Harvard's baseball team pulled off a spectacular 20-hit upset yesterday by drubbing undefeated, league-leading Dartmouth, 17-3, in the Indians' home territory, and pulling into a half-game lead in the Eastern Collegiate Baseball League.

Lanky Ray Peters won his fifth League contest without a loss and contributed two doubles, a single, and an RBI to the Crimson's prolific cause.

Dartmouth was the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League's only undefeated team until yesterday. The loss throws the League race into a three-way contest between Harvard, now 6-1, Dartmouth, 4-1, and Army, 5-1.

Boom, Boom

Harvard began the scoring onslaught in the third inning, scoring three runs, and stayed ahead for the entire rest of the game. The Green managed two runs in the bottom of the same inning, but Harvard scored again in the fourth, and added four runs in the fifth, seven runs in the seventh, and two in the eighth.

Peters, who struck out 12 batters boosting his 11.5 strikeout average, was taken out for a rest after the seventh inning, and reliefer George Lalich finished the game.

You'd never have known that hitting has been Harvard's biggest problem this year. Besides Peters' performance at bat--the third time this year the pitcher has gotten two hits in a game--John Ignacio and Dick Manchester wielded big sticks at the plate.

Ignacio, the team's first baseman and second leading hitter with a .300 average, blasted three hits including a solo home run. Second baseman Manchester went five-for-six and had three RBI's.

Crack

The only bright spot for the inundated Indians was football star Gene Ryzewicz, who cracked out three hits--including a double and a home run--in five trips to the plate.

Harvard has only two more league games--with Cornell and Yale--and must win both to remain in contention for the title. The Crimson meets Cornell in Ithaca on Friday, and Peters, who seems to have recovered last season's winning form, is slated to start again.

The last time Harvard won the EIBL title was in 1964, when the Crimson had a perfect 9-0 season. Last year Harvard tied for fourth.

The nine faces Tufts this afternoon in its fourth Greater Boston League contest.