Men's Tennis vs. Indiana Tomorrow, 1 p.m. Liberty Tennis Complex The Michigan Daily Blue hosts Iowa in key softball contests- SPORTS Friday, April 12, 1991 Men's Track vs. Michigan State Tomorrow, 1 p.m. Ferry Field a' Pang'1i rawIf a UUU I... I 'M' breaks Broncos with nine-run rally by David Kraft Daily Sports Writer When the Michigan softball team faces No. 6 Iowa (2-2 in the Big Ten, 29-6 overall) today and tomorrow at Varsity Diamond, its toughest obstacle may not be defeat- ing the perenially powerful Hawk- eyes. First, the No. 14 Wolverines (2- 2, 18-10) will have to overcome the forces of nature that have already wreaked havoc on Michigan's sched- ule. Rain forced postponements of games earlier this week against Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. When head coach Carol Hutchins set thel991 calendar, she hoped that scheduling two games within four days of the important Iowa matchup would keep her squad in sharp form. "We didn't want to sit around waiting to play Iowa," Hutchins said. "On the other hand, playing in the rotten weather this week could only have hurt us." Not only are the Hawkeyes fa- vored to repeat as Big Ten champi- ons, they have already defeated the Wolverines at the Bud Lite National Invitational in Sunnyvale, Calif., by a 1-0 count. "We played right with Iowa the whole game," Hutchins said. "If you want to stay competitive with them, you have to play great de- fense." Offensively, the Hawkeyes are powered by All-American junior catcher Diane Pohl, who has a team- leading batting average of .352, good for second place among the Big Ten leaders. Much of Iowa's success can also be attributed to head coach Gayle Blevins, under whom Hutchins served as a graduate assistant at Indiana between 1980 and 1981. "Gayle is a very intense and ag- gressive competitor, which is re- flected in the way her team plays," Hutchins said. To combat the Hawkeyes, Hutchins will rely on strong pitch- ing performances. by Rod Loewenthal Daily Baseball Writer Seven was lucky for the Michigan baseball team, as it used a nine-run seventh inning to crush Western Michigan yesterday. The Wolverines (17-13-1) used sixteen hits and 4-for-5 hitting from both co-captain Dan Ruff and first base- man Andy Fairman to pound the Broncos (12-10) in an all-out slugfest, 14-8. Mike Matheny got the game- winning RBI in the seventh when he smacked a three-run homer to put the Wolverines ahead, 9-8. He also caught the game for the Wolverines, helping hurler Terry Woods (1-0) get his first win of the season. Western Michigan fell short, managing eight runs on fourteen hits, thanks to ineffective pitching and five Bronco errors. First-year DH Bubba Wyngar- den, who went 1 for 5, was enthused by the way the team played. "Their ace pitched the first three innings," Wyngarden said. "Then they threw in all the pitchers who normally don't pitch. We just had a great game, we hit the crud out of the ball today." The two teams used a total of 11 pitchers on the day. Western se six to the mound, while Michigan coach Bill Freehan used five out of the six pitchers he brought along'on the trip to Kalamazoo. Freehan started Dennis Kon- uszewski and intended for his sophomore to go three innings. But the righthander went past his5 40 pitch limit in the first two inninigs, so the skipper brought in Eri Heintschel. ~ Freehan later sent in Bryan San- to, Woods, and Todd Marion to face Bronco batters. Marion pitched-the last one and two-thirds innings;nd managed to throw only 12 pit'hes while facing five batters. "I was pretty happy," Santo said. "I was throwing more strikes and getting the ball over. I was trying to get ahead of the batters. W threw the ball a lot better than fore, we had a lot of control." KENNTH SOLLErVU~Iy First-year slugger Nate Holdren swings away earlier this season against ] Bowling Green. Michigan defeated Western Michigan yesterday, 14-8. I Track teams take separate paths Women hobble to Tennessee Men home for only time this vear y a by Jeff Williams Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women's track team's outdoor season is beginning just as the outdoor season ended - with many of the Wolverines ham- pered by injuries. Five of Michigan's top point scorers have gone down with injuries in the last week. "I'm very concerned," Michigan coach James Henry said. "But we're going to continue until the last one goes down." The Wolverines will send some of their healthier athletes to the Dogwood Relays in Tennessee this weekend. The Wolverines compet- ing have qualified for the event based on individual performances during the outdoor season. "There is not going to be a team score, so we'll have to get some strong individual performances," Henry said. One of the Wolverines who will not make the trip is top point-scorer Amy Bannister. The senior distance runner sustained a hip injury during the Crimson Classic last weekend. Michigan's 4x100 relay team has been a consistent point scorer thus far, but it is also threatened by in- juries. Sophomore Julie Brown, who was replaced last weekend by rookie Collette Savage, will not run in Tennessee. Junior Suzi Thweatt has been bothered by back spasms this week. She remains questionable for this weekend. "If (Thweatt) goes down, there goes our relay," Henry said. "We don't have anyone to take her place." by Chris Carr Daily Sports Writer Tomorrow, the men's track team will host its first and last outdoor meet of the season against Michigan State. Adding to the novelty is the fact that the meet is the only dual meet on Michigan's schedule. "Dual meets are interesting," Michigan coach Jack Harvey said. "It gives everyone an opportunity to run individual events. It is a nice change for us, because the next cou- ple of weeks we will mostly be running relays." Harvey expects the Spartans to be competitive in the sprints, hur- dles, and middle distance races, and looks for the Wolverines to score well in the long distance races and field events. Michigan, however, can counter the Spartans' strength with a strong corps of runners. Jerry Douglas (110 meter high hurdles), Micha@ Eccleston (200 meters) and leat Newman (800 meters) have all per- formed well'in the outdoor season. Jeff Barnett (3,000 meter steeplechase), Brad Barquist (1,500 and 5,000 meters) and Shawn Mackay (5,000 meters) will anchor the distance corps. In the field events, the Wolver- ines have shown tremendous depth thus far. Brad Darr and Toby'V* Pelt placed first and second, respect- ively, in the pole vault last week- end. Brad Holwerda and Dan Reddan did the same in the high jump. Lukeland Gentles (long jump and triple jump), Al Sarafian (javelin) and Mike Hennessey (discus and shot put) round out. the depth for the Wolverines. THE MICHIGAN UNION BOOKSTORE IS PROUD TO WELCOME ERNIE HARWELL ., . Y t j 1 t t' . "t":. ~ t O'Sullivan's Eatery & Pub . AAA _ .t" . ,. , r Friday Fish Fr- 4 e' .4 1I 1 ('2 0 , $4.95 per person (All You Can Eat) 11 a.m. -9 p.m. pI SIGNING COPIES OF HIS NEW BOOK ERNIE HARWELL'S DIAMOND GEMS I Friday April 12, 1991 1 9 nntn n 1 -' nm I d ' 1 Z ",..I J. s, *,..I~ll:Y iR wvm, '.7-r-- r