Freshmen Pump New Blood Into Baseball Scene

Bag the scorecard, this season you won't be able to tell the players without a freshman register. Even without the help of free agents, Harvard baseball coach Loyal Park has wheeled and dealt himself a virtually new deck of cards with which to play the 1977 season.

It seems that Park spent too many sleepless nights during the off season, unhappily reminiscing about a team that came back from its Florida trip with an 11-2 record and proceeded to get tanned up North by dropping 16 of its remaining 22 games for an overall 17-18 slate.

Graduation, leaves of absence, and general disenchantment with Harvard's temporary fall from baseball grandeur has left Park with numerous cavities to fill. Not surprisingly this year's hole-pluggers are mostly freshmen.

Take the infield, for example Last season it was Blunder City, a general eyesore that contributed religiously to the team's dismal .875 fielding average. Three of four infield starters return from last year's squad, but as of now none of them have their old jobs back.

Peter Bannish has shelved his first baseman's mitt and is now pitching. In his place at the gateway are two freshmen, Mark Bingham and Mark Epstein. Bingham has the edge at first, while Epstein's big bat could be put to good use at the designated hitter spot.

Last season's regular shortstop, Paul Halas, has moved over to second base. Burke St. John, quarterback for this 'season's frosh football team, will now be calling the signals at short, while Halas joins freshmen Mike Stenhouse. Bobby Kelley and Charlie Santos-Buch in a fourman dogfight for the keystone stop.

The apparent all-freshman infield of Bingham, Stenhouse, and St. John is completed with first-year man Rick Pierce at third base. Pierce, who graduated from the same high school in Pittsfield Mass, as Baltimore Oriole shortstop Mark Belanger, wields a glove so dexterous that his coach rated him a step below the Oriole great. Last year starter Corby Saunders and muscle man Dave Knoll are fighting it out for the backup spot.

But Park doesn't mind having an infield of kids just getting over their confirmations. "Hey, they're the best kids out there, and they're really going to help us defensively. I've been really impressed with their cool and maturity," Park said.

Maturity, in fact, keynotes the outfield, where veterans hold down two of the three starting spots. Last year's leading hitter Dave Singleton (364), and captain and third-year starter Tommy Joyce are fixtures, while Steve Potysman and Freddie Cordova are a couple of talented sophomores looking for a shot.

And then, you guessed it, there are two freshmen, Billy Blood and Bobby Jenkins, who both have a chance for the varsity pastures this spring. Park has also indicated the possibility of switching Halas or Stenhouse to the outfield.

In the catching department Park has sifted his original total of nine mittmen down to three. Junior Rich Trembowicz's knee is now sound and it looks like he's got the inside track, but Steve Joyce and freshman Dan Cassidy are also capable backstops.

Park has a virtual cornucopia from which to choose his designated hitter. Knoll, who slugged five round-trippers from that spot a year ago, would seem to have the position locked. However, Epstein and Stenhouse are also knocking on the D.H. door.

Park will take 22 ballplayers down to Florida in a week, and eight of those players will be pitchers. Thus it's no secret what the Head Honcho considers to be the key to the success of this year's squad.

Right now the five definites for hurling in sunny weather are lefties Bannish and Paul McOsker, flamethrower Larry Brown, prodigal pitcher Steve Baloff, and freshman Ron Stewart.

Brown led the staff in pitching last season, posting a 4-3 record and a 3.34 earned run average. Baloff returns after a year's absence. He as a mainstay on the 25-10 squad of 1975. McOsker, a sophomore, saw considerable action during last year's campaign.

The other three pitching spots are open to seven applicants. Led by the recuperating Jamie Werly, they are returnees Billy Bradshaw, Timmy Clifford, and Steve Shevick, newcomer Gary Bosnic, and (yes, even here) freshmen Rob Alevisos and Steve Kowal.

All things considered, Park must drop four non-pitchers from his current roster before the team heads south. A catcher, two infielders and an outfielder would be a likely guess, but what the coach likes about this year's team is "the flexibility. Hell, we've got plenty of guys that can play two or three positions."

So at least for the time being the Harvard baseball machine seems to be running on rookie power. If Park's Babes do produce, the only thing stopping them from going all the way is getting carded.