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April 14, 2006 - Image 8

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The Michigan Daily, 2006-04-14

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Friday
April 14, 2006
sports. michigandaily. com
sports@michigandaily.com

PO R didliggitSii

8

The night life: 'M' prepares for battle against Buckeyes

0

By Colt Rosensweig
Daily Sports Writer
In tonight's game, records don't matter.
It doesn't matter that No.24 Ohio State leads the Big Ten stand-
ings and just notched its 20th win of the season. It doesn't matter
that Michigan just lost to a Mid-American Conference team for
the first time since 2004. At 6:35 p.m., all bets are off.
Tonight, rivals Michigan and Ohio State square off for the first
time this season under the lights at The Fish.
At first glance, the Buckeyes seem to have the .
momentum. But their most recent game against7
Central Michigan suggests that might not be the
case. Although Ohio State came away with an 8-5
victory, it allowed the Chippewas, who fell behind8ack l
8-0, to make a comeback. The Buckeyes also com-
mitted five errors. 3
And for the Wolverines, this will be no ordinary
series.
"There's always something special about playing
Ohio State - bragging rights and rivalry and all that," senior co-
captain Jeff Kunkel said.
In 2003 and 2004, the Wolverines visited Columbus and took
three of four from the Buckeyes each time. Before those series,
Ohio State had never lost a series in Bill Davis Stadium, which
first opened in 1997.
"That was big for us and kind of renewed the rivalry on the
baseball field," Kunkel said. "We had read some things that they
said there was no rivalry anymore, but there's definitely a rivalry
between us."
According to Mgoblue.com, Friday night's projected starter is
freshman Zach Putnam. Putnam boasts a 3.46 ERA, the fourth-
best on the team, as well as a low-90s fastball.
Michigan will have to play the same kind of tight, clean base-
ball behind Putnam as it did last weekend in Minnesota, when it

took three of four games from the Golden Gophers.
"I think this past series against Minnesota was probably good prac-
tice for what Ohio State is going to bring, because they're going to be
tight games," senior co-captain A. J. Scheidt said. "It's going to come
(down to) top defensive work and timely hitting and good pitching."
Senior Craig Murray - who pitched Michigan to a 6-2 win
over Northwestern before giving up five runs in his start against
Minnesota - will be the team's new closer. The bullpen as a
whole will look to improve upon its performance against Toledo,
in which the Rockets pushed across the winning
runs in extra innings.
Gf T But the unexpected loss to Toledo only has the
Wolverines more determined to come out of the
rate at weekend with a series victory.
"This (loss to Toledo) makes you really check
p PVyourself, defensively, offensively (and) pitching, all
that stuff," Scheidt said. "You realize anybody can
<><« __ beat you and nobody's a man of steel."
Nobody - including the Buckeyes.
The Wolverines hope to draw some extra intensity from a big
crowd. Last season, Michigan played its first night game ever
against Ohio State and attracted not only ESPN cameras, but
2,539 boisterous fans.
"It's great to play in front of good crowds and have them cheering
for you,'"Kunkel said. "Iexpect it will probably be the biggest crowd
of the year. Hopefully, people will come out, have a good time and
come back for the other series. Classes are ending, so maybe people
have got some free time to come on out and cheer for us."
Those who come to support the Wolverines should be treated
to some top-notch baseball, considering the intensity of the rivalry
between the two teams.
"To be honest, my expectation is not to lose to Ohio State at
all," Scheidt said. "We go into every series wanting to take three
of four, but we want to do real well against Ohio State."

TREVOR CAMPBELL/Daily

Catcher Jeff Kunkel and his teammates hope to gain more ground in the Big Ten against Ohio State.

N SOFTBALL
Blue deals with being one of the best

Thirty reasons
I'll miss this job."

