14- I he Iviehigan Uady - tues ay, June , Bush breaks season hits record AJ Centerfielder battles illness to slug two home runs in NCAA Regional By Jone ke 1aily Sports Writer NOTRE DAME - Brian Bush wasn't feeling quite right on Friday. In the Michigan baseball team's first appearance in the NCAA regional in 10 years the senior centerfielder was vomiting. But he played regardless of his physical condition. Because he was a senior, because his team was playing against top-seeded Cal State-Fullerton, because that's what baseball players do. Because there is no crying in baseball. "I co'ld barely move yesterday," Bush said on Saturday. "I just thank the Notre Dame doctors. They said it was something food related ... something I ate." Dehydrated, sick, and about to vomit Bush stepped into the batter's box in the first inning. With two outs and fac- ing Fullerton's best pitcher, Matt Sorenson, Bush put all the queasiness and ill feeling away. He smacked the first pitch along the leftfield line. He started what became the motto of the baseball team and its 14 seniors all weekend. He kept battling. The next day after being defeated by the Titans in the two-loss elimination tournament, the Wolverines kept bat- tling. Leading the his team, Bush kept battling after what coach Geoff Zahn called a "tough loss." Leading off Michigan's lineup in the eighth, up by two runsiWt second game against Creighton, Bush faced a 2- 2 count. The prospects of giving up the late lead against third-seeded Creighton as they had the day before were very real. In the heat of the day Bush overcame his stom- ach ailment and the hot and humid temperatures. He sent a rocket over the left field fence putting his team ttp by three ensuring victory. "It shows me his character and his spirit," Zahn said. "He told me even if I wanted to take him out yesterday there was no way he was coming out." Later Saturday evening when Michigan was down by two in the third to No. 2 seed Notre Dame, Bush stepped Ltp to the plate again. He battled back against the array of off-speed pitches that Alex Shilliday had thrown all game. Bush singled a 1-0 pitch over second base scoring Jason Alcaraz from third for the first run. Bush wasn't finished. His next at bat he faced an 0-2 count off two off-speed pitches. He lined another shot over the field of dreams like cedar trees that lined the outfield. The home run was his seventh of the year and broke the hits in a single season record. More importantly the two- run dinger gave the Wolverines putting them ahead 4-3. "I just wanted to fight off the off-speed and hopefully get a fast ball," Bush said. "More often than not I'd get it." lie got the pitch and the hit threw the momentum per- manently in Michigan's favor. Shilliday had been relying on off-speed pitches all game. He had gotten into a habit of throwing nothing but off speed pitches when a runner had reached third as Scales did on an Alcaraz grounder. But Bush patiently waited for the fastball and got it. "It was a good day at the plate for me," Bush said. Against Fullerton the next day in the championship game Bush was still on a hitting streak. He hit two singles to leftfield in his first two at bats. The second was a looper that loaded the bases with one out in the second. But Michigan never capitalized on the situation stranding all the base runners with 3-0 lead. The Wolverines eventually lost to the top-seeded Fullerton 9-4. "That's the big part, the character of this team," Zahn said. "They're all winners. Brian Bush platooned a lot and worked attd ssorked and worked and has made himself into a great ball player. "This is what I believe Michigan is about. This is svhat I believe college athletics are about. They're determined to be successful in whatever they choose to do." DAA LNNANE/Day Despite suffering from a stomach aliment, centerfielder Brian Bush broke the Michigan single season hits record with his second home run of Saturday. Tourney run marks return. of"'M' baseball program FULLERTON Continued from Page 14 seed aid host Notre Dame, they man- aged to beat the Irish in front of a near capacity crowd, 11-5. In both of these games, the Wolverines were led by senior and first team all-tournament centerfielder, Brian Bush. Days before, Bush was in bed vomiting with a stomach virus. But he managed to belt a home run in each game. Sunday, facing No. I seed Cal State- Fullerton, the Wolverines could not pull out another win. Already decimated by a rotation that was running out of pitchers, the team could not repeat the timely hitting and good defense that had carried the Wolverines throughout the tourna- ment. The Wolverines left 12 runners on base, had four errors and an untimely passed-ball. Playing their fourth nine- inning game in three days was obvi- ously taking it's toll. "These guys (the seniors) learned how to play, the Michigan way, and the rest of them followed." Zahn said. And for the first time since the tour- nament run of 1989, "the Michigan way" has put its team in the national spotight. "They played like champions, and they are champions," Zahn said. "I couldn't be prouder of this group of kids that played for us." A CYBERSPACE ODYSSEY www m ichigaznd aily. comt AChieve Your Mium Score by Focusing upon the Test's Key Points. Admissions exams are highly leveraged tests. Answering even a few more questions correctly can improve your ranking by many percentiles. At EXCEL, we focus upon the key distinctions that result in great scores. Learn to anticipate the exam's thinking, manage your time more efficiently, & develop effective exam strategies. Aug. MCAT's next start: June 9thC -pecial Individualized GRE Program now available 11.n GMAT (CAT): Weekly starts U17 out Unverity615 E. Liberty Off State 1117 Soth University Test Preparation 996-1500 ss-.9329 0Open Mon-Fri 830 to 5:20; Saturday until 4:20 REGIONALS Continued from Page 12 had only reached the Big Ten tourna- ment once since the turn of the decade. Quite a change for the Wolverines, who had been one of the nations elite teams during the 'gos, until an NCAA investigation and subsequent probation sent them into a tail spin they would not soon recover from. The decade that brought us Indiana Jones, the fall of commu- nism and break dancing also saw the Wolverines capture all ten Big Ten regular season championships, four Big Ten playoff championships, four trips to the College World Series, and 43 NCAA rules violations - leading to the first athletic probation int the history of the Unisversity of Michigan. The two-year probation led to the resignation of coach Bud Middaugh, who had been the skipper for the Wolverines throughout the decade, and ssho had been personally involved in the majority of the viola- tions. Middaugh's successor, Bill Frechan was neser able to out-dis- tatnce the shadow cast by the siola- tions and left the Unisersity after lust five nears. Freehan left the Wolverines with the distinction of having the lowest win percentage in the history of the program -- capped off by a dismal dead-last Bin Ten finish in 1995. The Micltigan baseball program was at the lowest point in its storied history, and was in dire need of something to turn things around. Enter current head coach Geoff Zahn and this year's senior class. In just their first season in Ann Arbor, Zahn and company reached the Big Ten tournament, and just one year later sat atop the Big Ten the conferences regular seaso champs. But the very next season, the Wolverines slipped back into medi- ocrity with a sixth place finish in the conference, and many questioned whether or not the Wolverines were still feeling the effects of the Middough probation. But this year, behind a talente senior class and a confident lie coach, the Wolverines reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in ten years, and won the Big Ten tournaient for the first time since 1987. The performance of this year's team not only speaks volumes about the character and determination of the coaching staff and players, but it also marks the rebirth of Michigan baseball. The success of this year's team is a big step for a program thl@ looked like it might never recover from the scandal, now almost ten yecars sold. With Zahn at the helm, the Wolverines now head into the next millennium looking to further build on this year's successes. Should Michigan return to greatness, many will look back at the 1999 Wolverines, especially this year senior class, as the team that rebuit Michigan baseball, and maybe more importantly as the team that made people believe again.