BATTERYMEN RESPONDING TO MITCHELL'S EFFORTS

The announcement that Erwin Gehrke Occ., football and baseball player of a year ago, who is returning to college on Monday after a year's leave of absence, will be unable to play baseball this spring puts added responsibility on the shoulders of the present candidates for the pitching position. Of these Philip Spalding '25 is responding best to the special coaching of Fred Mitchel.

The mid-year period has not affected the regularity of battery practice in the baseball cage, which will practice until the rest of the baseball squad is called out about a week after the reopening of the college. The work has been advancing, though slowly, so far that the coaches have felt justified in setting aside a few of the University pitchers as deserving the major part of their attention.

A group of eight men, for the most part the more experienced players on the squad have reported lately a half hour before the rest. Those who have watched the practice are especially pleased with the work of Spalding, who has developed greater speed than he had last year and greater ability to put the ball where he wants it.

He and R. F. Cordingley '25 seem at present the best prospects for firststring twirlers next spring. However, C. J. Burns '25, D. G. Casto '26, F. E. Morely '26, and R. G. Norris '24 all seem potentially capable of filling the mound position. The work for all men has not been strennous, due to the danger of overtraining early in the season.