By Amber Colvin
Daily Sports Writer

Lafayette with no wins to
weekend series.
But Purdue wasn't ready

show for their wasn't what Michigan hoped for, the sev-
enth inning resurgence sweetened the sour
y to leave town taste left in the team's mouth after the

The Michigan softball team should
have bullseyes stitched to the back of its
jerseys. As a loss to Purdue on Sunday
demonstrated, each squad the Wolverines
play is hungry to take down the 12th-
ranked defending national champions.
"Every team is bringing their A game.
Every single team," senior catcher Becky
Marx said. "We are not just playing any
team anymore, ... we're playing the best
they have to offer. People are showing up
for our games now. You don't fly under the
radar anymore."
The Boilermakers came into the dou-
bleheader at Alumni Field with a 22-18
record overall, two losses in Big Ten play.
Michigan was riding an eight-game win
streak.
After a 14-0 thrashing of Purdue in
game one, the Wolverines seemed ready
to send their opponents packing for West

quite yet. The Boilermakers entered game loss.

two swinging, jumping
out to a quick 3-1 lead in
the first inning.
"It's always going
to be competitive,"
Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins said. "Every-
body this year has com-
peted well against us.
It shouldn't come as a
surprise. We need to be
ready for that, and be
excited about it."

THIS EEL
Michigan
.Iowa
lowa City,
Mi ch n
Wsconsi
Madison Wis

"(We) need to play softball
like they played in the sev-
KEND enth inning," Hutchins said.
"I told them that. I told them
at to start like we did in that
seventh inning, just like we
owa . left off there.
The Wolverines (5-1 Big
rt Ten, 25-10 overall) will take
n Hutchins's advice into this
c}nsin weekend as they travel to
Iowa City and Madison.
Friday and Saturday, the
Wolverines square off against the Hawk-
eyes (4-2, 26-14), who sits just one loss
behind second-place Michigan in the Big
Ten standings. Both teams are aiming at
undefeated Michigan State's first-place
position.
Farther down the list sits Big Ten bot-

tom-feeder Wisconsin (2-4, 16-15). The
Badgers will welcome Michigan for a
doubleheader on Sunday.
The Wolverines split their series with
Iowa last season, dropping their Big Ten
opener, 5-2, only to recover with a 3-1 vic-
tory the next day. Then-No. 1 Michigan
defeated Wisconsin twice the next week-
end, including an 8-0 shutout.
Iowa visited Ann Arbor for a second
time last season - to vie for the Big Ten
Tournament crown. Michigan defeated
the Hawkeyes in the championship, hoist-
ing the Big Ten trophy after a 7-2 victory.
But regardless of last year's wins or
this season's Big Ten standings, the Wol-
verines know how badly each team wants
to beat them. And as Purdue showed on
Sunday, it's always a possibility.
"Whether we're playing Iowa or Wis-
consin, they're in our way," Hutchins said.
"My approach is to take care of them one
game at a time. We don't focus on any-
thing else."

These "farewell columns" are
usually sappy and nostalgic.
I've been accused of being
both.
So I'm not going to be a hero
and take an alternate approach. I'll
leave that to somebody
else.

After, weathering a four-run Wolver-
ine storm in the seventh inning, Purdue
strolled away with the "W."
As Michigan walked off the field defeat-
ed, the Boilermakers celebrated as if they
had just won a championship themselves.
Although the final 5-4 score certainly

To get things started,
I've got a confession to
make: the Daily and I
have a bit of a check-
ered past.
I rarely, if ever,
picked up the paper
freshman year. And
for whatever reason,
even though you'd be
hard-pressed to find
anybody who likes
sports more, I can

GA]
EDEL
Hone
Gab

The College of Literature, Science & the Arts and the Department of Mathematics present a
Lecture in the LS&A Research
Theme Semester in Mathematical Biology
4 d
4A
Dr. Alan rerelson W
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Modeling the Kinetics of Hepatitis B and C
Vral Infections In Vivo
About 300 million people are currently infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and about 170
million with hepatitis C virus. Both of these viruses can cause cirrhosis and lead to liver
failure or liver cancer. Both are major public health problems (many more people are infected
{ ~with these viruses than with HIV) and therapy is only effective in a subset of infected people. ' '
Here l: will review the biology of both viruses and show how mathematical modeling has
provided basic insights into the pathogeneisis of these viruses and provided a means of !
mnanivloe-ocinpx the effects of theranv_ I will nresent a set of state-of..the-art models I

