Time running out for defending champions

Time is running out on the Michigan baseball team.

With just two four-game series remaining in the Big Ten season and the Wolverines waterlogged in eighth place, hopes of qualifying for the postseason conference tournament are fading fast.

And just when the defending champions would kill to add a couple more games to their schedule or replace the rainouts from earlier this spring - anything that might help them climb quickly upward in the standings - all the Wolverines can do is wait - through exams and through next weekend, until they finally resume Big Ten action on May 1 against Penn State.

To keep any tournament hopes alive, Michigan will have to muzzle the Nittany Lions. Penn State is sitting in sixth place in the conference - still on the outside looking in at the race, but nevertheless in a more comfortable position than Michigan.<

JOHN KRAFT/Daily Tyler Steketee has been steady on the mound for the Wolverines, but on Sunday, he gave up a ninth-inning homer that led to a Michigan State victory.

p> Penn State is not playing well right now. The Lions lost three of four games to Iowa this past weekend, and they face the dubious task of upsetting red-hot Ohio State next weekend. So the Lions may still be prime for the picking by May 1.

But Michigan has to play the agonizing waiting game for now. And that's not easy - even in a sport in which active participants find themselves leaning on a fungo bat for half an hour at a time, watching the spring grass grow.

Michigan isn't used to waiting around. This is a team that takes the extra base whenever possible, a team that tests the arm of every opposing outfielder, a team that chugs around third base, only occasionally taking heed of the third base coach's stop sign.

And yet, as aggressive as the Wolverines have been lately, they've had little to show for it. Last weekend, when it was absolutely imperative that Michigan beat the Spartans at least three times, the defending champs took just a single game.

And when Michigan State junior Tom Hartley's opposite field drive sailed over the fence and just cleared right fielder Derek Besco's glove on Sunday, it knocked a few more grains of sand through the hour glass - toward the end of Michigan's season.

Zahn knew his team needed to win that series - and every other series from now on. He said so after the excruciating one-run losses at Ohio State, and he said so again after the Wolverines successfully took three of four from Minnesota the following week.

"We have to start winning series," Zahn said. "We have to start taking three or four games from teams."

But Michigan lost three games to the Spartans and dug an even deeper hole in the standings. Now, even winning three or four games from Penn State and Indiana in coming weeks might not be enough.

Try as they may to catch up, the Wolverines will need help from other Big Ten teams. Because only four clubs make the conference tournament, Michigan has its eyes set on that fourth spot.

And only if Indiana or Iowa (in third and fourth, respectively) falters big time might Michigan be able to sneak up there. Not only would the Hoosiers (10-6) or the Hawkeyes (9-7) have to stumble, but three other teams still stand in Michigan's way: Minnesota, Penn State and the Spartans would have to collapse as well.

Now, Iowa and Penn State could slow the sands in Michigan's hourglass a little this weekend. They have to face Illinois and Ohio State - the two best teams in the Big Ten at 11-5.

But the problem with all this wishful thinking comes May 1 when Minnesota faces Michigan State. One team must prevail, and that will likely block Michigan's path. Even if the Gophers and Spartans split that four-game series, it wouldn't slow the sands of the hourglass much.

So the obstacles are numerous, and at this point the numbers are against the Wolverines. They're 6-10 in the conference, five games out of first place and three games out of the top four, with only eight left to play.

The goal is still very clear: Win nearly every game and maybe, just maybe, enough sands will stick at the top of the hourglass, that Michigan will face Indiana (currently in third) in three weeks with a chance at jumping into the top four with a series sweep.

But for now, Zahn's club can only do the hardest thing possible - wait.

04-21-98