Crimson Nine Meets Northeastern

The varsity baseball team will play its second game of the season in the Greater Boston League when it faces Northeastern away at 3 p.m. today.

Having beaten Tufts in its first game, a Harvard win can put the club in a good position to challenge for the title it has won four of the last six years under coach Norm Shepard. The Huskies were ranked third in a pre-season poll, one place above the Crimson.

"The team with the best pitching should win," Shepard said yesterday, so he is starting his top man, righthander Al Yarbro. Yarbro has won two games and lost one, that being his last start against Navy, Friday.

Though admitting that bad weather conditions made it hard for pitchers to throw well, Shepard was not pleased with the 10 walks his team allowed Springfield Tuesday. "We can't win doing that," he said, "that's a cinch." Yarbro is the only starter who has had good control of late, Dick Garibaldi and Dave Larkin being wild in the loss to Springfield.

On the other hand, Shepard was happy with his team's sudden burst of hitting in the last two games. "It's certainly better than last year," he said, which really isn't saying too much, since the Crimson's team average was .206 last season.