Baseball ’88: Opting for Optimism

"You can look at the team and say that we have six of our top seven pitchers returning and five of our eight positional starters returning, which would mean that we're in pretty good shape," Green Coach Mike Walsh said. "Or, you can say we lost the number one pitcher in the United States [Mike Remlinger '88] plus our three-four and-five hitters. We're opting for the optimistic point of view."

The historic 1987 season—an Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League Championship, Dartmouth's first NCAA tournament appearance in 17 years (which included a 4-0 victory over ninth-ranked Michigan) and its school-record 24 wins—is reason to believe there could be another pennant in Hanover this spring.

The losses, though, do loom large. The San Francisco Giants made southpaw pitching sensation Remlinger (132 strikeouts and 2.44 earned-run average) a first-round draft pick. Graduation took '87 captain Todd Twachtmann and his .416 batting average. It also took Mark Mitchell, who batted a strong .367 and then took his talents to the New York Yankees organization. The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted Tom DeMerit '88, last year's most explosive hitter (seven home runs, 34 R.B.I.'S).

The returnees, however, bring back significant contributions from the 1987 season—and something of a mission. "I think that, in a positive way, the kids want to prove that we were not a two-man team last year," Walsh said. The Big Green had the NCAA's fourth-best fielding percentage last season, and defense should continue to be a strength.

The team's top two batters in EIBL play, outfielder Chris Bunker '88 (.432 in '87) and the team captain, designated hitter John Hommeyer '88 (.382), should give Dartmouth a strong offensive punch. Second baseman Rob Combi '88, who had 28 R.B.I.'s last season, "is capable of having an all-league year," Walsh said. "We are going to put the ball in play, and we have pretty good team speed. I also think we're going to have more team balance," he added. Translation: last season's hit-andrun style will continue, with perhaps less of a "star factor."

While the success of '87 made recruiting less taxing on Walsh and his staff, the professional bug bit in that area as well. Brad Ausmus '91, Walsh's top recruit last year, was drafted out of high school by the New York Yankees and signed a contract just prior to matriculating at Dartmouth. Nonetheless, "winning last year and having the two highest draft choices in New England has really given our effort credibility," Walsh said. "We just have to be sure to recruit quality players but not players who'll sign pro contracts before they enroll."

Navy, the only EIBL team to beat Dartmouth last season, is the odds-on favorite to win the 1988 EIBL title. "I'm not certain that Navy wasn't the best team last season," Walsh conceded, "and they have everyone back." Harvard, Army, and Yale figure to be in the race as well, and Walsh calls Princeton "a team capable of surprising."

Walsh, however, is not looking any further down the road than his team's first weekend of EIBL play. "Our main concern is to get off to a fast start at Yale and Brown [April 16 and 17]," Walsh said. "If we were to get off to a good start then, we'd be in shape for Navy to come up here and play the next weekend."-Charles Young'88

Charles Young ’88

Anchors Away

Senior skippers Julie Zahniser and Merrill Ulmer, along with crews Anne-Marie Weldon '88 and Karen Bleckmann '90, made Dartmouth the top-ranked school in the nation after the team won the Victorian Urn Regatta at Harvard last fall. Although the Big Green's rank dropped to second after a disappointing showing at the Atlantic Coast Championships at Navy, the sailors plan to redeem themselves at the North American Championships in Santa Cruz, California, this May.

Ulmer and Zahniser, who are the first women to be elected captains of the team, have not been relaxing in the off-season. Ulmer qualified for a free trip to the women's singlehanded world championships in Buzios, Brazil, by placing third at the U.S. singlehanded Women's Championships. Zahniser and Weldon campaigned an Olympic 470 dinghy in Florida and California to practice for this summer's Olympic trials. The winner of the grueling ten-day qualifying regatta will represent the United States in the Olympics. Their chances? "We expect to do great," Weldon said. "Nobody has dominated the class all year."

Dartmouth’s Winter Olympians: How They Fared Willie Carow '80: 10k biathlon, 49th; 20K Biathlon, 49th Diana Golden '84: Disabled skiing giant slalom, Ist Martha Hill '82: Disabled skiing giant slalom, 3rd Bill Hudson '88: Downhill, DNF; Alpine Combined, DNF; Super , 0th Hilary Lindh '92: Downhill, DNF, Alpine Combined, 23rd; Super G 26th Cameron Myler '92: Women's Luge, 9th Dennis McGrane '85: Ski Jumping 70 meter, 43rd; 90 meter team, 10th Tiger Shaw 'B5: Super G, 18th; Giant Slalom, 12th Leslie Thompson 'B6: 5K X-country, 39th; 10K X-country, 45th; 20K X-country, 25th; 4x5K X-country relay, 8th