only remember one
Daily sports story
from my first go-round in Ann
Arbor (It had to do with the bas-
ketball sanctions).
When I finally did drag myself to the
Student Publications Building for the
Sunday sports staff meeting at the start
of my sophomore year, I wanted to be
somewhere else. The thought of missing
the 1 p.m. kickoff time for NFL games
terrified me. Although, as a lifelong
Lions fan, I was probably doing myself.
a favor.
Even as I entered my second
semester as a night editor during my
junior year, I was having misgiv-
ings about the whole thing. I stepped
down from my editing position
because I felt overwhelmed. It was
the middle of hockey season, and as
I found myself in the middle of a six-
month-long, 35-hour-a-week writing
job, I briefly contemplated quitting
altogether. Thankfully, I didn't.
Now, as I sit here, a senior sports
editor writing my last piece for the
Daily after three years of work,
a random, haphazard jumble of
memories is rushing back to me.
More importantly, I'm beginning to
realize all the things I'll miss.
I'll miss working 14-hour Sundays.
I'll miss those long road trips,
especially in the car. And group
sing-a-longs to "Chicago" tunes in
the process.
I'll miss working with so many
talented writers and quality people.
To Ian Herbert, Megan Kolodgy,
Jake Rosenwasser, Ryan Sosin,
Matt Venegoni and Stephanie
Wright - my beatmates over the
past three years - thanks so much.
It was quite a ride. And to the rest
of the Daily Sports staff - past and
present - I'm indebted to you, too.
You know who you are. .
I'll miss John Lowe, one of the
kindest, wisest and most generous
people I know. John, you helped my
writing more than anybody else.
I'll miss not being able to cheer
in the press box.
I'll miss that strange feeling of
walking into class and seeing my

converted into a carcinogenic,
claustrophobic bubble during con-
struction last year.
I'll miss milkshake Thursdays
and themed nightsides.
I'll miss editors complaining that
I write too much too
slowly.
I'll miss making a fool
of myself at a karaoke
bar in San Antonio.
I'll miss the pilgrim-
age to Malcolm X's
birthplace in Omaha,
not to mention eating a
Reuben in the city where
it was invented.
BE I'll miss those
SON moments during long
est weekends watching
5e baseball at The Fish
when I realized that it
was my job.
I'll miss those measly paychecks,
even though I would've done it all
for free.
I'll miss the coaches (Kathy Tei-
chert, Jon Urbanchek, Rich Malo-
ney, Red Berenson and Lloyd Carr)
whose teams I covered, and the
sports information directors (Gene
Skidmore, Jim Schneider, Matt
Trevor and Dave Ablauf) who tried
to make my life a little easier.
I'll miss the athletes who shared
their time, thoughts and emotions with
me. From laughter and jokes to grief
and mourning, they bared it all.
I'll miss J. Brady McCollough's
encouragement, so important for a
young sportswriter.
I'll miss Gennaro Filice's atten-
tion to detail and those seemingly
endless nights (Except maybe the
time we worked until 5 a.m.).
I'll miss Ian Herbert's ability to"
multitask. Pretty impressive, buddy.
I'll miss Jack Herman's determi-
nation to improve the section. And
our trips to Zingerman's, of course.
I'll miss acting as the sports sec-
tion's food and restaurant guru.
I'll miss having such a no-brainer
topic for my law school personal
statement.
I'll miss the batcave, the library,
the attic and the building in general.
I'll miss the completely absurd
marathon that is Daily elections.
I'll miss transcribing all those
quotes after games and press con-
ferences, sometimes in a dark,
moving car, and always hoping my
laptop battery wouldn't die.
I'll miss the little nooks and
crannies of Canham, The Fish, Yost
and the Big House that fans don't
always get to see.
But most of all, I'll miss having this
wonderful opportunity; the chance to
write about sports, something I love,
and to have my words reach so many
people who share my passion. And if
you're only reading because class is
boring and there's nothing else to do, I
appreciate that, too.
With that, I bid you all a fond

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