NINE FAVORED TO DEFEAT BATES IN MID-SEASON TILT

The Harvard nine will be working well into mid-season when it faces Bates here this afternoon, and is going after its seventh victory since its disastrous spring trip. Today's game, scheduled for 4 o'clock, should find the Crimson greatly favored to win, and with an eye on Saturday's opener in the Holy Cross series.

The Lewiston outfit cannot boat any remarkable strength, either in the field or at bat, and it began its season in a discouraging fashion, submitting to a row of one and two run defeats. It has shown steady improvement in the last fortnight, however.

The Harvard nine has been doing queer things of late, and the trouble is not hard to diagnose. A none too brilliant victory over Pennsylvania, after a set of snappy wins over other strong invaders, was followed by a breakdown before a quite ordinary Georgetown team. Last Saturday, however, the Crimson rallied and overwhelmed Princeton, in the first Harvard-Princeton ball game since 1926. It seems as if Devens and his invincible pitching presage victory for the Crimson, over almost all comers. When he is not in the line-up, almost anything might happen, as it did in the Georgetown flasco. Coach Mitchell is saving him for the tilt with the Crusaders, and intends to use Sprague or Taylor on the mound today. HARVARD  BATES Mays, 2b.  l.f., Murphy Thacher, 3b.  r.f., Fireman Wood, s.s.  c.f., Morrill Lupien, r.f.  1b., Berry Gleason, c.f.  s.s., Flynn McCaffrey, l.f.  2b., Swett Sheldon, 1b.  3b., Jekanowsyk Fincke, c.  p., Millett Sprague or Taylor, p.  c., Brown