Park Blames 'Inexperience' For Team's Mediocre Record

Inexperience is the cause of the dismal season the Crimson batmen are having, coach Loyal Park and captain Barry Cronin said yesterday.

The baseball team's record since it returned home from Florida has been 3-8, and its overall record is 14-10. The Crimson began this week with a 21-4 loss to Holy Cross, bounced back to beat Northeastern 7-3, and ended the week by losing to Tufts, 4-1, on Thursday.

"We're young as heck," Park said yesterday. "It's a matter of teaching and learning. We play a pretty sophisticated brand of baseball, and this year we didn't have a nucleus to start out with."

The only starter from last year's squad is outfielder Leon Goetz. Cronin was not a regular starter last year. Sixteen of the team's 24 players listed in Thursday's baseball program are sophomores or freshmen.

"I'm pleased with the progress these kids have made," Park said. "It's frustrating to lose, but there is no shortcut except experience. We just need to win a couple of games in a row. In another year, we'll be right back in the thick of things."

"We've always been an upper-class oriented team," second baseman Cronin explained. "In the past, freshmen and sophomores have been able to sit out and watch.

"The mental mistakes are the biggest problem. There are kids on the team who were playing high school ball last year," Cronin said. This is the first year that freshmen have been eligible for varsity baseball and seven freshmen are on the squad.

"Things are getting better," Cronin said. "By the end of the season we should have a pretty good ball club. It's a matter of getting the experience now."

The team's quest for experience will be furthered Monday afternoon, when the batmen travel to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College.