The Harvard and Yale freshmen played the first game of the series on Holmes field Saturday afternoon, and the result was an overwhelming defeat for the Harvard men. Yale thoroughly outplayed them in batting, fielding and base running, but the score of 13 to 2 was needlessly large, and had the freshmen put up even their average game they could have made the contest much closer. In the second inning for example, after two men had struck out, Whittemore made a bad throw of an easy grounder and allowed the batter to reach first base. Then McAdams aided Yale by one of his three pass balls and shortly afterward made a wild throw. Dreyfus in the left field had by this time caught the spirit of demoralization and fumbled a fly to his part of the field. McAdams had another pass ball, and all these misplays were interspersed while Yale was hitting the ball hard and running bases in truly excellent form. Three hits with a total of four were made in close succession, and Yale scored in all five runs. Finally Cole, who had been given his base on balls and had stolen second was caught napping by Gilmore, and the disastrous inning was at length brought to a close. The Yale team grew steadier as our men became rattled, and in the second half of the inning Harvard went out without a man reaching first.

There is no doubt that the Yale men put in every way a stronger team into the field than Harvard, Rustin, Carter, Cole, Davis being 'varsity players, but this was no excuse for the exhibition of ball playing that '95 put up. It was wretchedly slow and lifeless, everyone being very deliberate in his movements. If this excessive care had made their fielding good, one could have endured the want of snap which so enlivens a game, but it did not and it never will in a game with such a team as Yale's. Whiting's muff of an easy liner, Dreyfus's ridiculous errors in left, McAdams' passed balls, Whittemore's two fumbles and Gilmore's slow, but by no means, sure throw to first in the opening inning were all extremely costly misplays and as a whole can only be put down as unpardonable work. The men showed that they were capable of better ball playing in the game they put up in the last two innings, during which only two hits were made and not a man was able to get beyond second base. To be sure Reed had taken Gilmore's place as pitcher and deserves credit for what he did, but Gilmore cannot be blamed for a great many of Harvard's errors, still if he had been relieved earlier in the game, the result might have been very much altered, though the game was practically lost at the end of the second inning.

The Yale men played a pretty game. Its fielding record was somewhat marred by Dwight's bad fumbles, but the way the men worked together was highly praised by every one. Davis and Cole were very effective in their battery work, but four hits being made and three bases being stolen, Cole's throwing to bases being very quick and accurate. For six innings the team batted hard, but with the exception of one hit all the work was done by the first four men on the batting list the others being rather easily disposed of. Rustin, Spier, and Carter were the life of the team. Rustin had but one chance, but his four runs, four hits and four stolen bases out of five times at the bat were fine examples of ball playing. Carter's work on first and his long hit for four bases marked him out for particular attention.

A three base hit by Whiting and a neat double play in the seventh inning by Walker and Whiting, together with the work in the last three innings were the best of Harvard's plays. Her two runs were made in the first and eighth innings, the first by errors and a wild pitch, the second by Whiting's three-bagger and Cassatt's sacrifice.

The bulk of Yale's runs was made in first, second, fourth and sixth, only one run being made in the other five innings.

The score:

YALE '95.

A.B. R. B.H. T.B. S.H. P.O. A. E.

Rustin c. f., 5 4 4 4 0 1 0 0

Sheffield 3b., 5 3 2 2 0 1 2 0

Carter 1b., 5 3 1 4 1 9 0 0

Spier l.f., 5 1 3 4 1 2 0 0

Cole c., 4 0 1 1 0 8 3 0

Hinkey r.f., 4 1 0 1 0 1 0 0

Dwight s.s., 4 0 0 1 1 1 1 2