Nine Will Face 'Monster' in UMass Opener

UMass coach Dick Bergquist has selected sophomore lefthander Tom White, a 6'6'' giant, to face Harvard's Bill Kelly in the first game of the doubleheader that will open the NCAA District I championships Sunday at Soldiers' Field. The first game will start at 1 p. m.

"I haven't decided who will pitch the second game," Bergquist said yesterday, "although both Tom King and senior Jack Bernardo will see action on the mound some time during the series."

White owns a 5-1 record with a 2.11 ERA. Although he is only in his first year of varsity competition. White has pitched the most innings (63) on the staff and has struck-out 84. King also is 5-1 and has a 1.49 ERA in 49 innings. Bernardo, the only senior on the squad, is 4-3, and has allowed only seven walks in 46 innings.

Clear Choice

Harvard coach Loyal Park has tabbed two senior right-handers, Kelly and Phil Collins, to start in the crucial twin-bill. Kelly is the obvious choice for the opener coming off his superb shutout performance against Cornell to give Harvard the Eastern League title. Collins has a 6-1 record and, although tailing off as of late, came back to overpower B. U. last week and earn a starting nod.

The Redmen led the Yankee conference in hitting with a .288 team average en route to a 21-8 record. Charlie Manley ended up with a .391 mark to lead the squad. Only a freshman, Manley was the most exciting player to appear at UMass in years, smashing the school's stolen base record with 27.

Sophomore Dan Esposito clouted six home runs and drove in 30 runs to go along with his .347 batting average. Third baseman Mark Palau had a .348 mark and freshman Ed McMahon hit .324.

Pete Varney led the Crimson with a .391 average and also drove in 23 runs. The team leader in RBI's with 27 was Dan DeMichele who also hit .343. Vince McGugan with a .313 mark and Art Serrano (.280) are among the other Crimson offensive leaders.

Harvard Ahead

The only previous meeting between the two clubs was a 2-0 Harvard win on May 17. "That game meant nothing," Bergquist said. "We were saving our best for the doubleheader with Connecticut two days later. We didn't even pitch any of the frontline staff."

The winner of the series will represent District I in the NCAA College World Series June 11-16. District I will be pitted against the District VII representative in the first round of the double-elimination tournament.

Although the District VII winner still must wade through a play-off this weekend, the area winner for the last several years has been Arizona State. Not only do the Sun Devils win the district every year, but for the last eight years they have won the NCAA championship every other year. Arizona State did not win the title in 1970.

"We went out to Omaha two years ago and everybody said then that an Eastern club couldn't get past the first round. They were right," Bergquist said.