Varsity Prevails, 6-1, as Johnson's Six-Hitter Ruins Williams Class Day

The varsity baseball team ran into a Berkshire thunderstorm, and Mouse Kasarjian ran into a warm-up throw from the catcher--both in the fourth inning--but the Williams nine failed to provide much of a problem as the Crimson captured the home-and-home series with a 6-1 victory Saturday.

In spite of the rain and the defeat of the home team in its last game of the season, the spirits of several thousand Williams reunion-bound alumni did not suffer, since most left before the end of the third inning. The pageantry and parading (including the jazz band of '34 and a bicycle-built-for-six manned by the class of '39) failed to inspire the Williams, squad, which committed five errors and managed only six hits off the pitching of Byron Johnson.

When the umpires called time, after two men were out in the bottom of the fourth the varsity already had a 2-0 lead, the result of A1 Martin's homer in the third. With two out, a 3-2 count and Dick Shima on third, Milkman Martin leaned into a high fastball served by sophomore lefthander John Whitney and belted it over the running track into the left field stands.

The 19-minute downpour only settled the dust on the infield and affected neither Johnson's control nor the Crimson's attack.

In the fifth inning the Crimson increased its margin to 4 to 0 at the expense of Morris, as John Davis and Chet Boulris batted in runs following a double to left center by George Harrington.

The varsity managed to get only one run out of four hits and an error in the seventh. Martin led off with a single to left and took second when third baseman Pete Haeffner made the second of his three errors on Davis' grounder. Following a double play, Mo Balboni laced a single to center, scoring Martin, and Charlie Leamy contributed a base hit to right field.

With two out and two men on base, Bill Rodgers, playing shortstop for the injured Kasarjian, got the second of his two hits, a drive deflected off the pitcher's glove to the second baseman, who fell down and shoved the ball toward first. When Leamy broke for third Balboni was forced to come home and was tagged out by catcher Tom Christopher.