You ain't seen nothing like the Mighty Quinn

For all intents and purposes, the game was over when senior Kevin Quinn came to the plate in the ninth inning yesterday. Michigan trailed the Golden Grizzlies 12-4 with one out in the ninth.

The stands were virtually empty and the Wolverines looked as if they were mentally exhausted.

Just then Quinn slapped a single through the infield for a basehit and turned on the jets when Oakland leftfielder Eric Paul had trouble scooping up the ball.

Quinn's hustle stretched the hit into a double and gave the Wolverines new life. But there was no fairytale ending this day as Michigan failed to score any more runs.

Quinn's hustle, though, should be a wakeup call for the rest of the Wolverines.

DANA LINNANE/Daily The Michigan men's baseball team, plagued by poor pitching and a lackluster performance, dropped its game to Oakland University last night, 12-4. The victory was the Golden Grizzlies first ever over the Wolverines.

Yesterday, they looked sluggish committing three errors and going hitless from the fourth inning on, with the exception of Quinn's hit.

On a day when Wolverine fans had very little to cheer for, Quinn was having the best day of his Wolverine career. He was 2-for-2 on the day, with two runs and two walks. He also played well in the field.

Yet, virtually no one was there to notice.

Like many collegiate athletes Quinn was a standout player in high school - earning conference player of the year in the Saginaw Valley Conference and was named to the Michigan All-State first team as a senior.

But after entering the college ranks, Quinn was just a half step behind the talented superstars of the collegiate level.

In four years, Quinn has amassed only 23 career starts, but that hasn't stopped him from coming to play hard every day.

"Kevin Quinn hasn't gotten to play a whole lot this season," Michigan coach Geoff Zahn said. "He's a tremendous team player, he came in today and got a few hits and grabbed an extra base in the ninth.

"He's a heads up player and he's ready to play all the time. It's a real tribute to him that he played the way he did today having sat on the bench for most of the season."

Even more impressive is the fact that Quinn played so well despite a sub par effort from the rest of the team. Perhaps Quinn should be an example of what hard work on every play can do for you.

Come Friday, senior co-captain Mike Cervenak will rightfully replace Quinn at third base. But at least now Zahn knows that should anyone be struggling he has another player he can count on to come off of the bench.

"I feel really comfortable putting him in late in the ball game if we need a spark," Zahn said. "He's a very good third baseman who can come in if we need some defensive help, and we saw today that he can do some things with the bat too."

04-15-99