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SPORTS
Sunday, June 3, 1984
Page 12
The Michigan Daily
New Orleans next for 'M' batsmen
By ROB POLLARD
Special to the Daily
OMAHA, Neb. - Having exhausted one of their two
lives, the Michigan baseball team will try to prolong
its stay at the College World Series when it takes on
New Orleans today at 5:10 p.m. E.D.T. The game can
be seen live on ESPN.
Scott Kamieniecki (8-3, 3.43 ERA) will start for
Michigan. New Orleans skipper Ron Maesteri has
hinted he'll use lefty David Lynch (5-2, 4.46).
THE PRIVATEERS have a record of 45-25 on the
year and were ranked sixth going into the tour-
naient. New Orleans, champions of the South II
regional were beaten by defending World Series
champions Texas, 6-3, on Friday. The loser of today's
game will have their second loss and a trip home.
Michigan outfielder Chuck Froning believes the
Wolverines are in the right frame of mind for today's
contest.
"We have a good feeling going into the New Orleans
game," said Froning, who had a key double in
Friday's game- "We came into the Series ranked
eighth and a lot of people were questioning our
capabilities.ButI think that by our performance (on
Friday) we proved that we are a high caliber team
that deserves to be in Omaha."
BOTH MAESTERI and Michigan head coach Bud'
Middaugh believe both teams will be able to bounce.*'Associated Pres
back from their opening defeats. Michigan's Ken Hayward is about to be tagged out at second base by Cal State-Fullerton's Shane Turner
"Sure we've got our backs to the wall, but we can in the second inning of the Wolverines' 8-4 loss in the opener of the College World Series Friday night at
put it together," said Maesteri, whose Privateers are Omaha.
making their first-ever CWS appearance. "I've got average with 23 homers and 83 RBI. New Orleans has nament, Michigan was able to rebound from a second
confidence in the kids. I'm not just blowing smoke." a total of 75 round trippers, whereas Michigan has game 6-5 loss to Alabama. If the club can show the
"The New Orleans ball club is a fine ball club and I just 48. resilience of last year's team, it will play again Wed-
think we're a fine club also," said Middaugh. That may mean trouble for Kamieniecki. In his nesday at 7:10 p.m. If it can't it will have a seventh-
"You'll see us fighting out there and I'm sure New previous two starts in the Mideast regional at Mt. place finish and about nine months until it's next
Orleans will do the same thing." Pleasant, Kamieniecki has yielded a total of five game.
THE PRIVATEERS are statistically very similar homers. The hard-throwing righty last pitched on In 1979, Cal State-Fullerton rebounded from an
to the Wolverines. New Orleans has a team batting Wednesday, going all nine innings in Michigan's opening game loss to win five striaght and capture
average of .298 and a combined ERA of 4.93. The regional-clinching 4-3 win over Central Michigan. the Series championship. The Wolverines must now
respective Michigan marks are .300 and 5.17. IN TACKLING New Orleans, the Wolverines are do the same in order to win their third national
Slugger Mark Higgins leads New Orleans in most attempting to bounce back from perhaps their most championship.
hitting categories. The junior first baseman has a .386 disheartening loss of the season. In last year's tour-
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01
By Douglas B. Levy
Catcher Bair's muffs costly .. .
.. .But he's still a winner
OMAHA, Neb.
Sadly, great athletes and great teams have off-
days - those rare performances that are so
awful they distinguish themselves and assume
identities all their own. Great quarterbacks
throw interceptions, basketball stars
inexplicably miss clutch free throws and great
NHL goaltenders let some slip through their
pads.
The athlete's dreadful performance is
magnified when it occurs in THE game or on
THE play. Rich Bair, Michigan's leader from
behind the plate, suffered such an experience in
Friday night's opening-game 8-4 loss to Cal-State
Fullerton in the 1984 College World Series.
"The guy is entitled to a bad game," said
Michigan skipper Bud Middaugh, "just as he's
entitled to have a great game. It's just unfor-
tunate that the bad game had to come now in
such a pressure situation where Rich wanted so
badly to excel."
"I feel like I let down the team," explained
Bair, 22, and a tri-captain for the Wolverines.
"Sure it's important what I do off the field,
helping other guys out and always keeping a
bright, positive outlook. But basically it all boils
down to how you perform on the field, and I
failed."
For the record, let it show that against the
Titans Bair went hitless in four attempts, hit into
a double play, failed on two sacrifice bunt at-
tempts and made two costly throwing errors that
led to Fullerton runs.
Against Cal State, Bair's poor performance
hurt the Wolverines, but such outings are a
rarity for the Dayton native.
"I just feel that without him we couldn't have
won the Big Ten championship," said Middaugh,
who has led Michigan to four such titles in his
five years as coach. "He's very much of a leader.
Last night he had a bad game but he kept bat-
tling, kept trying."
Bair has been battling for Middaugh, a coach
whom he admires deeply, for four full seasons.
Bair ranks third in Michigan history, having
played 187 games.
As a junior co-captain in 1983 Bair collected 64
hits and led the Wolverines in hitting from the
eighth spot in the lineup with .393 average. He
was also first-team All Big Ten. With great
modesty he admits, "If Sabo (former Wolverine
third baseman Chris Sabo) were here he'd also
tell you that last year I set the all-time record for
cheap hits."
This past season, batting higher in the order,
his numbers slipped, but he still batted .310
through the Mideast regional, collecting 53 hits,
four home runs, 11 doubles and 38 RBI. He also
made the Big Ten all-tournament team.
But to remember Bair solely for his fine hitting
would be incorrect. In '83 his fielding percentage
was a phenomenal .989, as he commited only
three miscues in 57 games. In 61 games before
Friday night's contest, Bair was fielding an ex-
cellent .965 with nine errors.
Speaking about Friday's defeat Bair said:
"Well, of course we're all very disappointed. But
my disappointment is amplified more than
anyone else's because I'm a leader."
The fact is, Bair is a winner. The loss to Cal
State has been quickly put into the books as the
team prepares to fight for its life against New
Orleans today. But beyond New Orleans and this
1984 World Series, Bair will carry with him
cherished memories of his Michigan experience.
"I came to Michigan because of coach Mid-
daugh and what a great coach and person he is.
My choice of Michigan is one of the best I ever
made," said Bair, whose father played football
at Ohio State under Woody Hayes. "I can't see
how my college career could have been any bet-
ter. I feel like I've been the recipient of
everything. My feelings for Michigan may sound
corny, but that's the way it's been for me."
Graduating from Michigan with a BA in
English, Bair would like a shot at pro ball, but is
prepared to take advantage of the doors baseball
has opened and is interested ina career in sales.
Already Friday night's heartbreaking loss is
being forgotten. Rich Bair has learned Mid-
daugh's lessons well. "Don't be down," Bair
stresses, "We'll be back Sunday with all we've
got."
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