SUCCESS MARKS PROGRESS OF UNIVERSITY BASEBALL TEAM

With the Yale series immediately ahead, the University nine concludes one of the best seasons known to Harvard baseball. A phenomenal success has been attained, and that success is all the more remarkable when consideration is taken of the difficulties which have been surmounted.

The year started with excellent prospects. Graduation lost to the team two valuable men in Captain D. J. P. Wingate '14 and S. P. Clark '14, and their withdrawal left a bad hole to fill at the keystone position of th infield. However, there seemed to be abundant material with which to fill the emptied places, for last year's second and Freshman teams had developed a number of promising candidates. The outlook at early practice was very bright.

Season Opened Disastrously.

The first misfortune which befell the team was the loss of Captain Ayres, due to illness, a loss which finally resulted in a thorough reorganization of the nine. After three somewhat ragged preliminaries, the team took a southern trip on which it broke even, and on returning to Cambridge dropped a game to Bates. At that time the bright prospects seemed to have taken a new turn. Reed's knee was hampering his work at short, the problem at third was unsolved, and the pitching staff had failed to live up to expectations. However, the Bates game was the turning point in the 1915 season.

The next nine games resulted in nine straight victories, and when Brown broke the charm in the 7 to 3 contest on Soldiers Field, the University made a trip to Providence and evened matters up by taking an 11 to 10 slug-fest. Since then the University has eliminated Princeton and has shut out both Williams and Pennsylvania, in addition, taking extra matches from the Calumet Club and the Pilgrims.

Percentage of Wins .777.

The game record for the season is .777, for out of the twenty-seven contests played only six have been lost. Of those six only the defeat by Brown is of real significance, for omitting the champion Braves, the other teams have since been put out of the running.

The temporary loss of Fripp through illness, the batting slump of Reed, and the sudden resignation of Coach Sexton were mid-season misfortunes which loomed large, but all three have since been cleared away. P. D. Haughton '99 came to the rescue as coach, Reed was given a rest which has resulted in a noticeable improvement in his work, and newly-elected Captain Hardwick moved from left field to cover third, a position at which he has greatly distinguished himself. Another change was made in taking Frye from the pitching staff and placing him in centre field, much to the improvement of the team's hitting.

Greatest among the causes of the nine's success is its power at the bat. At present there are four men hitting over .360, while the team as a whole has an average of .242. The pitching has been largely a one-man affair, for Mahan has borne the brunt of all the big games. However, Whitney's no-hit game against Williams has shown that he may be depended upon.