TEAM'S SUCCESS DUE TO BATTING

With the Yale series, the University baseball team ends one of the most successful seasons in the history of the game at Harvard. Whether the Yale series is won or lost, the team has established a record which will be hard to equal.

The team started the season with the best material in years. Only four men who played in the championship series against Yale last year were lost. These men were Felton, pitcher; Young, catcher; Tomes, third base; and Alsop in the outfield. Coach Sexton's greatest task this season has been in developing a catcher but he has succeeded, even beyond his expectations, as both Osborn and Waterman have played thoroughly satisfactory ball this spring. Waterman did the bulk of the backstop work earlier in the season but in the recent games he has been alternating with Osborn.

Although much was expected from the pitchers on account of the ability shown the latter part of last season, most of the defeats this season have been due to erratic work in this department. Frye and Hitchcock, both veterans of last year's Yale series, have not been up to true form, both being unable to locate the plate. With the exception of the Holy Cross game at Worcester, when the team played wretchedly in the field, all the defeats this season can be traced to an excess of bases on balls. Mahan, who played in the outfield on the 1916 team, has been doing the best work in the box. He has good control and curves, and his work in the Princeton and Brown games stamps him as one of the best college pitchers today. He will probably be used in two of the Yale games, if a third game is necessary to decide the series.

Ayres Shifted to Third.

The infield was shifted in the middle of the season in an endeavor to strengthen the third base position which was weakened by the loss of Tomes, who played third in admirable style last season. R. R. Ayres '15, who played first base last year, was shifted from his old position to third in the middle of this season and has been playing first class ball. Besides his exceptional fielding, he has proved one of the team's most dependable hitters, and should make trouble in the Yale series. When Ayres was shifted to third, B. L. Nash '16, was relegated to first base, the position he played last year as captain of the Freshman team. His fielding has been consistently steady, and he is also one of the best pinch hitters on the team.

S. P. Clark '14, has been holding down his old position at second base in his usual manner. His hitting is the hardest of any man on the team, and throughout the season he has deprived visitors of many safe drives by phenomenal fielding.

Captain D. J. P. Wingate '14, who led the team to victory over Yale last season, is again at short stop. His fielding throughout the season has been of the sensational variety, while his batting has placed him in the front ranks among the hitters. His complete knowledge of the game has made him an admirable leader, and this should have great weight in the Yale series this year, when the new ruling prohibiting the coaches from sitting on the bench will be enforced for the first time. Besides his batting and fielding ability Captain Wingate is the fastest man on the team, his clever base running being an invaluable asset in many of the season's victories.

The outfield has been composed of R. T. Gannett '15, J. A. Millholland 14, and H. R. Hardwick '15. Gannett and Hardwick both played against Yale last season. Gannett has been fielding his position well, but his hitting has fallen off considerably since last season. However, he is an exceptionally good pinch hitter and may be relied upon when hits mean runs. Hardwick, who was one of the weakest hitters on the team last year, has shown wonderful improvement in this department and now stands well up in the list. Milholland was prevented from playing on the team last year because of sickness. He has fielded his position well this season and has been a fair hitter.

Victories Have Been Earned.

The marked characteristic of the entire nine is its hitting ability. The 1914 team is probably the hardest hitting avgregation that Harvard has ever produced. A big majority of the runs made have been earned and the team has been benefited but little from the so-called "breaks" of the game.

Owing to the lateness of the spring recess this year, the team played three games in Cambridge before the southern trip. These resulted in victories over Colgate, the Massachusetts Aggies, and Bowdoin. The southern trip was the most successful ever made by a Harvard team, resulting in four victories and one defeat. After its return, the team won six straight games, but on May 16 was overwhelmed by Pennsylvania. This de- reat was due entirely to the wildness of the pitchers. The other defeats came from Dartmouth and Holy Cross, the latter nine taking both games in the two game series. The notable victories have been those over Princeton, in which Mahan pitched invincible ball, and the two over Brown. The present season is the first in years that a Harvard team has taken two games from Brown.

On the whole, the season has been entirely successful. A victory over Yale should insure the team of the intercollegiate championship. But whether the Yale series be won or lost the members of the 1914 team and Coach Sexton, to whom too much credit cannot be given, should feel great satisfaction on the completion of a season of first class baseball