Coaches' Corner
TONY LUPIEN: The spring southern trip for the baseball team was more important this year than at any previous time - and probably will continue to be of utmost importance to us under the three-term system. We needed the outside work badly. Our boys were studying all of March (we couldn't have gotten outside anyway) and thus we made the trip south with no outside work. We met teams that were several weeks ahead of us in conditioning and dropped six games, but four were decided in the ninth inning, including 2-1 losses to North Carolina and North Carolina State.
We have back this year the "Most Valuable Player" of the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League in 1958, pitcher Art Quirk. At shortstop, all-league Chuck Kaufman returns, while Captain Dave Marshall holds down first base against righthanders and third base against the lefties. Little Dave Richards returns at second, while sophomore Roger McArt trades off with Marshall. George Woodworth probably will do the catching, as he handles the pitchers well and is the clean-up man in the batting order. In the outfield, 1958 frosh captain John King plays in center, Andy Mehalick in right and Walt Sosnowski in left for the right-handed hurlers. If the opposition switches to a southpaw, sophomore Bob Jennings takes over in left and ex-pitcher Roger Hanlon goes to right.
This year we face tough opposition from all teams in the league. Harvard, defending champion, has lost some of its offensive punch, but came up with at least one newcomer, Charley Ravenel, who could be outstanding; Yale has some good pitching and lost few of its 1958 members; Penn has a strong hurler in Larry Purdy and some good hitters; Princeton has the Belz twins of basketball fame, Herman on the mound and Carl on first base; and Navy and Army are always strong contenders.
If we are to be a strong league factor we must come through with better hitting than was shown on the spring trip. McArt led the batters with a .384 mark, King hit .316 and Mehalick, filling in, was at .236. But we must start getting timely blows from Kaufman, Richards and Marshall, or all the work of pitchers Art Quirk, Stan Drazen, Don O'Neill and Bob Johnson will be of little use.
TOM DENT: It seems a long time since lacrosse practice began up at Wigwam Village in February on a parking lot kept free of the snow that fell from one day to another. Sometimes salt applications were needed to cut the ice that formed on the playing surface, so we could use shoes instead of ice skates. Foot equipment consisted mostly of flight boots or heavy rubbers.
We started with a green squad in most departments except defense, where we are perhaps stronger than last year because of veteran players. Comprised largely of sophomores, our midfield and attack material was green and still is because they lack the necessary game experience. But if the material is green in experience, they make up for it in enthusiasm, and spirit is high.
At defense we have Randy Malm in the goal - in my opinion one of the best goaliesin the league - supported by Bill Morton who is captain and an outstanding defense player. Additional defense men are Jon Herriot, rated by me as one of the top defense, men in the league, backed by Harry Shaw and being pushed for the third position by Pete Sly, a sophomore who has made great progress. Before the end of the season I expect to see Pete catch up with his more experienced teammates.
The vacation spring trip proved of great value in helping us gain experience on a grass field and against some of the tough teams in the South where lacrosse is big league. Against the Quantico Marines we lost a close game which might have been won had we confined our playing personnel to the more experienced players. Several controlled scrimmages were played, with our men gaining experience in every one. It is difficult to mention names among the rest of the team because of the short time they have played, but from now on some of the lesser lights will come into their own. Prediction about this team is difficult at this time, but I can say that every game will be fought right down to the last second.
