HARVARD AND B. U. OPEN BALL SEASON THIS AFTERNOON

Boston University's untried but hard hitting nine will furnish the opposition when the University baseball team opens its season at 4 o'clock this afternoon on Soldiers Field. The game was to be held tomorrow but the date was set ahead to enable the team to start for the South tomorrow, on its Spring trip along with the tennis and track teams.

Coach Fred Mitchell intends to try out three pitchers today keeping Charles Devens '32, B. H. Ticknor '31. and W. H. MacHale '31 in the box for three innings each. The selection of Ticknor comes as a surprise since he was slated as a candidate for the outfield where he played last year, although he had an excellent pitching background in prep school. Devens, who will start the game was the star twirler of the 1929 Freshman team while MacHale was a regular moundsman on the University team last season.

Two members of the football pony backfield are in the starting lineup. W. B. Wood '32 has been selected to be at the initial sack while E. A. Mays '32 will hold down second base. Captain F. E. Nugent '30 at shortstop and E.

J. DesRoches '31 at third will complete the infield. DesRoches is taking the place of B. L. Huxtable '30 who will be kept on the bench for a few days with an injured hand sustained in practice the other day.

The outfield will consist of E. B. Samborski '31 in left, B. R. Bassett '31 or A. J. Lupien '32 at right and E. H. MacGrath '31 in center field, S. L. Batchelder '31 and Reginald Fincke '32 will divide the catching duties.

In preparation for this afternoon B. U. has held several practice encounters between the first and second teams, In these games the B. U. squad showed promise of being a decidedly hard-hitting group. Sports writers call it the hardest batting Pioneer team for five years. Mike Judkins, at first base for B. U. is one of the strongest batsmen of the squad. Rated close to him in excellence in wielding the stick is Del Pickard who will catch today's game.

Tomorrow 20 members of the squad with Coach Mitchell, three managers, and a rubber, will leave by boat for Norfolk, Virginia, whence they will travel to Williamsburg to start the spring schedule on Tuesday engaging William and Mary.S. L. Batchelder '31 and Charles Devens '32, the starting catcher and pitcher, respectively, for Harvard when it opens its season today.