (above) and the rest of the rotation against Indiana.

Softball opens Big Ten season in Hoosier State

By Arun Gopal
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan softball coach Carol
Hutchins is fond of saying that what
her team has done in the past has little
effect on what it does now.
In Hutchins' eyes, the Wolverines'
back-to-back Big Ten regular-season
titles and 43-2 conference record over
the past two years mean nothing -as
of now, the Big Ten title is officially up
#or grabs again.
Thirteenth-ranked Michigan will try
to make an early statement to the rest
of the Big Ten when it opens the 2000
conference season this weekend. The
Wolverines play a doubleheader
against Indiana in Bloomington today
before heading up the road to Purdue
for games tomorrow and Sunday.
"We need to have a strong weekend,"
Hutchins said. "At this point, nobody
nows how many you need to win.
With only 18 conference games this
year, we can't afford to lose too many."
The dawn of a new season brings
optimism to all teams, especially
schools that struggled the year before.
For these teams, a new season means a

chance to wipe the slate clean and an
opportunity to rewrite history.
Indiana fits this description perfect-
ly. Last season, the Hoosiers stumbled
to a 17-40 overall record and a 3-21
Big Ten mark, which left them last in
the conference. Granted, Indiana's
record was somewhat deceiving - the
Hoosiers lost 14 one-run games a year
ago. But that certainly was small con-
solation for a team which saw its gig
Ten tournament hopes go up in smoke
by mid-March.
Although Indiana hasn't exactly set
the softball world on fire this season -
its record is 9-17 - the Hoosiers have
made strides. Michigan has already
observed Indiana's improvement -the
Hoosiers gave the Wolverines a tough
game before falling, 4-0, at the South
Florida Gladstone's Tournament on
Feb. 27.
"They've improved a lot from last
year," Hutchins said. "When we played
them this year, we only scored in one
inning - they played us tough.
"There's an attitude and a presence
that goes with winning, and I know
that Indiana has the ability to win.
We're going to have to go out and earn

it.'
From Bloomington, Michigan will
have to trek about an hour and a half
north to West Lafayette to face Purdue.
The Wolverines got a chance to watch
the Boilermakers a week ago at the
Purdue-hosted Boilermaker
Invitational, and Michigan came away
impressed with what it saw.
"They have a good lefty pitcher,
LeighAnn Burke," Hutchins said.
"They are always very aggressive.
They are a young team, so they've been
inconsistent, but they have no fear."
Much like their cross-state rivals,
Purdue struggled against the rest of the
Big Ten last season, winning nine and
dropping 14 in conference play. But,
the Boilermakers are just three years
removed from a fourth-place confer-
ence finish and are not strangers to
success.
"They're going to come after us,"
Hutchins said. "We're expecting a
tough game."
Adding intrigue to the matchup
between Michigan and Purdue will be
a reunion between two coaches who
are very familiar with one another.
Purdue skipper Carol Bruggeman

was an assistant under Hutchins from
1989-93 before taking the head coach-
ing job in West Lafayette. During her
time in Ann Arbor, Bruggeman helped
the Wolverines to consecutive Big Ten
Championships in 1992 and 1993.
In her seven years at Purdue,
Bruggeman has watched her team
steadily improve with each passing
season. As the Boilermakers continue
to move up the Big Ten ladder, the
question is, will there be a rivalry
between mentor and protege?
"We're best friends," Hutchins said.
"We have a good rivalry. But we're
both going to leave it on the field with
our teams."

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