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THE MICHIGAN DAILY
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
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WELCOME TO MICHIGAN
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By TOM WITECKI
Competition with a capital C-
that's the outlook for Michigan's
1960 baseball team.
With all but two members re-
turning from last year's 21 man
squad and a promising flock of
players from last spring's frosh
team also on hand, a starting job
will be hard to come by.
However Don Lund, entering
his second season as the nine's
coach, is pleased with the over-
crowded situation.
The former Detroit Tiger out-
fielder believes the competitive at-
mosphere will have each player
giving his all; thus giving him one
of the top contenders for next
spring's Big Ten crown.
Last season was a disappointing
one for Lund. Handicapped by
hot and cold hitting and a gen-
eral lack of pitching quality, the
team finished with a 5-7 record
for a seventh place Conference
finish
Disaster Hit
Despite the inadequacies the
squad was still in contention till
the next to last week of the sea-
son. Then disaster struck. On a
road trip to Illinois and Purdue,
the team managed to collect just
10 hits in three losing efforts.
This was followed by a rainy
Ann Arbor weekend, which saw
the season's final three games be-
ing rained out. Included in the
washout, which removed all hope
of a second division finish for the
nine, was a doubleheader with
Minnesota, the Conference champ
for the last two years.
But with the help of the capital
"C" things look bright for next
spring.
In the outfield all three starters
are returning. In center is senior
Jack Mogk flanked by last spring's
soph sensations Wilbur Franklin
and John Halstead.
Mogk - the team's leading RBI
man with 12 in as many games;
Franklin - a stocky leftfielder
with speed on the paths and
afield, solid af, the plate where his
batting average hovered around
the .300 mark all season; Hal-
stead - the Big Ten's leading
batter for most of the season,
ending up at the .364 mark-this
will be a tough trio to break into,
but the new sophs may do it.
Three Strong Sophs
They are: Ed Hood, whose fly-
snagging talents have already
caught Lund's eye and Dick Dela-
millieure, a power hitter whose
homer in the annual varsity-frosh
game was the longest hit of the
season at the Ferry Field Sta-
dium.
John Danovich, last spring's
"fourth outfielder" and soph Ron
Walker will also be in the run-
ning.
In the infield, competition will
center around the keystone sack
since seniors Bill Roman at first
and Dave Brown at third seem to
have things well under control.
Roman, the team's captain-
elect, had a bad, spring last sea-
son, but is expected to regain the
sparkling form he showed his
sophomore year.
Brown, named to the NCAA's
midwest all-star team last spring,
is the team's most dangerous
power hitter, touting a .300 aver-
age last season.
A good spring for either of the
two seniors might find one of
them receiving a professional con-
tract along with a diploma next
June.
Second base will be a hot-bed
of activity with last spring's start-
er, smooth-fielding Bob Kucher,
in danger of losing a job because
of a weak batting average.
Battling Kucher will be junior
Barry Marshall, who has proved
he can hit with power but not
with equal consistency.
In a crucial switch Lund says
he will try to convert last spring's
regular shortstop, Gene Struczew-
ski, into a second baseman. Key
to the switch is whether promis-
ing sophomore Dick Clark can fill
the gap at shortstop.
Just to keep things interesting,
George Fead, who did a good job
in a reserve role last spring, will
be on hand along with another
returnee Terry Ziegler.
Back behind the plate will be
Dick Syring, who caught several
games last spring. Hia biggest
competitor will be sophomore Joe
Morullo, whose rifle-like throwing
arm has drawn attention.
Pitchers Battle
The pitching mound will be the
site of the biggest battle. Re-
turnees Joe Brefeld, Al Koch.
Nick Liakonis, Bob Marcereau
and Gordon Rinckey have all
shown promise at one time or an-
other. It will simply be a case of
who performs the best.
Lettermen Jim Bradshaw and
George Weemhoff will also enter
into the fray along with John
Berr, Larry Demrick, Dennis Rob-
ison and Paul Osterbeck, all mem-
bers of last spring's frosh squad.
A consistently good pitcher was
something Michigan lacked last
spring and Lund is out to find
one.
In order to give all the players
a good looking-over Lund is hold-
ing a three-week fall practice. It
will stress fundamentals and give
.the Wolverine coach a chance to
do some weeding out in advance of
the spring workouts. Members of
Bump Elliott's gridiron corps:
Halstead, Syring, Brown, Frank-
lin and Hood will be exempted.
But there should be enough
players around (Lund expects up-
wards of 40) to provide ,plenty of
competition - that's with a- cap-
ital C.
-v
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Baseball Prospects Face Heavy
Competition for Starting Slots
1.
WILDSA
State Street on the Campus
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FINE FURNISHINGS
BASEBALL CAPTAIN-Captain Bill Roman of the baseball team
rounds first base in a game against Michigan State last spring.
Roman, a sophomore hitting sensation, Is expected to spark the
team next spring.
Try FOLLETT'S First
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at BARGAIN PRICES
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SAFE AT FIRST -Michigan third-baseman Bob Brown' stratus
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the tem bit~ing *I~well over .300
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