HARVARD RALLY IN NINTH FALLS SHORT

The port-side twists of pitcher Hensil once again managed to keep the Harvard sluggers in check as the Villanova diamond dusters conquered the Crimson baseball forces by a 7 to 6 score. Yesterday afternoon's clash on Soldiers Field produced brilliant as well as shoddy brands of ball as the rival aggregations fought out a battle bitterly-contested to the final play.

There were two out in the ninth inning with the Pennsylvanians holding a 7 to 4 lead. The initial and keystone sacks were occupied by pinch-hitter Ketchum and Nugent as McGrath connected with one of Hensil's curves for a smashing single, scoring Ketchum. Captain Donaghy lined out the next pitch to send the diminutive second baseman across the rubber and the tying counter to the hot corner. As the visiting hurler started working on Prior, one of the Crimson's leading sluggers, the Harvard leader put himself in a position to score the winning run by stealing second. The first pitch went wild and Prior ticked the second into the stands. As Hensil wound up for the third throw McGrath streaked towards home in a desperate attempt to knot the count, sliding over the plate as the ball thumped into the catcher's mit. When the dust cleared Umpire Kelleher's hand could be seen signalling the narrow failure of the potential tally; the same gesture sounded the end of the Crimson's rally and the game.

Score Twice in First

The visiting combination took advantage of Harvard fielding miscues to score twice in the opening canto, Howard Whitmore '29, Coach Mitchell's starting hurler, forced the foreigners to fly out in order in the second, but the third frame found four invaders crossing the rubber. A hit, two errors and a fielder's choice filled the base paths. Eschman then smashed out a mighty circuit clout to pave the way for his teammates' narrow victory.

Bunched hits in the fourth inning produced four University tallies and put the Crimson back in the game. McGrath doubled, went to third on Donaghy's single and home on a passed ball. Prior walked, Whitney fanned, and then Gilligan scored his captain from second with a sharp single. Batchelder, substitute for Dudley in the third, fanned, but Ticknor, who took Whitmore's place in the batting order when the latter went to the showers, knocked out a scratchy double, scoring Prior and Gilligan.

Molloy Baffles

During the fifth and sixth frames. Molloy, who had assumed twirling duties, baffled the Villanova willow-wielders, but a series of safe blows in the seventh gave them what proved to be their winning run. The Harvard pitcher had matters well in hand from then on. The final stanza saw the spectacular Crimson rally fail narrowly.

Whitmore's First Defeat

Whitmore suffered his first defeat of the season yesterday, yielding seven hits, one of them a homer, during his four innings of service. The inexperienced Molloy, who relieved him, showed good form on the mound and promises well for the future. Hensil, Villanova's hurling ace who shut out the Crimson 8 to 0 last year, performed well for the most part and was ably supported by his teammates

The summary:

VILLANOVA  a. b.  r.  h.  p. o.  a.  e.Flanngan, r. f.  4  0  0  4  1  0Curtin, 1b.  5  0  3  7  0  0Gillesple, c.  4  3  3  8  0  0Melanson, 2b.  5  2  1  0  2  1McAndrews, l.f.  3  1  0  2  0  0Dechman, 2b  5  1  2  3  2  1Donahue, c. f.  4  0  0  1  0  0De Luca, s. s.  4  0  1  2  3  1Hensil, p.  3  0  2  0  3  0Totals  37  7  12  27  11  3HARVARD  a. b  r.  h.  p. o.  a.  e.Bassett, c. f.  2  0  0  0  0  1Molloy, p.  1  0  0  0  3  0Nugent, 2b.  4  1  1  2  4  1McGrath, s. s.  5  1  2  5  2  1Donaghy, 3b.  3  1  2  2  1  0Prior, 1b.  3  1  2  8  2  1Whitney, l. f.  4  0  0  0  0  0Gilligan, r. f.  4  1  1  4  0  0Dudley, c.  0  0  0  2  1  0Batchelder, c.  4  0  0  4  3  0Whitmore, p.  1  0  0  0  3  0Ticknor, c. f.  2  0  1  0  0  0*Ketchum  1  1  0  0  0  0Totals  35  6  9  27  19