Baseball

Coach Bob Shawkey, now in his third season with the Big Green baseball team, has a good squad back this spring including nine lettermen. The Indians won 11 and lost 14 last season, but should improve on this record in 1954. However, some of the problems that may bother Dartmouth showed up prominently on the spring trip.

During the ten days away from the campus Dartmouth won two games (6-5 over Maryland, 3-2 over the Norfolk Receiving Station) and lost six games (8-2, 6-3 at Norfolk Naval Air Station, 8-4, 7-6 at Little Creek Amphibious Base, 4-3 Hofstra, and 8-0 Upsala). Two of the games - those with Little Creek and Hofstra - went into extra innings, before the Indians went down to defeat.

A distinct lack of hitting power, some spotty pitching, and key fielding errors were the main reasons for the losses, according to Coach Shawkey. The weather for the most part was cold and damp which did not help matters.

The Dartmouth lineup, as it now stands, has veteran John Mansfield, a center-fielder, as leadoff batter; John Stoughton, another veteran who has been moved from the outfield to third base, hitting second; and two other veterans, Don Swanson and Captain Bobbie McGrath, batting third and cleanup respectively. Swanson and McGrath team up as the shortstop and second base combination as they did last season. Batting fifth is John Parker, a senior, who has been switched from first base to left field; followed by Berk Roth, a sophomore who plays right field; Scott Gerrish, a junior, who has won the catching berth; and Dave Conlan, a Big Green hockey star, who plays first base and bats eighth. Veterans Dick Major, a southpaw, and Bob Feltman will carry the brunt of the pitching load along with Tim Hutchinson, a junior. Relief hurlers will be drawn largely from Jock Day and sophomores Dick Ruel and Bill Beagle.

The outfield replacements include veterans George Corbett. Doug Melville and Al Terrill, while sophomores John Edison and George Becker are the leading utility infielders. Fred Fowler and Red Fitzsimmons are reserve catchers, while rookie pitchers include Buzz George and Don Rosenthal who together with experienced hurlers like Don Belcher, Joel Shapiro and Frank Rowley give the Indians a good depth in this department.

Batting, of course, remains the chief problem. On the southern trip only Dave Conlan managed to hold his own in the hitting line. Captain Bobbie McGrath, the club's most dependable hitter, has been over-anxious at the plate, while most of the other regulars seem to need further seasoning.

At any rate, the Indians open their regular schedule with games against Boston College, Holy Cross, Princeton and Navy. All these teams are rated highly, and if the Indians do well against them, the season could be a good one.

THE TOP OF THE BATTING ORDER: Coach Bob Showkey looks hopefully, in pre-season practice, at his first four hitters: (l to r) John Stoughton, third base; Don Swanson, shortstop; John Mansfield, outfielder; and Captain Bob McGrath, second base, who bats in the cleanup spot.