Kessler Will Pitch Against M. I. T. In This Afternoon's Home Opener

Southpaw Bob Kessler, winning pitcher over George Washington last Thursday, will start on the mound for the Crimson when the team opposes M. I. T. at Soldiers Field at 3:45 this afternoon.

Coach Norm Shepard anticipates no changes in the starting lineup that won two out of three games in the South last week, saying that the squad is "in fine shape, with no injuries."

Kessler's batterymate will be captain George MacDonald, the senior catcher who is one of the two returning starters from last year's team. The infield will consist of sophomores John Simourian at first base and Bob Hastings at second, with seniors Jim Murray at shortstop and Don Butters, the other returnee, at third.

Shepard's outfield will have Dick Hoffman in left field, Dick Fisher in center, and Matt Botsford in right.

This year's team has already shown improvement over last year's squad, which won seven and lost 15. Last year, while in the South, the varsity won from Virginia and lost to both Fort Lee and Quantico, but this season it won from Richmond and George Washington, and lost only to Quantico.

The varsity downed M. I. T. 9 to 2, last year in a sloppy game marked by 14 bases on balls given by Tech pitchers. The varsity only needed four hits to win then but this year Tech is an unknown quantity.

Shepard plans to follow Kessler with southpaw Joe Bernstein and right hander Ken Rossano, but when they go in will depend on the course of the game. In his best game last year, Kessler pitched eight and a third hitless innings against Columbia, before he was relieved by Ned Felton, who completed the game without allowing a hit.