Harvard Nine Meets MIT In Greater Boston League

Still trying to figures out what went wrong last weekend, Harvard's varsity baseball team will attempt to get back on the winning track at 3 p.m. this afternoon at Soldiers' Field in an important Greater Boston League game against M.I.T.

After three straight victories at home, Harvard lost to Holy Cross on Friday, 5-2, and dropped a 6-3 decision to Penn on Sunday. The Crimson nine, which now stands 5-5 for the season, will alter its line-up in three places, looking for the right combination.

Previously injured senior Ken O'Connell, who just returned to his starting position in right field last Sunday, announced after the game that he was quitting the team. Replacing him will be sophomore Curt Tucker, who has played centerfield and pitched in relief.

Also moving into the starting line-up is junior Bill Cherry. He will take John Ballantyne's place at second base. Coach Dan DeMichele and Pete Bernhard in the batting order. DeMichele, who leads the team in stolen bases, will be lead-off batter while Bernhard's power-hitting will be tried at the third hitting spot.

Balls dropping

"We've been hitting the ball well," captain John Igncio said. "We just haven't been getting it to drop in the right places, or with men on base." Another problem has been Harvard's fenceless outfield. "Pete Varney has hit five balls that would have been home runs in a park with a fence," Ignacio said.

Starting pitcher for the Crimson will be southpaw J. C. Nickens. The sophomore hurler got off to a tremendous start this season, winning three of Harvard's first four games, but he was bombed for six hits and five runs in two innings against Holy Cross on Friday. Hopefully the wind will not be blowing out from the plate and holding up his curve ball as it did then, Ignacio said.

A victory over M.I.T. today is doubly important because the game counts towards the Greater Bostons League title. Harvard is seeking its tenth champion-ship in seventeen years. With victories over Boston University and Boston College, the Crimson leads the league standings at the moment.

But that lead is extremely slim because B.U., which beat B.C. last weekend, has only that single loss to Harvard. Since the Terriers play almost twice as many games as the Crimson in the Boston league, a single Harvard loss could eliminate the Crimson from the first place race.

M.I.T. is not one of the strongest teams in the GBL, but neither was it a top contender last season when the Engineers upset Harvard 4-2. To further hinder the Techman's cause this year, their GBL all-star starter Jeff Stone has transferred to Princeton.