BURNS ASSUMES LEAD IN RACE FOR BATTING HONORS--FIELDING AVERAGE DROPS TO .931

With approximately a third of their scheduled contests behind them, the University diamond forces have yet to taste defeat at the hands of a college nine. The single downfall suffered by the Crimson team was in the contest with the still undefeated Quantico Marines.

Except for this single loss, when the Marine twirler let the Harvard players down with four hits in eleven innings, the Crimson batters have found little trouble in connecting with the offerings of opposing hurlers. The batting average for the squad to date is .345, a decrease of only two points in the last three contests.

Loose playing in the infield in the last three games has brought the team's fielding average down to .931 from .975.

Captain H. W. Burns '28 has made a tremendous gain in the past three games to raise his batting average from .333 to .455 to lead the first string players. Against the two Trinity pitchers, the Crimson leader collected four singles in five trips to the plate, and connected for five hits out of ten times at bat in the games with Syracuse and Maine. Burns is also leading his team in number of runs scored, tying with G. E. Donaghy '29 with 11 tallies. With six stolen bases and a total of 15 hits, he also heads the Harvard squad in these two departments.

Donaghy, with an average of .414, and W. S. Hardie '30, with a mark of .385, are next to Burns in leading the regular nine in hitting. Early in the season, the problem of filling the third outfield position was considered one of the most serious facing Coach F. G. Mitchell, but Hardie, besides showing no weakness as a fielder, has blossomed into a first rate hitter, and is one of the heaviest sluggers on the squad. At present, Hardie is far in the lead among the extra-base hitters, with four triples.

J. P. Chase '28 has raised his average 33 notches to .345, at the same time swelling his total of doubles to four, one third of the number of two-base hits garnered by the whole squad.

In the pitching staff, J. N. Barbee '28 has added Syracuse to his list of victims, which already numbered Georgetown and the University of Virginia. In seven contests, the Crimson twirlers have allowed 47 hits, an average of less than seven per game, while their teammates have been collecting a total of 89 bingles, almost 13 per game.

F. B. Cutts '28 leads the pitchers in number of strikeouts by fanning 20 men in three tilts. Barbee is a close second with 18 strikeouts to his credit. Willard Howard '28, converted from a short stop into a pitcher last spring, is improving with every start and now ranks only a little bit below Barbee and Cutts. LEADING THE VAN HIGHEST AVERAGE Burns  .455   MOST RUNS Burns  11 Donaghy  11   MOST HITS Burns  15   MOST DOUBLES Chase  4   MOST TRIPLES Hardie  5   MOST HOME RUNS Burns  1   MOST STOLEN BASES Burns  6