Batsmen Beat Up Northeastern, Laugh All the Way to the Blanks

BROOKLINE--Last year's 28-6 Harvard baseball team shut out just one opponent all year. This year's 9-6 Crimson shut out one opponent yesterday, twice.

The 12-0 and 9-0 victories at Northeastern's Parson's Field lifted the batsmen to 3-0 in the Greater Boston League (GBL). In those three GBL wins, Harvard has tallied 36 runs while holding its opponents scoreless.

Jeff Musselman (3-1) and George Sorbara held the Huskies to three hits in the opener. Doug Sutton (1-1) did it the hard way in the nightcap, stranding nine Husky baserunners in five innings. Chris Schindler chipped in two innings of no-hit relief to seal the second shutout.

Schindler, who started the year as a first baseman, has been surprisingly successful on the mound. In four appearances, he's thrown a total of seven innings, allowing just four hits and one run.

Schindler lost the first base job when Captain Elliott Rivera moved over from third at the start of this season. Rivera, who played third as a sophomore but first last year, made an error at the hot corner in three straight early games, however, so the search for a third baseman began.

First, sophomore Mike Pakalnis started five games there. Then, second baseman Bob Kay, who played third last year, took a turn on the left side of the infield.

Finally, the search appears over. Senior Scott Vierra, a left fielder for more than two years, has started the last three games at third, and he's been nothing short of brilliant. Vierra's arm is among the team's strongest, and his reflexes are great.

Yesterday he racked up seven assists and went four for seven with the bat. The Barrington, R.I. native is hitting .295.

With Vierra at third, freshman Frank Caprio and senior Jay McNamara have started in left. Caprio went four for six yesterday.

Too Tough

In addition to catching two shutouts, Jim DePalo socked his first home run of the year, went three for six and scored five runs. Designated hitter Mickey Maspons lifted his average to .408 by going four for seven.

Coach Alex Nahigian used he doubleheader as an opportunity for his squad to work on baseserunning, sacrifices and hit-and-run plays. The Crimson stole seven bases in the nightcap. Chus McAndrews set the mood, stealing second and third in the second inning. He and Kay are off and running with eight and 10 steals respectively in Harvard's first 15 games.

THE NOTEBOOK: Husky freshman Chuck Allard looks a lot like brother Don Allard '83, the Harvard career home run record-holder and a star quarterback his senior year. Chuck went one for six.