Batsmen Begin Defense of 'Pot

The Beanpot. It is a term that conjures up frigid February weather, a historic, smoke-filled and over crowded arena, and obnoxious BU fans.

Ideally none of these traditional `Pot benchmarks will be a factor today when the men's baseball team takes the field against BC in the third annual Beanpot Baseball Tournament at Fenway Park.

With a victory over the Eagles, Harvard would advance to Wednesday's championship game and face the winner of today's Northeastern-BU game, which comes before the Harvard-Bc game.

For the Crimson, the game will serve as a chance at revenge. BC swept Harvard in a double header earlier this season.

"We're pretty psyched," senior pitcher Sean Johnston said. "The first round game is the biggest, because BC swept us a couple of weeks ago. We definitely want to get back at them."

Junior outfielder Mike Hill agrees. "They weren't a particularly dominating team. We're out to prove that the two games earlier in the year were a fluke."

Thoughts of revenge aside, what about getting a chance to play in Fenway?

For the ambidextrous freshman pitcher Jamie Irving, a long wait is finally over.

"It's something I've known about ever since I knew I was coming here," Irving said. "I'm really looking forward to it."

Senior Tom Hurley, who is coming off a 1-hit shutout ever Dartmouth last weekend, has enjoyed his chances to pitch from the mound in Fenway.

"There's not too much to dislike," Hurley said, "It's just a great situation."

The Hitters' Park

With the Green Monster in left and a notoriously close foul pole (please see: Carlton Fisk, 1975) in right field, Fenway has always been known as a hitter's park.

Combine those dimensions with aluminum bats and a powerful Crimson lineup, and you have the potential for quite a display.

"I think any of our players, even the lefty hitters, have the power to go opposite field," Irving said.

In last year's Beanpot, Co-captain Dan Scanlan, who bats on the left side smacked two homers over the Monster in left.

One player to watch today will be junior third baseman Pat Hegarty. Known more for his defense than his hitting, Hegarty exploded at the plate in last year's Beanpot, ripping two homers of his own en route to tournament MVP honors.