Page 16 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, May 16, 1986 Batsmen off to recapture Big Ten title By SCOTT G. MILLER If the momentum from last weekend's four-game sweep of Ohio State carries into this weekend's Big Ten Championship Tournament, Michigan should win its four- th championship in six years. The double elimination tournament will be held at Siebart Field on the University of Minnesota campus. The Wolverines will open today against Wisconsin, the second- place finisher in the Western Division. The host Gophers, the winners of the Western Division and the defending Big Ten cham- pions, will start against Purdue, the run- ner up in the East. EVEN THOUGH Michigan clinched the Big Ten Eastern Division by winning the first game in the Buckeye series, the team's closing effort in the last game was championship caliber. The Wolverines trailed 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning. After the first two batters, Steve Finken and the Big Ten bat- ting champion Casey Close, failed to reach base, Ohio State pitcher Mike Volkert got two quick strikes on Hal Morris. The game seemed over, but Morris eventually drew a walk. The next batter, Billy St. Peter, walked too, prompting the Buckeyes to bring in relief pitcher Chris Durst to pitch to freshman Darrin Campbell. Michigan coach Bud Middaugh countered by sending in pitcher Mike Ignasiak to pinch run for Morris. MIDDAUGH won the coaching battle as Campbell singled between third base and shortstop. Ignasiak raced home to score the tying run as he barely slid under the cat- cher's tag, a feat the slower Morris couldn't have completed. "That was a short throw. One that should be made," said Middaugh. "But we had been trying to force the issue all day, and I wasn't about to give up. "He was going, and they were going to have to make the play to end it." SENIOR outfielder Chris Gust, playing in his last home game, followed Campbell with a line drive to center field to drive in St. Peter with the winning run. "It has been a really fun year," said Gust. "The seniors have been a close class. To close it out this way is kind of special." Indeed Michigan's season has been special. The Wolverines were 12-2 in one- run.games, 13-3 in the Big Ten, and 44-10 overall. Unfortunately, all this season's accomplishments could be meaningless if Middaugh's squad fails to win the playoff. "WHEN YOU are playing playoffs on a given weekend, the season statistics don't mean anything," said the seventh-year Michigan coach. "You are playing for who the best team is that weekend. Sometimes the best team wins, and more often than not the best team doesn't win." By winning over 40 contests, Michigan would be the only tournament squad to receive consideration for an at-large -NCAA bid if it fails to win the champion- ship. The Big Ten Title winner automatically receives a berth. The desire to win a title and the perser- verance of Middaugh will guide the Wolverines. "You play me in badminton or 4 I U0a1y o oby ANISL-ro Michigan's Kurt Zimmerman dives back to first in the final regular season game Sunday. The Wolverines beat Ohio State, 5-4, with a two-out, seventh-inning rally. 4 croquet or whatever you want to play me in, I am going to beat you," said Middaugh when asked if his squad would play its hardest last Sunday in a game that meant nothing in the standings. "I don't care who you are or where you're from. I am going to try to beat you anyhow." MIDDAUGH will use the leading pit- ching staff in the conference to try to beat this weekend's opponents. Freshman Chris Lutz, the top pitcher in the Big Ten with a 4-0 mark and 0.67 ERA, will battle the Badgers. Wisconsin will counter with sophomore Tim Roman .(6-3 overall). Coach Steve Ladd's starting staff consists of three freshman and Roman. PURDUE'S staff failed to do its work. The Boilermakers pitching ranked ninth in the conference. "Our pitching has been inconsistent all year," said coach Dave Alexander. "We have strength in numbers but not necessarily in quality. We have lots of guys at the same level." I By D) A 32-17 re current sta Celtics or th it is certain Well, not Wolverine s "Innanss Thin offense led to softballers'fall ARRENJASEY ting" were two words that seven-team Big Ten. This included In juniors Rogers, Alicia ecord is not up to the Michigan coach Carol Hutchins eight one-run losses - a very Seegert, Vicki Morrow, Julie ndards of the Boston used to describe her team's 1986 tough pill to swallow considering Clark, and Mari Foster, Michigan e New York Mets, but season. that Michigan's nonconference did have a fine core of experienced ly nothing to scoff at "FRUSTRATING," said second mark was 20-5. players. But their only senior was unless you're baseman Martha Rogers, voicing Perhaps the Wolverines set their Lisa Juzysta, who walked on oftballer. the opinion of the rest of the team. hopes too high, too soon. But with during her sophomore year. The tent" and "disappoin- "It can all be summed up by 12 an aggressive start in California Wolverines also had three fresh- one-run losses (actually 13) out of against some of the West Coast's men-Pam Wright, Mary Ann our 17 total losses." top teams, and with an early num- Daviera, and Nan Payne-who Another disappointing statistic ber-fifteen in the nation's polls figured prominently in starting was Michigan's mediocre 12-12 who could blame them? roles throughout the season. renr anI dfifth-nar, finish in the "AFTER coming back from that rM. tan ,.t n v 8-3 spring trip we really expected to win the conference," said Hut- chins. "Nobody thought we could do it because we were a young team, but I thought there was enough older players to offset the young-" UNIVERSITY The Best of Campus Life! Furnished Apartments Corner of S.rUnversity & S, Forest 536 S. Forest Ave. 761-2680 iore Ean youn anu over- confidence, the clear-cut reason for Michigan's Big Ten collapse was its inability to score runs. Michigan scored one run or less in 30 of its 49 games and was shut out ten times. "WE DIDN'T execute real well offensively," said Michigan's fourth-place coach. "We didn't execute bunts and we didn't get the key hits." Let's just say that if the Wolverine sluggers were to form a ladder, there would be an awful lot of rungs missing between the top three and all of the rest. After Seegert (.353, 5HR, 27 RBI), Morrow (.342, 2, 22), and Wright (.293) you have to go down over .100 points to find the next best average. "There was a lot of pressure on Alicia (Seegert) to produce," said Hutchins in reference to ber first- team All-Big Ten catcher. "If she didn't do it, then nobody did it." THIS WAS upsetting to Hutchins because she felt the poor hitting overshadowed the efforts of Vicki marrow ... 15-7 despite 0.45 ERA Morrow and the rest of her fine pitching staff. Indeed, over half of Michigan's victories were shutouts and its team ERA was a stingy 0.79. Morrow, whose 15-7 record was not indicative of her 0.45 ERA, was named Michigan's Most Outstan- ding Pitcher, and Clark (7-1, 0.82) was given the annual Maize and Blue Award for outstanding at- titude, effort, and achievement. The past season can be seen as one to grow on for the young Wolverines. According to Hut- chins, it should be seasoning enough to prepare them for a run ai the Big Ten crown next year. Said Hutchins, "we know this year could have been better than it 4 was, and if we learn from it then we'll be that much better next year."