Sports

BASEBALL

June 1949 Roger K. Wolbast '43
Sports
BASEBALL
June 1949 Roger K. Wolbast '43

With two spring trip warm-up games under its belt, the baseball team started defense of its Eastern Intercollegiate League title last month. Coach Jeremiah's Indians had one additional non-league contest before the league season began, however. Journeying to Boston, Dartmouth defeated Boston University, 6-3, behind the twirling of senior Bob Amirault. It was Amirault's first start of the season and although occasional wildness caused him trouble, the stocky righthander pitched his way out of every bad situation in encouraging fashion. Although he allowed ten scattered hits, Amirault struck out eleven B.U. batsmen. Twice he fanned the hitter with two out and the bases loaded and this courageous bit of work gave Dartmouth its first victory of the new season.

League play began with a game at Annapolis against Navy. Navy had previously downed Dartmouth, 5-3, on the spring trip, behind its star pitcher and captain, Lee Rensberger. But in the second meeting of the teams, Rensberger proved no puzzle and was knocked out of the box in two innings. A 1 Quirk, crafty Dartmouth right-hander, set the Tars down with seven hits and two runs while his mates battered four Navy hurlers for twelve safeties and nine runs. Triples by Catcher Rog Frechette and first sacker Bill Ferguson featured the Indian assault that opened the the league season in successful style. Two days later the nine faced Princeton's highly touted team on the Tiger diamond, with big Emil Hudak, basketball captainelect, nominated to do the throwing. At the end of eight innings the score was tied at two-all, but the peppery Big Green went to work with a vengeance in the top of the ninth. Hank Mueller, Dartmouth center fielder, drew a pass. Sophomore right fielder Bob Matthews lined a sharp single to right, putting men on first and third. With Frechette, a dangerous hitter coming up, Princeton decided to load the bases and go for a play at the plate. The batter was Ray Lindquist, sophomore shortstop, who had gone hitless in four attempts. But Lindquist picked on a fat pitch and lined a vicious drive to center field. The Tiger outfielder tried to make a diving catch, but the hard-hit ball bounced past him. Three runs scored and Lindquist himself beat the desperate throw to add another tally. The hit was scored as a single and a three base error and it put Dartmouth ahead, 6-2. Hudak easily retired the opposition in the ninth and Dartmouth was off and running with a 2-0 record in league play.

The team dropped a 4-1 decision to Boston College in Boston, getting only one hit against pitcher Jerry Levinson, before resuming league competition with a contest against Army at West Point. A 1 Quirk was nominated for mound duty against the Cadets and his mates quickly slugged out an 11-4 lead. Quirk eased up and Army rallied in the late innings, but Amirault came in to retire the side in the ninth and assure Dartmouth its third straight Ivy League victory. Hank Mueller, Ray Lindquist and Matthews paced the Dartmouth bombardment that produced the 11-9 triumph. Returning to Hanover for its first home game of the season, the Indians murdered Vermont, 19-0, behind the shutout pitching of Hudak, who worked six innings, and George Bissell, a southpaw sophomore who twirled the final three frames. Dartmouth cracked out 17 safeties, with Frechette and third baseman Dick Desmond collecting three apiece.

Columbia, fielding a veteran team, invaded Hanover for an important league game and for most of the contest it looked as though Dartmouth was about to suffer its initial E.I.L. loss. Pitcher Red Tellefson, burly Columbia right-hander, had the Indians eating out of his hand for five innings, during which time no Dartmouth runner reached first base. Having put together two hits off Bob Amirault in the first inning for one run, Columbia appeared to have an insurmountable lead. Tellefson walked a man in the sixth, but he died on first. In the seventh, Captain Eddie McNeil reached first on an error, but he never moved off the bag. Finally, with the large crowd chewing its finger nails and jelling for a rally, the dependable Hank Mueller banged out Dartmouth's first hit of the game, a screaming single over second. Mueller, however, was quickly erased on a fielder's choice and the rally seemed about to die. But Tellefson's control faltered at this point, and the big Columbia pitcher walked pinch hitters Parke Sickler and Jim Cavanaugh to load the bases. Frechette then drove a ball to shortstop and Bob Matthews, who had forced Mueller, scored the tying run. In the ninth, Lindquist walked, Desmond faked a bunt and cracked out Dartmouth's second hit, moving Lindquist to third. Center fielder Joe Dey was intentionally passed to load the bases, bringing up Mueller, with nobody out. Mueller promptly cracked a hard grounder to third base, which Rakowski, the Columbia infielder, fumbled briefly, then threw wildly home. Lindquist slid in with the winning run as the crowd roared its approval. Coach Jeremiah was speechless after the exciting 2-1 victory, in which Dartmouth collected three hits and Columbia four. Hudak, who pitched the ninth after Amirault had been lifted for a pinch hitter in the eighth, received credit for the triumph, although Amirault did the major share of the hurling. Bob struck out seven men and except for two Columbia hits in the first inning, had the Lions well under control. The win gave Dartmouth the undisputed league lead, with four straight victories. Holy Cross, behind hurler Matt Formon, drowned Dartmouth, 6-0, in Worcester, but Jeremiah's men bounced back to beat Boston University, 11-10, in a wild contest at Hanover. Frechette, with four hits, and Mueller, Cavanaugh and Whit Williams, with three safeties each, led the 20-hit Dartmouth barrage against 8.U., while Amirault relieved Hudak to receive credit for the victory. As this article goes to press, Dartmouth has a record of eight wins and four setbacks, having just trounced Williams, 14-9, on the road. Pitcher Bill West tripled with the bases loaded and relief pitcher George Bissell homered with two on to pace the Dartmouth attack, with Bissell gaining credit for the victory with a capable relief exhibition.

NEW HOME FOR ALUMNI OFFICES: Crosby Hall, whose history goes back to 1810, will be remodeled this summer to provide larger quarters for Alumni Records, the Alumni: Fund, the Alumni Magazine, and News Service. NROTC headquarters will also move there, freeing College Hall for dormitory use.

WINNING RUN IN COLUMBIA GAME: Ray Lindquist, speedy Dartmouth shortstop, scores from third on Hank Mueller's infield single in the ninth inning to edge the Lions, 2-1, on Memorial Field diamond.