BASEBALL

The Freshman baseball team lost its second game of the season Saturday, dropping a 14,10 decision to Northeastern. The contest saw 23 hits (10 for the liuskies and 13 for the Yardlings) and 7 errors (3 for Northeastern and 4 for the Crimson); but that's not half the story.

Most of the team would probably like to forget the top half of the ninth inning of the game; chances are this won't be easy.

Hanging on to a precarious 10-3 lead, the Yardlings entered the inning with Paul Thornton on the mound. In the nightmare that followed the Huskie freshmen scored six runs on one hit, six walks, three wild pitches, and two crucial errors. Harvard could not recover from the disaster in its half of the ninth.

Catastrophe Unavoided

Actually, the entire catastrophe probably could have been avoided early in the inning. With a man on first, Northeastern's Carrata batted a ball to Craig Bennet at second: the perfect double play situation. Unfortunately Bennett's throw glanced off the glove of shortstop Bobby Leo. Both runners were safe, and the horror show was on.

Before coach Nat Harris removed Thornton, the hurler had thrown two wild pitches and given up two walks. Roy Creedon, who took over the dismal situation, added another wild pitch and four walks.

A crucial error came at the plate, where captain Joe O'Donnell dropped the ball on an easy force out. The Yardlings finally retired the required three men on a pop foul out, a sacrifice to center, and a routine infield out.

All this was a bit unfortunate because it was the team's first loss since April 11, when it dropped a contest to Exeter, 5-2. The squad's record now stands at a respectable 4-3.

The team's first line of strength lies in its batting. Left fielder Grey Peters leads the squad with an astronomical .714 average: for those who appreciate the complicated mathematics of "slugging" averages, his is a lofty 1.355. In 22 trips to the plate this season, he has reached base 21 times.

Next on the list is Bobby Leo, who's hitting an even .500, followed by Bennett at .391, O'Donnell and Hootstein at .363.

The team journeys to Tufts today for a game at 2 p.m., The way it has been hitting, the Jumbo freshmen can only hope the Yardlings will be as slippery in the field as they were Saturday.