Baseball Wraps Up Fla. Road Trip

Quite a few Harvard students will head down to Florida for a relaxing spring break this weekend. The Harvard baseball team is heading to the Sunshine State on business.

Hoping to shake off a bit more of its offseason rust, the Crimson (2-3, Ivy 0-0) will play five games in Bradenton, Fla., this weekend as Harvard's pre-Ivy League schedule continues. The team will take the field against Vermont this afternoon and Northwestern in the nightcap.

Saturday's doubleheader will feature another round with Northwestern and a clash with perennial powerhouse Ohio State. The team will conclude its southern swing on Sunday with another game against the Buckeyes.

"There were games we felt should have been won last weekend," captain Scot Hopps said, referring to the team's opening games in Florida last week. "This week we want to make sure we execute when given the opportunity."

The Crimson's first games were a source of both optimism and disappointment. Prominent among last weekend's positive developments was the team's ability to hit consistently. Harvard managed 51 hits in the five games, with no fewer than eight in any one outing.

Considering that the Crimson hit only .253 last year, a mark that was last in the Ivy League, the early offense was a more than welcome sight.

Senior outfielder Joe Llanes, who is recovering from testicular cancer, led the barrage with an 11-for-18 weekend.

Harvard's pitching was characteristically stellar, but at least one of the sources was a pleasant surprise. Freshman Marc Hordon turned in seven innings of two-hit ball in the Crimson's 9-1 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. Because of his inexperience and a partially separated non-throwing shoulder, no one expected him to be that effective.

"We weren't sure how he would

do, but he really opened some eyes,"

Hopps said.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, not every aspect of the season's start was as solid. Harvard committed nine errors in two of its losses, and a key baserunning gaffe by freshman outfielder Bryan Hale contributed to a third.

"We made some physical mistakes that come from playing outside for the first time," Hopps said. "Although they were not excusable, they were understandable."

How far the team has come in improving its defense and baserunning will be made clear this weekend, since the Crimson will face two of the teams it lost to last week. Harvard fell to Northwestern, 11-6, and Vermont, 3-2.

"We felt we were better than those teams, and now we get another opportunity to show that," Hopps said.

The Catamounts (3-1) are coming off a season in which they finished third in the America East conference, but they are also scrambling to fill the void left by a deep group of departed seniors, including several four-year starters.

Harvard found out first-hand that Vermont still has a deep pitching staff when Trevor Marcotte and Jamie Merchant held them to two runs in last week's loss.

Northwestern (8-9) has been about as consistent as its record indicates this year. A telling stat for the Wildcats is their three shutout wins and two shutout losses in its first month. Junior Zach Schara, a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2000, leads a young and fairly deep rotation.

Ohio State (12-4-1) boasts even more decorated players, among them preseason Big Ten player of the year Nick Swisher. The first baseman is batting .383 with seven home runs in 16 games so far this season.

E.J. Laretta, a preseason All-American hurler, held the Crimson to a single run last week, and could be called upon to inflict more damage in one of the two Ohio State-Harvard games this weekend.