Robinson Athletic Dept. and Forcier got it right .,t 1 I~hthis tim e finally m eet here's a line between a fan-friendly game and too many marketing gimmicks, and the Mihigan Athletic Department has flirted By ANDY REID with it before. Daily Sports Editor Basketball promotions this year included free pizza and On National Signing Day in February, early-en- ticket packages that practically rollee Tate Forcier couldn't even remember Denard begged students to go to games Robinson's name. All he knew was what his mom had in order to earn Michigan mer- explained over the phone earlier that day: the Wolver- chandise at the end of the season. ines signed another dual-threat quarterback, and he Even the media was treated to is really fast. an exclusive preseason hands-on Forcier and Robinson were finally introduced practice with coach John Beilein before Saturday's spring game. While Forcier warmed at Crisler Arena. up with the first-team wide receivers, Robinson, don- It seemed like the team and COURTNEY ning his bright red Deerfield Beach (Fla.) high school the Athletic Department were RATKOWIAK letterman's jacket, made his way around the field and trying to compensate for the talked with players and coaches. Bubbly and excited, : previous year's 10-22 record by Robinson made his rounds, even stopping to sign drawing attention to everything except the team's autographs. SAID ALSALAH (TOP) CLF REEDER (OTTOM)/Daly past. But it just came off as tacky, and the fans only The two, along with redshirt junior Nick Sheridan, Early enrollee Tate Forcier impressed in his first performance in front of a crowd of Michigan fans at Saturday's spring game. started to respond noticeably when the Wolverines will soon be battling for the starting quarterback He looked calm in the pocket, tossing three touchdowns - including a 50-yarder to redshirt freshman Roy Roundtree - and ran started to win. See QUARTERBACKS, Page 4B for another. He and incoming freshman Denard Robinson will most likely compete for this fal's starting job. See RATKOWIAK, Page 4B S S S Relief pitching remains a problem for Blue after dropping series against Big Ten leaders By RYAN KARTJE Ines' pitching that doomed them in Daily Sports Writer games two and three. "I've seen these pitchers do a lot With a full count in the seventh better," Michigan coach Rich Malo- inning against Illinois on Saturday ney said. "Pitching was supposed night, Mike Dufek stood dumb- to be our strength this season, but founded,staringtowardthe mound. we're just not there yet." Illinois pitcher Lee Zerrusen had As usual, senior ace pitcher Chris just struck Dufek out swinging. Fetter dominated in his Friday Frustrated, the junior slammed his night start, notching a career-high bat into the dirt behind the batter's 13 strikeouts to lead Michigan to ar box. He fumed as he walked backto decisive victory. With his double- the dugout with a bent bat and the digit strikeout effort, Fetter passed Michigan baseball team still down -Jim Brauer for fourth-most career4 10-7. strikeouts in program history. Dufek's l - 1 "We believe Chris Fetter is the reaction ICIN 11Sbest pitcher in the league," sopho- to the HIGAN more Anthony Toth said. "He strikeout definitely carried us tonight. We A epitomized his 0-for-4 night and expect him to do what he did (Fri- the Wolverines' weekend. Michi- day) all the time, and he never dis- gan lost two of three, suffering a appoints." two-run loss on Saturday and a six- With the team's relief corps' run defeat yesterday, to drop the struggling, Maloney decided to . weekend series against Big Ten- let Fetter go the distance in the leading Illinois (6-3 Big Ten, 21-8 4-2 win. The weekend's other two overall). starters couldn't produce nearly Dufek and the offense didn't the same success.. have much of problem manufactur- On Saturday, junior Eric Katz- log tuna in the series, registering man, who came into the weekend eight on Saturday and five yester- with four wins, left the game after SAID ALSALAH/Daily day. Instead, it was the Wolver- See FIGHTING ILLINI, Page 3B Senior Chris Fetter struck out a career-high 13 batters against Illinois on Friday. SOFTBALL Taylor breaks out of - slump, leads 'M' in sweep By IAN KAY Daily Sports Writer After struggling through the first month of Big Ten play, sophomore pitcher Jordan Taylor spent last week pitching to Strike Out - a piece of tarp with a hole in the middle. Yes- terday, MINNESOTA 0 she was MICHIGAN 7 back to racking up strikeouts. Taylor twirled a three-hit shutout as the Michigan softball team defeated Minnesota 7-0 to complete a two-game sweep at Alumni Field. The Wolverines topped the Golden Gophers 4-1 on Saturday. In her previous five appear- ances, Taylor had tallied a disap- pointing 3.81 ERA and thrown just one complete game. "Everything was a little bit off," she said. "Timing, spin, you name it. What wasn't I struggling with?" But last week, Taylor spent some extra time with Strike Out. The tarp, which hangs in the team's practice batting cages, lends itself to a simple drill - throw the ball through the hole. Retrieve. Repeat. When a pitcher's mechanics or timing is off, that hole can seem awfully small. Last Sunday, when Taylor came to the practice facili- ty by herself for some extra work, Strike Out looked like a pinhole. "It was basically punishment," Taylor said. Last Wednesday, Taylor held Central Michigan to two runs in seven innings of work. She called the game a "step in the right direction" but still didn't feel back in her pitching rhythm. So on Thursday, she spent another session throwing at the hole in the tarp. The extra work paid offyester- day as Taylor tossed seven strong innings, fanning 12 Minnesota batters and allowing just five bas- erunners. "I was smoother," she said. "I was thinking a lot less about pitches. I was just throwing." See GOLDEN GOPHERS, Page 3B v MEN'S TRACK WOMEN'S TENNIS The Michigan men's track and field team U Seniors Lindsey Howard and Chisako traveled to Columbus and avenged its indoor Sugiyama playedtheir last match at the _j Dual loss. Page 4B. Varsity Tennis Center. Page 2B.