SPORTS 4 _ .. ....... rL _ aa _I_ _. - n_. " Page 16 Saturday, May 14, 1983 The Michigan Daiy 'M' out for hurting Boilermakers 4 By PAUL HELGREN There is a definite contrast between the two teams that will meet at Fisher Stadium this weekend. One team, Michigan, is on a roll, having won 12 straight games by an average margin of 6.9 runs to run their record to 39-6, 10-1 in the Big Ten. The other, Purdue, is on the sicklist. The Boilermakers, who are 1-10-1 in their last twelve games, have five starters who are either on the disabled list or playing with injuries. IN ADDITION, three players, third baseman Bob Rusbolt, right fielder Brian Bittner, and pitcher Mike Boese have all been suspended for the remainder of the year for "disciplinary reasons," according to Purdue coach Dave Alexander. It has been a strange season for Alexander's Boilermakers, to say the least. Two weeks ago Purdue was 19-16, with a 3-1 record in conference play. But then Michigan State came to West Lafayette and swept four games, three of which Purdue had the lead going into the final inning. The Boilermakers have yet to recover. "There's no question," said Alexan- der, "that was the turning point." His team only won one of its next eight games, including three conference losses to Indiana that dropped it to four- th place in the Big Ten East. TO MAKE MATTERS worse for Alexander, his team has been stricken by a rash of injuries. Shortstop Elam Rossy, who is hitting .345 with nine homers and 52 RBI's, is questionable for the weekend series because of a badly bruised leg. Designated hitter Pete Fay has a broken nose and probably won't play. First baseman P.J. Dietrick has a bad leg but will probably play. Starting pitcher John Sarafin injured his arm earlier in the year and is out for the season. "At this point in the season," Alexan- der said glumly, "I'd be happy with any wins at all (this weekend)." Michigan coach Bud Middaugh does not fear a letdown by his streaking team, currently ranked fourth in the nation. "I NEVER FEAR a letdown," the fourth-year coach said. "You can't really define a letdown. If we lose two games to Eastern (the Wolverines beat the Hurons twice on Wednesday) then we had a letdown. I don't buy that. If we drop two to Eastern its because they went out and beat us." What Middaugh does fear is Matt is one of the premier pitchers in the conference," he said. Actually Kinzer has had an "up and down" year, according to Alexander. Alexander said Kinzer was effective against Ohio State and Indiana but completely ineffective against Michigan State. Kinzer's record is 5-5 with a 3.31 ERA. "MICHIGAN might get him out of there in the first inning," Alexander said, "or he might be strong the whole way. We'll just have to wait and see." Kinzer and Eric Volk (5-3, 2.79) will start for Purdue in Saturday's doubleheader against Michigan star- ters Gary Wayne and Casey Close. Sun- day's games will pit Purdue's Bill Ban- ker (0-6, 5.33) against either Dave Kopf or Dan Disher. Alexander is still un- decided about who he will throw in the series finale against Michigan fresh- man Scott Kamieniecki. BLUE BANTER: Michigan Third baseman Chris Sabo was chosen as the Big Ten player of the week for his lusty hitting in last weekend's sweep of Michigan State. Sabo hit .533 (8-15) with three home runs and eight RBI's in the series... Believe it or not Michigan's .365 team average is not the best in the Big Ten. Minnesota of the Big Ten's Western Conference is hitting .394 as a team in Big Ten play. The Gophers are led by third baseman Terry Steinbach, who is hitting .537 with five homers and 20 RBI's... 4 4 4 Michigan third baseman, Chris Sabo, safe with triple displays the talent that earned him the title of Big Ten ppayeroinheweek. The collegiate statistics Collegiate Baseball Top 20, 1. Wichita State (52-11) .............497 12. Arkansas (40-15)...............474 2. Brigham Young (48-8) .......:...495 13. Tulane (43-13)..................473 3. San Diego State (55-10)-..........493 14. Florida State (50-16-1)-..........471 4. MICHIGAN (39-6)...............490 15. Arizona State (37-18)-............469 5. Oral Roberts (41-14).............488 16. South Carolina (31-9)-...........465 6. Texas (49-12)....................485 17. Florida (38-12).................464 7. Oklahoma State (37-13)-..........484 18. Pan American (55-13-1)-.........463 8. Mississippi State (36-11) .........483 19. Southern California (30-22-1) ....460 9. Stanford (35-15-1)................480 20. Washington State (33-11-1)-......459 10. Miami (52-15) ..................479 source: Collegiate Baseball Magazine 11. North Carolina (41-8)-...........476 Big Ten Leaders Hitting (conference games only) Big Ten Baseball Standings 4 East Division Conference W L Pct. *MICHIGAN....................10 1 .909 **Michigan State........-....... 8 6 .571 Indiana-.....................4 7 .363 Purdue............:.............4 8 .333 Ohio State......................3 7 .300 West Division Conference W L Pct. *Minnesota ..................... 10 2 .833 Iowa-...........................7 5 .583 Northwestern-..................6 6 .500 Wisconsin......................6 10 .375 Illinois.........................3 9 .250 *clinched division title **clinched playoff spot Overall W L T 39 6 - 17 23 - 23 20 - 20 26 1 21 18 - Overall W L T 22 19 - 30 17 1 30 17 1 22 17 - 20 24 2 Pct. .867 .425 .535 .436 .538 Pct. .537 .635 .635 .564 .455 4 G AB R T. Steinbach, Minn............. 12 41 13 S. Schuveiiier, Minn............ 12 41 17 J.Schlichting, Minn............ 12 43 18 CHUCK FRONING, MICH..... 10 22 8 BARRY LARKIN, MICH....... 11 35 14 FREDERDMANN, MICH...... 10 25 8 P.J. Dietrick, Pur.............. 12 36 11 Joe Scime, Wis........... 16 54 18 Joe Giker, III................... 12 33 11 Mike verkuilen, Wis............ 16 43 13 H 2B-3B-HR RBI Sa 22 3-1-5 20 3 21 3-2-2 10 3 22 0-2-4 16 2 11 1-0-0 5 1 17 0-0-3 10 3 12 2-0-4 11 1 16 2-0-0 4 5 23 5-1-6 21 7 14 2-2-0 5 5 18 3-2- 17 3 D BB Avg. 6 .537 t 3 .512 5 .512 6 .500 7 .486 7 .480 S 5 .444 6 .426 13 .424 16 .419 W-L ERA 2-0 0.45 2-0 0.75 1-2 1.56 1-1 2.63 2-0 2.94 Minnesota at Iowa Northwestern at Illino Pitching (min. 1.3 IP per league game) G GS IP R/E H SO GARY WAYNE, MICH .... 3 3 20 2/1 10 9 RICH $TOLL, MICH ....... 2 2 12 3/1 7 8 Barry Jones, Ind ........... 3 3 17.1 7/3 9 20 Eric yolk, Por ............. 3 3 13.2 8/4 13 7 B. Hickerson, Minn ........ 3 3 15.1 7/5 18 10 Games Scheduled SATURDAY AND SUNDAY Purdue at Michigan is Indiana at Ohio State Chuck Froning (far left), Gary Wayne (center) and Barry Larkin (right) are all among the Big Ten leaders. I 4 BB 3 3 18 9 8 ac