However, its potent lineup remains intact with Ivy League Player of the Year Brian Nickerson, Ivy League Rookie of the Year Mike Mileusnic and All-Ivy First Team outfielder James Little all back.

All that offensive talent makes Dartmouth the team to beat in the Red Rolfe Division and sets up the weekend of April 28-29--when the Big Green visits the Crimson for a pair of double-headers--as a must-see match-up.

Yale Bulldogs

Yale struggled last season, posting a 13-31 overall recording to go alongside an abominable 3-17 Ivy mark.

Despite their difficulties from a year ago, the Elis did manage to post three wins--all of which came against the Crimson. Like every other teams in the Red Rolfe division, Yale took three out of four games in its season series with Harvard.

Yale's best hope for success this season rests on its pitching staff, which has a strong mix of young veterans and untested, but talented, freshmen.

"Yale finished at the bottom last year," Walsh says. "They may have, on paper, the best pitching staff. They got a kid that was clocked at 94 [MPH] down in Florida this week."

To overcome Yale, Harvard will need better patience at the plate than it demonstrated last year. If Harvard batters can do their part, the Crimson's pitching should have an easy time against a light-hitting and frequently inconsistent Yale lineup.

Lou Gehrig Division

The other four teams in the Ivy League, which Harvard plays only twice a year, compete in the Lou Gehrig division. Princeton dominated the division last year en route to winning the Ivy crown.

Columbia Lions

Columbia finished at the bottom of the Lou Gehrig division last year, posting a 6-14 Ivy rcord along with a 20-21 overall record.

The Lions placed only one player on the All-Ivy First Team, DH Pete Aswad. Aswad, however, is returning for Columbia this year and will anchor the Lions' lineup. Opposing pitchers will have to be careful about how they pitch to him, considering he batted .384 last season.

Early reports from the Lions' games in southern California indicate that their Achilles' heel this season may be their relief pitching. In two games during the weekend of March 11-12, the Lions blew leads in the bottom of the ninth to both San Francisco State and Cal Poly-Tech.

Columbia stands 0-8 on the season after those two setbacks.

Cornell Big Red

The Big Red finished last season's Ivy campaign with a respectable 11-9 record. But that mark went along with a less-than-impressive 13-24 record overall.

A simple lack of talent is the most likely explanation for Cornell's woes last year. They had no players qualify for the league's first team.