The slick-fielding Forst made his living for three years vacuuming ground balls off O'Donnell Field, but blossomed during his senior campaign into a .406 hitter who set a new school mark for hits in a season with 67.

Into that huge gap steps freshman Nick Carter, of La Jolla, Calif., who will represent the only underclassman link in the infield of junior first baseman Erik Binkowski, Woodfork and captain Hal Carey at the hot corner.

So how will the 6-4-3 look?

"He's looked good so far," Carey said. "Hopefully the chemistry in the infield is going to be the same."

But Woodfork was concerned:

"He's solid and definitely doesn't play like a freshman," he said. "But he's from California, so we'll have to see how he handles the cold."

Binkowski, a second-year starter at first, looks to expand on a spiffy sophomore season in which he hit .293 with three homers and 19 RBI, but provided some serious pop. He also fielded .995 at first.

Woodfork and Carey are veterans who earned starting jobs in their rookie campaigns. Woodfork hit .290 last year with 42 hits and 17 stolen bases, while Carey re-established his claim to the title of "The Boss."

Carey--the 1996 Ivy League Rookie of the Year--hit .374 with 53 hits and 25 stolen bases, epitomizing better than any individual player Walsh's fundamentals heavy deadball style.

As captain, he's been one of the main authors of Harvard baseball's resurgence from a 10-25 program in 1995 to a perennial national contender, on whom other teams focus obsessively.

"It's good pressure to have," Carey said. "Everyone expects us to win and we're ready to compete. That didn't seem possible when this team was 10-25, but now we're expected to be competitive."

Out in the Field

More than anywhere else, the outfield was sapped by graduation. The Crimson lost leftfielder Aaron Kessler and center-fielder Brian Ralph, now playing in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

Kessler hit .337 with 56 hits and 22 stolen bases in 1998, while Ralph--who fielded 1.000 and regularly made Willie Mays-style grabs in center--hit .347 with a team-high 10 home runs and a .703 slugging percentage.

Those are daunting numbers, but Walsh has juggled the outfield to compensate. Senior rightfielder Andrew Huling will move to center, while sophomores John Portman and Scott Carmack will get the left and rightfield nods, respectively.