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