Sports Page 20 Thursday, May 7, 1981 The Michigan Daily BLUE TAKE NIGHTCAP, 7-2 Michigan splits with EMU 4 4 By MARTHA CRALL "We played one game today." That was the first thing from the mouths of managers Bud Middaugh and Ron Oestrike after Michigan's doubleheader with Eastern Michigan yesterday at Fisher Stadium. Oestrike saw his Hurons take the first game, 7-3, while Middaugh's Wolverines won the nightcap, 7-2. MICHIGAN SEEMED to break out of its hitting slump, which necessitated an hour and a half of batting practice following Tuesday's loss to Toledo, as it collected seven hits in each of the two games. In the opener, Eastern collected .AND IN THIS CORNER .. . Mark Mihanovic 4W Detroit to host fight... . .s..only 'sport' in town DETROIT THE LIONS FOLD down the wire, the Tigers get off to a disappointing start, the Pistons and the Red Wings, well ... but with this week's announcement that on June 12, Joe Louis Arena will host a heavyweight title bout between champion Larry Holmes and former champion Leon Spinks, the city of Detroit takes another step in establishing itself as a major force in the world of boxing. Thomas Hearns and Hilmer Kenty thrust the Motor City into ring prominence when they brought home championship belts in the welter- and lightweight divisions, respectively-but nothing can focus the eyes of the sport upon a town like the anticipation of heavyweight championship fight. The buildup began yesterday afternoon, as 1,000 boxing aficionados, media members, fans, and, of course, groupies packed the Versaille Room of the Ponchartrain Hotel to welcome Holmes, Spinks and that enigmatic promoter, Don King, to Detroit. Mayor Coleman Young, who spearheaded the effort to bring the cham- pionship bout to his city as a tribute to the legendary, recently-deceased Joe Louis, set the tone for the event with his opening remarks. "I think there's a touch of irony," he said. "We wanted to have a dinner and invite Joe Louis here for a formal dedication, but Joe couldn't wait. He had a schedule of his own. "I expect this fight to be a sellout because Detroit is a great fight town. Let's do it for Joe, let's do it for Detroit, but, mainly, let's do it." There is no doubt that the city will do it. Unless Sparky Anderson's troops turn things around, it could be a boring summer for Detroit sports fans-ex- cept for that one night in June. Not that the fight will necessarily be a great one. The first heavyweight title bout held in Detroit since Joe Frazier knocked out Bob Foster almost 11 years ago may end as quickly as Holmes wants it to. Then again, the gifted Spinks may reach into that large store of potential and make a contest of it. It doesn't matter-for a short period of time, the Motor City will be the cen- ter of attention of millions of people, and that will undoubtedly serve as a needed financial and moral boost. The contrast in styles between the two fighters should spark interest in the fight in and of itself. Holmes arrived at the press conference early, suit-and-tie, politely smiling and greeting the Mayor and others seated at the dias. Spinks walked in with King near the end of Young's talk, sporting a bright red warm-up suit and a grin as big as the Renaissance Center. Spinks' question-and-answer session with the media consisted mostly of inquiries about the state of his less-than-stable personal life and inaudible responses. King guided him all the way. When the promoter introduced Holmes as the "All-American boy," "the people's champion," "a champion both in and out of the ring," however, Leon proved to be perceptive. He leaned over to the woman seated beside him and laughed, "He didn't say that about me, did he?" Even an unusually soft-spoken Holmes couldn't resist a jab or two at Spinks. "When Leon says he got nothing to lose, he's right," he said. "He ain't got no prestige, he ain't got no money, he ain't got no teeth. Me, I got my record, I got my prestige, I got all my teeth . . ." But Holmes doesn't possess the capability that Muhammad Ali breathed-the knack for keeping a crowd entranced, in awe. And thus, the city of Detroit must regret the fact that Ali never fought a title bout there. Still, a Larry Holmes-Leon Spinks championship fight is better than nothing. A lot better. 13 hits and started scoring early, picking up, a first inning lead that it never relinquished. With one out, Greg Howe dropped a double in front of rightfielder Jim Paciorek, stole third and scored on cat- cher John Young's throwing error. Then shortstop Howard Simmons singled and scored on Doug Davis' triple off the center field wall. Gary Baker singled him in, Jim Riggs doubled, sending Baker to third and Dave Jonske lofted a sacrifice fly to drive in the fourth Huron run. Michigan got two back in the bottom of the second when Paciorek led off with a triple, Gerry Hool doubled him in and one out later Chuck Froning doubled Hool home. EASTERN THREATENED again in the fifth, but didn't score its final runs until the sixth when Pat Zureich led off the inning with a single. Bryon Horn sacrificed him to second, Howe singled and stole second, which led to an inten- tional walk for Simmons to load the bases. Davis came through with a single to drive in his second and third runs of the day. Baker collected the other RBI on a fielder's choice groun- der. The Wolverines kicked up their heels in the bottom of the seventh, when Froning led off with a triple and Young singled him in before any were out, but Randy Gorgon relieved starting pitcher and winner Brandon Segnitz (3-1) and put out the fire with no further damage being done. Michigan starter Rich Stoll (4-2) took the loss. Michigan started the scoring in the first inning of the second game, when . Greg Schulte got a walk, Tony Evans hit into a force, Paciorek singled and Chris Sabo hit a sacrifice fly to deep center to score Evans. THE WOLVERINES chipped away on starter Mitch Zwolensky, scoring another run in the second on an RBI single by Schulte. Jason Hansen then came in for the Hurons and pitched one inning, giving up three third-inning runs. Two of the runs were unearned, however, as Froning collected the only RBI. Michigan scored its final two runs in the fifth inning on two more errors by the Hurons, with Tim Miller picking up an RBI. Eastern scored runs in the second, on an RBI double by Gene Bezeau and in the sixth on a solo home run by Davis. HANSEN (2-3) TOOK the loss in the nightcap and Bill Shuta (4-1) picked up the complete game win for the Wolverines, giving up two runs on only four hits. "Shuta pitched a good game for us," said Middaugh. "I'm not happy with a split, but I'm glad we won thg second game. I like to leave the ballpark with a pleasant memory." Michigan will play two doubleheaders this weekend with Michigan State to finish its Big Ten season needing only one win to clinch the division title. The Wolverines will play at Michigan State on Saturday and host the Spartans on Sunday in a twin- bill at Fisher Stadium, beginning at 1 p.m. Seven and seven FIRST GAME 123 456 7 R H E EASTERN MICHIGAN ............ 400 003 0 7 130 MICHIGAN .............. 020 000 1 3 7 1 Segnitz, Gorgon (7) and Davis Stoll, Wissing (7) and n g WP- Segnitz, LP- Stoll HR-none SECOND GAME 123 456 7 RIlHE EASTERNMICHIGAN............010 001 2 4 5 MICHIIGAN .........113 02S 0 7 7 1 ZwoIensky.Hansen() aisso(4)> and Davis Shuta and Hool WP-Shuta. LP-Hansen HR- Davis I E I 6 I 0 0 Daily Photo by PAUL ENGSTROM Wolverine Dave Stober slides safely into third in the nightcap's fourth in- ning. Michigan managed to bounce back from its 7-3 first game loss to defeat Eastern Michigan, 7-2.