Softball crams for Spartans, Hawkeyes

As finals near and the libraries become busy with students cramming for exams, the Michigan softball team will be studying something else.

Defense will be on the minds of the Wolverines during Wednesday's scheduled "study day" when Michigan will be visited by Michigan State for a midweek doubleheader.

The winner will walk away with conference bragging rights. Though Michigan (13-0 Big Ten, 41-6-1 overall) is in first place, the Spartans (4-3, 30-14) jumped to second place in the Big Ten after winning two games against Ohio State last weekend.

But Michigan State will have to beware of the Wolverine defense. Michigan has been studying defense for the last few weeks and has been executing what it has learned.

"In the beginning of the season we were getting one or two errors in a game," freshman Stefanie Volpe said. "We were working towards a zero in the error column. And now our pitching, hitting and defense have begun to work together."

The Wolverines only allowed five

04-20-99