Mounders, pounders, or the stoppers of grounders? What are champion House baseball teams made of?
If pitching means winning, then Adams will win. Gold Coaster Roger Davis is the best pitcher in the House League--he hurled for the Freshman team two years ago and for the Jayvees last year. In the only game Adams has played this season, he pitched a no-hitter to lead his team to a 4 to 8 victory over Kirkland.
The rest of the Adams squad is sound and reliable, but not spectacular. First baseman Frank Holt, second baseman Joe Kozol, oatcher Sherry Heath, and outfielder Bob Parker are the workhorses for the Gold Coasters.
Dudley, on the other hand, has the weakest pitching. Dave Bishop, the catcher, is efficient enough, as is third baseman Herby Lewis. The Commuters are not first division material, but no team in the circuit will be able to beat them without sweating. Dudley lost to Lowell, 3 to 2, in its only game so far.
But if anybody has to finish in the cellar, and someone does, it can't be anybody but Dunster. Fumbling is the specialty of the Funster infield and sleeping is the specialty of the Funster outfield. Lowell capitalized on nine errors to beat Dunster, 10 to 5. Eliot has also used up its easy game, beating Dunster 7 to 4.
The funny thing is that the Funsters have a fairly good pitcher, southpaw Jerry Ulin. He and catcher Paul Demick are the only useful members of the team.
Eliot is the hardest-hitting club. Roger Pugh, Jack Merril, Gordle Allen, Dick Saul, and Jim Rosslter are all dependable at the plate. Pugh is also a fine catcher, and Merril is a flashy and ubiquitous centerfielder.
Pitching is the big worry for the Elephants. Hugh Whitman, the regular, is only adequate. Merril has been tried on the mound, but he should stay in the outfield.
An inside tip has it that first baseman Dick Saul will be starting pitcher in Eliot's important encounter with Lowell today. The Mastadons are taking a long shot; they have to.
The Elephants will have more than their pitching to worry about when they face Lowell today. The Bellboys have easily the strongest defensive players in the League.
Johnny Goldsmith is the best shortstop, and Fred Glimp is the best outfielder in intramural baseball. Both men have played on Freshman and Jayvee teams and have the ability to think fast in tricky situations that comes from experience. They aren't slouches at the plate either.
Duke Gormley and John Ketcham, both second basemen, were on the '50 Freshman team. Bob Woodruff is a heavy hitter as well as a competent catcher, Cleanup batter Harry McKean is a veteran third baseman in the House League.
Lowell's two regular pitchers, Frank Lionette and Jerry Dwight, are not outstanding. But the Bellboys will also put a new man on the mound in the Eliot game today. He is former '51 pitcher Bayard Robb. Unlike Eliot's Dick Saul, he is not a desperate choice, and his win over the Mastadons won't be his last.
The Bellboys not only play baseball well, they also play baseball smart, and that's really the same thing. At the plate or on the field, they understand the fine points of baseball tactics. While they were slaughtering Dunster, for instance, Goldsmith stole five bases (second once, third twice, and home twice).
There aren't any deep, dark secrets about Winthrop's cherry little outfit, though. Mel Zurier is a fine pitcher. Catcher Tom Moseley and center fielder Clyde McKenzie are heavy hitters. Phil Clark and ex-Jayvee player Steve Davis are steady dependables.
The Puritans have a remarkably well-balanced squad. And what they lack in depth, they made up in scrappiness.
Kirkland, last year's champion, has fallen. Not only have the Deacons lost two out of two, they have failed to enlist any more than two of last year's squad to help them out. Star outfielder Freg Wagon, for example, has strayed out of activity. This is ironic indeed in an organization which worships that rather vague deity, House Spirit.
The Kirkland team as it is and not as it might be include two competent pitchers, southpaw Peter Weber, formerly of the '51 Yardlings and right-handed Ed Smith, who also plays first base. Catcher Quint Stiles, second baseman John Panky, and center fielder Bruce Hopper are the standouts on the team.
Leverett fields an undistinguished team. The Bunnies have one good pitcher, Dick Reynolds, who was on the mound when Leverett tied Eliot, 6 to 6. The outfield is pretty efficient with Brad Bradbury and Whit Calkins, a former Freshman pitcher who is also dangerous at the plate. Will Brown is the most only fair.
Adams pitches best; Eliot hits best; Lowtil fields best; Winthrop does a little of each; Kirkland use to; the other's don't.
The shady phantom looks up from his porridge and talks--Lowell, Adams, Winthrop, Eliot, Kirkland, Leverett, Dudley, and Dunster--in that very order
