Varsity Nine Takes 2 In Southern Jaunt

Two wins, a loss, and three cancellations marked the Varsity baseball team's most successful Southern spring trip in three years. After being snowed out three days in a row, the nine walloped Navy 15-4 and split a two game series with Penn, taking the first 7-3 and dropping the finale 6-5.

For 24 innings the Varsity played unbeatable ball and not until the seventh chapter of the second Penn clash did it falter. Captain Lou Clay eased up for the first three batters in the Unlucky Seventh, allowing two singles and then a home run to left by Sophomore first baseman Art McQuillen. The Crimson's one-run comeback in the ninth failed to overcome the Quaker sprint.

Fitzgibbons Stars at Bat

Hitting star of the tour was Sophomore Ned Fitzgibbons, who, in addition to playing three errorless ball games at first, hit eight for 13 times at bat, totalling 16 bases. Against the Navy he hit for the cycle with a single, double, triple, and a homer; and slapped a two-bagger in each of the Penn frays. Ed Buckley with six hits and Bill Barnes with four, including a circuit blow, were the other plate standouts.

Four pitchers saw action, with Joe Phelan starting and winning the Midshipman contest before giving way to Jack Farley in the fourth. Warren Berg took over in the sixth. Against Penn both Mort Waldstein and Clay hurled a whole game, holding the Quakers to five bingles apiece. Waldstein, however, was credited with the win and Clay with the loss.

The opposition was chiefly lacking on the mound and the Crimson went into double figures in every hit column. Navy, which went on to trounce Cornell and Vermont after losing to the Varsity, sparkled in the infield and extended three of its seven hits for extra bases. All 17 men on the trip got a chance at bat after Coach Floyd Stahl gained confidence behind a 15-3 lead in the sixth.

Penn's greatest weakness was its pitching staff, which failed to support a strong hitting aggregation. Base running, on the other hand, marked the Achilles heel of the Crimson nine. While accumulating 22 hits in the two games, it left as many men stranded on the sacks.