Buckeyes serious about rivalry

COLUMBUS - There's a good reason the Ohio State baseball team waited until this past Friday to play its first-ever night game in Bill Davis Stadium.

The Buckeyes hosted long-time rival Michigan this past weekend, looking to pay back the team that destroyed their hopes for a Big Ten regular-season title on the final day of the season last year.

The 3,600 fans who attended Friday night's opener under the lights knew the importance of this series. And the 1,500 who returned to brave football weather the next night knew it as well.

The raucous, drunk fans sitting behind home plate Saturday night knew how crucial these games were. It was clear, as one fan even donned a fluorescent Corona visor and entertained the rest of the crowd with the chicken dance, that they understood what these games meant.

The Buckeyes knew it when they won the third game in a row with catcher Tom Durant's two-out, game-winning hit in the seventh inning Saturday. The bench cleared and the Buckeyes celebrated their comeback victory on the field.

And the Ohio State fan who stood in front of Michigan's charter bus and taunted the Wolverines after their 3-2 loss - he also knew how significant it was that the Buckeyes took three of four games in the series.

Ohio State is now 5-3 in the Big Ten, just two games behind first-place Illinois. But with the three losses, Michigan's record fell to 2-6. And now, the Wolverines find themselves in last place, already one-third of the way through the season - just a year after occupying the driver's seat in the conference.

With 16 games remaining, Michigan would have to win 10 to finish at .500. But that hardly constitutes a successful season for a defending conference champion.

Last year's team went 17-9 in the Big Ten, and it will probably take about 16 wins to clinch it this year. That means the Wolverines would have to go 14-2 the rest of the way to contend for another title.

Granted, Michigan's first eight conference games were all on the road - at Illinois and Ohio State. And the Wolverines host their next three conference series - against Minnesota, Michigan State and Penn State.

But winning 14 of 16 games would be a pretty difficult task for Michigan. Just ask the Buckeye faithful standing in front of the team bus Saturday night.

04-06-98