C OACH ARRESTED Michigan assistant men's gymnastics coach Tim O'Connel was arrested in Tulsa, Ok., last week on several charges, including drunken driving, according to staff and wire reports. SPORTS Wednesday May 15, 1996 13 'M' softball captures Big,, Tea touarament Daily Sports Writer rail vARA aTiLLMAN/Daivy Michigan pitcher Sara Griffin -the Big Ten softbaii Player of the Year - won two games as the Wolverines claimed their second consecutive conference tournament title. They next host the NCAA regionals-. By Jam.. Goldstein out and coming back and just winning walked and Jason Alcaraz was hit by Daily Sports Editor the last game to get in the playoffs - Michigan State's Bernie Gibbons. that's all we wanted to do. We came out Kelly Dransfeldt smacked a hard liner Cameras flashed, players hugged, here needing to win all four games this to left field, moving Beermann to parents rejoiced. weekend and we did it.'' third. After the Michigan baseball team Without Besco, the Wolverines Besco wasted no time as he came back to beat Michigan State 13- would still be clawing to get in the stepped to the plate with the bases 10 Sunday to complete a four-game playoffs. The sophomore right-fielder loaded and one out. He almost took off sweep (2-1, 4-1, 10-3, 13-10) of the belted two home runs and had seven Gibbons' head with a liner up the mid- *me-and-home doubleheaders ending RBI in Sunday's games. dIe that scored Beermann and Alcaraz at Fisher Stadium, the public announc- But his biggest hit couldn't have to tie the game at 10. er got on the microphone. come at a better time. Michigan "There's been a couple of situa- The Wolverines grew silent. They opened the bottom of the sixth inning tions this year where I could have (got- heard that Penn State had just beat down 10-7. Then, the Wolverines ten the clutch hit) before and I didn't Ohio State for the second time that day roughed up four Spartan pitchers for come through," Besco said. "I'm just and lows had fallen to Minnesota. six runs on five hits in the sixth. glad this was the time I got the clutch Then a roar went up from the crowd Michigan's Mike Muir lead off the hit." as the PA declared that Michigan inning with a double, but was tagged Michigan's catcher Mike Haskell eamned a berth in the playoffs. Players out at third trying to stretch it into a broke the tie with a bases-loaded walk streamed out onto the field and triple. But the Wolverines' next seven that plated home Dransfeldt. Mike snapped pictures of each other to cap- batters reached base. Mike Cervenak Muir, who began the inning, smoked a ethe moment, started the rally with a solo-home run The Wolverines (17-11 Big Ten, 24- to deep center field. Kirk Beermann See PLAYOFFS, Page 14 28 overall) will head to State College as the fourth seed in the Big Ten Chminhp. Miciga wilfc host P State tomorrow at 3il 30 n p m in the first round of the double-ebimi- the playoffs came two years agotwhen EYE EXAMVS & EYE GLASSES the Wolverines were runner-up to Ohio b APHAUE GOGIARA ate, and its conference record is its- st since 1989.CAVN KEN Michigan will remember how it got eyewear to thia tourament for a long time "That's all you can ask for," *STU DE NT DISCQL N TS. Michigan's Derek Besco said: Going The same thing that got Michigan into the title game nearly spelled its doom. At this weekend's Big Ten Softball Tournament, played at Alumni Field, the top-seeded Wolverines came home with the championship. They defeated No. 2 seed Minnesota, 6-4, in the title game, but not before they made the tournament interesting. Michigan was plagued by booted balls, miscues and bobbles - unusual occurrences for the conference's top fielding team. Saturday's championship pitted the Gophers against the Wolverines for the second time in two days. The teams had met just a day earlier in the winner's- bracket game late Friday afternoon. Michigan had a distinct advantage entering the contest because it had not yet lost in the tournament. The double- elimination format gave the Wolverines a cushion, as they could lose the game and come back in the next contest to have another shot at the championship. Michigan coach Carol Hutchins was aggressive from the outset, calling for a squeeze play in the first inning. Hutchins sent Kellyn Tate barreling home on Tracy Carr's squeeze bunt to put the Wolverines on the board first with a 1-0 lead. "I was trying to be aggressive;' Hutchins said. "I thought we'd take them by surprise and ... Carr's one of our best bunters." Michigan dominated the early innings, taking a 5-1 lead after the third frame behind the pitching of sopho- more Sara Griffin. Griffin, the Big Ten's Player of the Year, had been trouble for most oppo- nents this season, but especially Minnesota. With Griffin on the mound, the Wolverines took two of three games in Minneapolis - including a no-hitter in the finale - to clinch the regular- season title. At the Big Ten Tournament, Griffin entered the Minnesota game Friday in relief of Kelly Holmes and shut the Gophers down once again, holding them to only three hits and no runs in four innings of work. With its back, against the wall Saturday, Minnesota was on the brink of defeat. But then Wolverine errors let the Gophers back into the game, as Carr booted a Laura Peters grounder at third to start the fifth inning. Michigan thought it would escape unharmed after shortstop Kathryn Gleason doubled Peters off at second on an Amy Hegland line drive, leaving only one runner on base with two outs. But the third out didn't come until six batters and three runs later, follow- ing a Gleason miscue. The Wolverines walked off the field leading by only one run and in search of a spark. See SOFTBALL, Page 16 BUYa ONE GT I FREE ON ALL MICHIGAN T-SHIRTS, SWEATSHIRTS, AND COTTON HATS. 3045. State Street Olen7 4 doors Southays 9 1L-ya w eek 9983480untillate