"I always say that good pitching beats goodhitting," Nahigian said. "Hitting's an intangible.You can hit the ball very hard, but hit it rightat somebody, or you can get a bleeder to fall in."
Co-Captains Frank Morelli and Frank Caprioshould provide more than a few runs. Caprio, agood defensive outfielder, was second on the teamin stolen bases last year with eight. He batted.252 and scored 21 runs.
"Frank Caprio is the silent leader type,"Dorrington said. "He leads by example."
Morelli, who catches, hit .268 with a home runand 11 runs batted in last year. Morelli lookslike he'll be one of the best hitters in theleague.
"It's very tough to get a hit in the cage,"Nahigian said, "but still Morelli's hitting thehell out of the bail."
In the past, Morelli has been hindered bycatching both games of a doubleheader. ButNahigian said that freshman third-baseman AronAllen will spell Morelli in the second game of afew twinbills to give the senior a well-deservedrest.
McConaghy, who plays outfield when he's not onthe mound, is the top returning hitter forHarvard. The junior south-paw hit .409 last year,and garnered second-team All-Ivy honors. He wasalso an All-ELBL Honorable Mention.
Junior Rick Renninger looks like he will havethe first-base slot. The slugger hit .309 lastyear, and seven of his 17 hits went for extrabases. Renninger also has a good eye--he walked 20times in 1987.
Sophomore Dave O'Connell and junior Casey Cobb,two solid defensive infielders, look like theywill get the nod at the shortstop and second-basepositions, although they may be challenged by someof the freshmen.
Outfielder Greg Agran, who hit a solid .309with good power in limited plate appearances lastyear, also figures to provide some offense.
Last year's Eastern League winner, Dartmouth,figures to be in the race again, but there are anumber of strong teams around the league.
Navy has won more games since the formation ofthe Eastern League than any other team, and theMiddies should put out another strong team. Pennand Columbia have some very strong young arms, andcould challenge.
"The league gets tougher every year," Nahigiansaid. "I used to think that if you lost fourgames, you would still have a shot at the leaguetitle. But now the winner has only two losses."
"We're really psyched for Florida," McGradysaid. "We're more motivated since we're playingcollege teams. But it's always fun playing the RedSox."1988 BASEBALL SCHEDULE
Southern ScheduleMarchSat. 26 Toledo University (2)Mon. 28 Stetson UniversityThu. 31 South Florida
Northern ScheduleAprilTue. 5 at Boston College (2)Wed. 6 NORTHEASTERN (2)Sun. 10 BOSTON UNIVERSITYTue. 12 TUFTSWed. 13 at Holy CrossSat. 16 at Brown (2)Sun. 17 at Yale (2)Wed. 20 BRANDEISSat. 23 NAVY (2)Sun. 24 PENN (2)Wed. 27 at MITSat. 30 at Columbia (2)MaySun. 1 at Army (2)Tue. 3 RHODE ISLAND (2)Wed. 4 at Providence (2)Sat. 7 CORNELL (2)Sun. 8 PRINCETON (2)Wed. 11 UMASSSat. 14 DARTMOUTH (2)