SPORTS Friday, May 25, 1984 The Michigan-Daily Page 16 'M' out to topple Temple By ROB POLLARD There has been quite a fuss over the selection of Mt. Pleasant as the site for the NCAA Mideast regional. But when the first pitch is thrown today, all the controversy will be forgotten and the Michigan Wolverines will begin their quest for their third regional cham- pionship in five years. Michigan, ranked 18th by Collegiate Baseball magazine, meets Temple at 12:30 p.m. today in the opening game of the tournament. At 4:30 host Central Michigan takes on Indiana State. Scott Kamieniecki (6-3)'takes the mound for the Maize and Blue against Bill Mendek (10-2). THE DOUBLE-elimination continues with two games each on Saturday and Sunday. If a seventh game is needed it will be played on Monday. Michigan needed a seventh game in the Big Ten tournament to defeat Nor- thwestern. Temple also needed a seven- th game to win the Atlantic-10 tour- """ "*_ Wolverines and Owls open Mideast regional that (against Northwestern)." CLOSE WENT into the Big Ten tour- nament with an ERA of 8.29 and didn't figure to see much action. But starters Bill Shuta and Dave Karasin- ski were ineffective. So Close was called upon to hold Northwestern at hav The Owls lost the opening game of the tournament, 5-2 in 13 innings to Penn State. They then rebounded to beat. West Virginia, Penn State and Rhode Island twice. ONE TRADEMARK of this Temple team, which has a record of 33-12, is youth. "We're young. We have 10 Bud Middaugh named Big Ten coach of the year. See story, page 15. freshmen and 11 sophomores on our team," said Temple head coach Skip Wilson. "The veterans have really helped the young kids come along.", Wilson is in his 25th year as the head Owl. In that time he has compiled a 552- 260 record. Last year Temple competed in the East regional where it lost its first two games to Harvard and eventual region champ Maine. Wilson took the Owls to the College World Series in 1972 and 1977. He considers the 1972 team that finished third in the nation to be his best team ever, and believes this year's squad hasra few similarities to the 1872 team. "WE ARE very comparable pitching- wise to the '72 team. We are not as good defensively but we have better hitters. We have a lot of versatility on this team." Temple's pitching is anchored by Mendek, a senior lefthander who has a 1.13 ERA, and 118 strikeouts in 88 in- nings. "He's a complete pitcher," said Wilson. "He won't overpower you - he won't throw 85 miles per hour, but he's the best pitcher I've ever had here and I've had some that have pitched in the big leagues." while the Wolverines rallied. IF MENDEK lives up to his coach's "I figured I might have to come in billing then the fans in Mt. Pleasant are sometime because we had a couple of in for a pitching duel. guys going for us who hadn't pitched a Michigan starter Scott Kamieniecki lot (Dave Karasinski and Bill Shuta)," said has been on the warpath lately, picking Close. "Nine innings is a long time to go up a win and a save in the Big Ten tour- when you haven't done it for a while." nament while allowing only one run in If Close is effective this weekend it 11% innings. will give Middaugh four reliable pitche- Kamieniecki feels his success against rs. Kamieniecki, Wayne and relief ace Northwestern was due to his ability to Ken Hayward can all be counted on to get ahead of the hitters. get hitters out. However after these "I KNEW the key was getting ahead four, Michigan's best move would be to of them. (After a while) they began to move the fences back. chase the first or second pitch. That BOTH MIDDAUGH and Wilson agree helps a lot." that pitching is the most important area The Wolverines will need more pit- in post-season play. ching than just the usual excellent per- "When you get into these tournamen- formance from Kamieniecki. Lefty ts it comes down to pitching," said the Gary Wayne and righthander Casey Michigan mentor. Close will probably be the starters in "I think pitching and defense win the Wolverines second and third games. ballgames for you," added the Temple Both have been inconsistent this year, skipper. but came through last weekend. All Michigan games will be broadcast "All Casey needed to do was to go out on WAAM (1600 AM). in a key situation and be able to handle it," said coach Bud Middaugh. "He did r f d t e a t Kamieniecki ... ahead of the hitters Mideast regional preview By ROB POLLARD The following is a brief overview of Michigan's three opponents in the Mideast regional: TEMPLE The Owls finished first in the Atlantic 10 and then won the conference tour- nament. The team's strengths are speed and starting pitching. The Owls stole 77 bases in 45 games. They rely more on the hit and run than the longball. They hit only 34 homers this year. Leading hitters are catcher John Marzano (.438, 12 homers, 55 RBI), lef- tfielder Jeff Manto (.386, 5 homers, 32 RBI) and centerfielder Cliff Carter who hit .353 and had 13 triples to lead the conference. CENTRAL MICHIGAN The champs of the Mid-American Conference are making their fifth regional appearance. Leading hitters are sophomore first baseman Doug Fisher (.363, 13 homers 44 RBI), and Junior centerfielder Greg Lotzar, who leads the team with a .450 batting average. The top mound men are lefty Jay Phillion (6-2; 4.04) and righthanded relief specialist Bob Cavanaugh (6-1; 2.81). Central also has the added advan- tage of being the home team. INDIANA STATE The Sycamores appear to be the weakest team in the tournament. They finished third in the Missouri Valley Conference, but won the conference tournament by beating Wichita State. Freshman leftfielder/designated hit- ter Tony Collins (.357, 16 homers, 60 RBI) is the main man in the ISU lineup. While Junior catcher Rod Zeratsky is hitting .345. In last year's Mideast tournament at Ann Arbor the Sycamores went down in two straight. Associated Press No place like home Philadelphia Phillies' Ozzie Virgil collides with Los Angeles Dodgers' catcher Mike Scioscia on a play at the plate during the second inning of last night's game in Philadelphia. Virgil was safe on the play.