FOLLOWING THE BIG GREEN TEAMS

extraWith Phil Sherman

Well, after the events of the past week, I can hardly sit down and write that Spring has come to Hanover. They told us that officially some 21 inches of snow fell in the space of a few hours, rendering the baseball diamond in a de-commissioned state, and on top of that the news has come through that the Big Green dropped the opening League baseball game to Yale by a 6-3 score. So it isn't a very happy season.

The month's best news is the fact that Harvard has become a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League, and thereby our dreams of a really representative organization have come true. For with the joining of Harvard, the League embraces all the natural rivals of the East, and from this vantage point it's going to be a thrilling race all the way.

It is yet very early to predict anything about the baseball situation. The team won from Wesleyan 8-2 in the first game of the year and then followed that by bowing to Yale the following day. Dartmouth made only seven hits in the first game and four against Yale, and it appears at this time of the year that the Green is unusually weak at bat.

Jeff Tesreau shuffled his veterans around at the start of the season, and as a result only Roald Morton retained his position at first base. Buster Snow, who covered third last year, was shifted to second where he is trying to acclimate himself, and Capt. Tom Maskilieson, a shortstop, was moved to third. Between them plays the really brilliant Frankie Spain, eligible for the first time for varsity baseball.

The Wesleyan game was a comedy of errors on the home team's part, and it is not worth much comment. John Schneider, now in his senior year as a relief hurler, was started in this game and worked an impressive six innings, holding Wesleyan to three hits. Jack Hill, the sophomore footballer from Littleton, N. H., finished up the game. Then the team moved on to New Haven.

Tesreau picked the veteran Arthur Boisseau to start against Yale's John Broaca, who pitched the Elis to a pennant last year. Boisseau, out for half the season last year with a bad pitching arm, was attempting to make a comeback in this game. But he was to be denied, for after a scoreless first inning, Yale found him for two runs in the second. He gamely kept on through the third inning, and Yale picked up three more runs before Boisseau called it a day.

Now he has stepped out of the picture for a while to have his arm treated, and no one is wishing him good fortune more than this writer, for I have seen him pitch so many brilliant games that I have confidence in his ability.

The fielding of the team is unusually good for this stage, and a little curricular incident stood out in the Yale game, although it did not get much mention in the press. It had to do with Frankie Spain, who was a base runner and was forced out at second. Smitty O'Brien had made third on the play, as the ball was whipped over to first base. Spain, on his way to the dugout along the base line, suddenly became all animation. He started galloping for third base, and the Yale first baseman, apparently confused, threw the ball over third and O'Brien scored.

It is an example like this that makes us feel as though the baseball team were going somewhere. It is a prime example of quick thinking, and shows that Dartmouth has a key man in the infield who is on his toes all of the time.

Dartmouth jumped into a momentary 1-0 lead in the second inning, but after that the game was salted away by Yale. The one bright spot was the pitching of another veteran, "Way Thompson, the senior class's president, who gave Yale three hits for the remainder of the game. Thompson has turned in several good games during the past few years and his opening offering at New Haven adds a little optimism for the outlook this year.

While the fielding was good, the hitting was disappointing in many cases. Roald Morton, batting in the number four position, did not get a safe hit in the two games, and the outfield at Wesleyan hit safely only twice in fourteen times at bat. And of all places, the outfield in college baseball is supposed to pack the hitting strength, for there are plenty of performers who can catch a fly ball.

Jake Edwards and Hafey Arthur were both held hitless by Broaca. Ken Weeman behind the bat played unsteady baseball, as no less than nine Yale men stole bases, and that is not a very impressive record for a catcher. Weeman is a veteran, and it is certain that he will settle down in future games. In the Wesleyan game both Bill Clark and Bob Bennett were used as catchers. The former is inexperienced in college baseball, and the latter has shown up quite capably of late.

Neither Loppy Rich nor Jim Chesnulevich, both lettermen, appeared in the Yale game, and Rich was used only briefly in the Wesleyan contest. Both make very strong reserve material.

The team is not out of doors as yet, and the prospects do not seem very good for a dry field for some time to come. Of course the handicap is obvious—the gymnasium, while ample, does not approximate the dimensions of the regular playing field. It then follows that throws between bases are less, and the outfield has no opportunity to judge fly balls. The outstanding fielding at Yale was done by Smitty O'Brien, who was a substitute last year—he made one sensational catch and hit two for three at bat, the only Dartmouth player to make more than one hit.

So the season is early—the team has yet to face a long line of League opponents, and if changes are made in the lineup, they will be made for the good of the team.

Several youngsters have been impressing in the daily sessions, notably Bob Roundey and Jack Hill, the pitchers, and if Boisseau is forced to lay off for a period, both of these fellows are going to be valuable relief men for the veterans.

There is a good chance that the League games will be broadcast over WNBX this year, and interest has run high over this fact. The broadcast would give a break to the chaps in the hospitals as well as Dick's House here at Dartmouth, and interest in the game themselves would be stimulated.

As Harvard has joined the League, the Athletic Council has announced a Dartmouth-Harvard affair in Cambridge for June 15, thus giving Boston one chance to see the Big Green nine this year. The Cornell commencement day double header has been split into single games on June 17 and June 19, thus giving a two day chance to take leave of the 1933 edition of Dartmouth baseball.

Lacrosse and track, those other Spring sports, have not met any opponents as yet, and next month they will receive their due. A lacrosse game, scheduled with New Hampshire for April 15, was called off on account of snow, but the team has continued its practise sessions despite the drifts. They are just about the most rugged group in Hanover.

The news in track is that Charles J. Chapman has been elected captain for this year. Chapman, a senior, succeeds Calvin Milans, who left college. In another important election, the basketball team surprised everyone by electing Henry Kraszewski as next year's leader, despite the fact that Capt. George Stangle has a year more of college basketball. The story was that Stangle, modestly enough, refused to run for the honor again this year, preferring to have somebody else take over the reins. But that does not alter the fact that Stangle was one of the most popular and efficient captains that the sport has had in many a year.

Next month we shall also have some football news, for the boys are due to report May 1 or thereabouts to Head Coach Jackson Cannell for a month's intensive training. And they tell us that this period will not be setting up exercises, but a concerted move to develop a rudimentary part of the Big Green eleven which will be serviceable next Fall.