Harvard's Baseball Squad Contender in World Series

Although not a favorite in this weekend's NCAA World Series in Omaha, Neb., Harvard's varsity nine entered the competition with the potential to win against any team on a given day.

The Crimson has never torn the cover off the ball this spring, nor does it offer any pitching specialist who has stymied the opposition all season long. But slapping, scrambling, and running itself to a 26-6 record, Harvard has earned the right to play the top teams in the nation in the double elimination tournament scheduled to start on Friday.

Three years ago the Crimson advanced to the NCAA Championship behind the pitching of righthander Ray Peters and Bob Dorwart. A hitting slump, however, knocked Harvard out of the tournament.

Harvard has an extremely potent offense on paper this spring, but the batting lineup has yet to reach its true potential. Pete Varney has rarely seen a good pitch all season and Dan DeMichele has been the only consistent hitter.

If Harvard hopes to build a defendable lead, it will need assistance from Dave Ignacio and Pete Bernhard. who have never gotten untracked at the plate this spring.

On the mound, coach Loyal Park can rely on righthander Bill Kelly. The senior hurler must have yielded more hits than any pitcher in the Eastern League, but he is tough under pressure and has the best record on the staff. He outdueled Dartmouth's Pete Broberg and Cornell twice for three shutouts this season, and he held UMass to one run despite ten hits.

Kelly relies on control rather than speed, working for the corners of the plate and confusing batters with several half-speed deliveries.

But the World Series requires a team to play two or three games every three days, so Park will need consistent performances from seniors Phil Collins and J.C. Nickens. Collins won six of his first seven starts, but he was hit hard on his last three appearances. Nickens is 7-1 for the year, but most of those victories came against GBL teams which are far from the caliber of national competition.

If Harvard has a visible weakness it is in the bullpen. Against UMass, Park sent Kelly into the bullpen to warm up during the second game although Kelly had pitched the entire nine-inning opener.

The Crimson strength is its tight defense and speed on the bases, two factors that have been the keys to close one-run victories. Against UMass the Crimson turned over three double plays and scored two of its six runs when runners came home from first on outfield singles.

But also against UMass, the Crimson's flaws were apparent. A good catcher had no trouble throwing out any Harvard base runner besides Vince McGugan and Ignacio, and Varney's peg down to second left much to be desired.