Batsmen Finish 19-11, 3rd Place

The Harvard baseball squad ended its 1986 campaign with a 19-11 record overall and a 10-8 mark in the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League.

The Crimson, which finished in a first-place tie with a 15-3 record in 1985, shared third place with Cornell--behind league champ Navy and runner-up Columbia.

Designated hitter Jim DePalo led the team in batting (.363), RBI (25), hits (33), stolen bases (18), and home runs (5).

Chris McAndrews (.306) and Frank Morelli (.301) were the team's only other .300 hitters.

Although the squad batted .272--50 points lower than its 1985 average--and featured four fewer .300 hitters, the pitching held its own this year.

Despite the loss of pitching standouts Jeff Musselman and Charlie Marchese, the Crimson posted an ERA of 3.12--down from the 1985 mark of 3.84.

And only two members of the eight-man pitching staff will graduate, leaving Harvard with starters Chris Marchok, Kevin Curtin, and Mike Presz, and relievers Jim Chenevey, Greg Ubert, and Ed Toland.

In his 53 innings of pitching, Marchok ended up with a team-leading 1.70 ERA, five complete games, and an astounding strikeout-to-walk ratio of 45-12.

Chenevey (1.74) and Ubert (2.04) were close behind Marchok in the ERA category. The team's top winner was Curtin, who won five games while losing three.

Although the team is losing only five seniors, in contrast to nine from 1985, those absences might well present problems.

Senior outfielders McAndrews and Paul Vallone (.281, no errors) and Captain-second baseman Bob Kay (.217) played in all 30 games in 1986, allowing Coach Alex Nahigian little opportunity to test possible successors.

The departure of McAndrews and Kay also means the loss of the team's second-and third-place stolen base leaders, who accounted for nearly half of the club's thefts between them--and 61 over the last two years.

Returning starters include catcher Morelli, DH-catcher DePalo, shortstop Mike Pakalnis (who, with DePalo, accounted for 39 percent of the team's RBI), third baseman Dave Jamieson, and left fielder Frank Caprio. Freshman Rich Renninger, who saw action in 15 contests this year, will probably replace the graduating Jeff Hull at first base.