Harvard Faces Strong Green Nine; McCandlish May Start for Crimson

The Harvard baseball team will attempt to play Dartmouth in Hanover today, if the weather isn't bad enough to bring the wolves down from the mountains.

Assuming neither rain nor cold forces postponement, the Crimson will probably send Jim McCandlish against Dartmouth, currently in third place in the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League. McCandlish has had plenty of rest -- Columbia knocked him out in the fourth inning on Friday.

Harvard went on to win that game 10-9, but what happened to the Lions when they played Dartmouth the next day is nothing less than ominous: the Indians trimmed them 10-0.

Dartmouth relies heavily on senior Pete Barber for its pitching strength. Barber, an All-Ivy soccer fullback, throws sidearm and has excellent control. He has racked up shutouts against both Yale AB Princeton.

The team's leading hitter is right fielder Ted Nixon. Football quarterback Mickey Beard and halfback Gene Ryzewicz team up at short and second. Both are good hitters and the team's leaders in stolen bases. But the entire team is troubled by stone-fingered fielding; against Holy Cross it gave up seven unearned runs.

Dan Hootstein is at last emerging as Harvard's most dangerous hitter. The junior rightfielder has lifted his average 30 points since the Southern trip and leads the team with 17 RBI's. He recorded a single and a double against Army's Mac Hayes, continuing his habit of hitting well against strong pitching.

The win over Columbia and the 7-1 loss to Army leaves Harvard's record at 12-6, 3-4 in the EIBL. The Crimson needs a Victory against Dartmouth if it is to secure a first division finish in the league. But the Indians, now 4-1 in league play, need to win as badly to catch leaders Army and Navy.