The Catching: It seems as if he's been around forever, but senior captain Joe Wark has actually only been behind the plate for three years. Bringing new meaning to the word intense, Wark is a fierce competitor whose defensive skills more than carry his airy bat. Wark's hits, though more recent than a few years ago, still don't come in bunches, but the way he wears his shinguards, he would start if he never even fouled one off. Martelli and Kevin Lennon will spell the captain, but you can bet Wark will catch the big ones. There is none better defensively in the league.

The Pitching: A strength. If Bill Larson continues to improve, he'll be all-league next year. Billy Doyle is a battler, Greg Brown a flame-thrower, and John Sorich's knuckle-curve a dazzling out pitch from the bullpen.

But Harvard's lowest ERA belongs to unheralded Jim Curtin, a junior who saw action in five games and tossed to a 2.33 ERA. In Curtin and a corps of newcomers (freshman Dave Wanger is the brightest), Nahigian has pitching depth the hasn't had in his two years here. Along with consistency, pitching depth is an Eastern League must, especially with the late-season doubleheaders. The fifth and sixth pitchers decide championships.

The Outlook: A deep, strong club, but the bugaboo may be youth. "That's the thing we lack, experience," Nahigian says. "We've started to cut down on our mental errors, and, right now, I feel we're a solid ball club. We'll find out this weekend just how good we are."

Today's contest at Navy and tomorrow's doubleheader at Princeton will certainly test the Crimson early. Navy was one of the EIBL's elite last season, finishing just a fame off the tripartite pace, while Princeton's pitching staff led the nation in earned run average. Two wins will signify a solid club; three, and extraordinary one. But anything less may just mean it's too soon to tell, for this is a team that will keep improving.

So. What we seem to have is a club capable of doing just about anything except real bad. This could be a rebuilding year, with the team finishing at or below the .500 mark. This could be a good, but not great, team that finishes second or third and looks to the future, when everyone but Wark and Marshall come back next year.

Finally, this could be the best team in the East, a team that goes farther than last year's loss to St. John's in the NCAA's. With a dynamic infield and deep pitching, the Crimson seem capable of playing with any squad around. The words to remember, however, are maturity and consistency.

But it is important also to remember how hard it is for a team to repeat. Being champion means everybody saves their best pitcher to knock you off--so get ready to see a Lockenmayer or Darling just about every day. It means you have to be up for each game, because in this league, in an ordinary year, four losses means death.

And now for the crystal ball: Look for the Crimson, despite the pressure, to win a close race with Princeton and Yale, with an overrated Cornell limping home fourth. The make-up of the squad, with no real stars (except perhaps Bauer) but good talent all around, is conducive to winning in the EIBL. The pitching seems to be as good as last year's, and the spirit is there It should be interesting.