Baseball

To a major leaguer like Bob Shawkey, used to the perfection of the New York Yankees, there can be nothing more frustrating than watching his Dartmouth team this year. Now in his third season with the Big Green, Shawkey has become acclimated to the vagaries of college baseball, but not to losing ball games the way Dartmouth has been losing them during the past month. The Indians dropped three games by one run margins (4-3 to Holy Cross, and 1-0 to both Navy and Williams). They were beaten by a weak Vermont team 3-0, then had a 3-0 lead over Harvard going into the eighth inning only to lose that game by a 9-3 score. Yale walloped the Indians 10-2, while Brown shut them out 5-0. The single Dartmouth victory was a 1-0 win over Army, earned by pitcher Bob Feltman, who hurled a no-hitter, the second time in the 25-year history of the Eastern League that this feat has been accomplished.

Major reason for the team's showing is complete and utter lack of hitting power. Nobody is hitting, not even the usually reliable Captain Bob McGrath. Time and again the Indians had men on the bases (usually by walks or errors), but they were left high and dry. Errors have also proved costly. They have not been numerous but have come at crucial times and have been responsible for three games lost by one-run margins.

Bob Feltman and southpaw Dick Major have been the mainstays of the pitching staff. Feltman pitched a no-hitter against Army and then against Harvard hurled seven innings of hitless ball before the Crimson forces pounded him from the mound.

In the most recent game against Brown, Dick Major went to the mound for the Indians. The Bruins collected 12 hits off the southpaw, but errors afield accounted for two of the five runs collected by Brown. Twice the Indians had runners on third base, but left them stranded. Major and third sacker John Stoughton each had two hits apiece but they came at the wrong time. And so it has gone throughout the season.

At this late date in the season one must face up to the fact that the Dartmouth baseball club this year is pretty weak both at bat and in the field. There are some able individual players, but not enough of them. What makes matters even more difficult is the fact that the frosh baseball team has some excellent hurlers and catchers, but few, if any, hitters or even promising hitters. It looks as if Dartmouth baseball would have to wait a few seasons for any comeback.