Scouting the League Baseball

Harvard looks to repeat as Rolfe Division champion The Ivy League's Red Rolfe Division will put on a great show for Ivy League baseball fans. Depth, experience and recruiting talent will be the talk of this year's season. A much stronger division than in the past, each team puts a quality squad on the field every game, and the level of competition will be high. No team will run away with the title, as all four clubs have as good a chance of finishing on top as any of the others. YALE Yale must cope with the loss of the two best hitters in team history (Dan Thompson and Bryan Hobbs), as well as the 1996 Ivy Pitcher of the Year (Thompson), but a fair amount of experienced players will return to take aim at their fourth Rolfe championship in five years. Senior centerfielder Matthew Bird is the leading returnee in most offensive categories and has been predicted by Baseball America to be the Ivy League Player of the Year. He will bring a nice mix of speed and power to the Yale outfield. He will be joined by senior captain Keith Caggiano, one of the top RBI men for the Bulldogs the last two seasons. Junior Eric Gutshall will look to add to his 10 career victories as he anchors the Bulldogs' rotation. Gutshall is the returning leader with five complete games and 47 strikeouts. Sophomores Mike Finnegan and Jon Levy will also return as starters. Bobby Griggs will close the games for the Elis, returning as last year's set-up man. Junior catcher Jimmy Bryan had his best season as a Bulldog in 1996 at the plate with a .292 average and 19 hits. Junior Tom Kidwell is back for his third straight year as the starting second baseman and has become the leader of the infield. The rest of the infield will be filled by newcomers looking to prove themselves worthy of securing a place in the starting lineup. HARVARD Last year's Rolfe champions, returning 22 letterwinners, have the depth and the aggressiveness necessary to repeat. At no spot on the field is the squad's depth as evident as it is on the mound. The Crimson have 12 experienced veterans, including seniors Frank Hogan and Bart Brush, who will provide the leadership for the staff. Hogan was the team's sole First Team All-Ivy selection in 1996. Junior Mike Marcucci returns as the staff's closer, after appearing in a team-high 16 contests last year. Senior captain Peter Albers holds down the infield at first base. He hit .317 with 25 RBI a year ago. 1996 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Hal Carey returns to fill his post at second. In left, junior Aaron Kessler provides speed and a powerful bat. In right, junior Brett Vankoski returns after hitting .340 and earning a spot on the All-Ivy Second team. The only question for the Crimson and coach Joe Walsh is who will start the season behind the plate. DARTMOUTH Last year's youth becomes this year's experience, as Dartmouth will look to improve upon their 8-12 league record in the 1996 campaign and contend for the Ivy League title. The pitching staff, led by junior Eric Walania, a two-time All-Ivy selection, who was among the league's ERA leaders last season, and senior co-captain Scott Simon, will lead the most deep and experienced Big Green rotation in many years. The infield will remain relatively in tact around the horn, returning senior Jim Meyer at first and four-year starter Mike Armstrong at second. Newcomers Aaron Meyer and third baseman Brian Nickerson will provide depth in the infield positions and may compete for starting roles. All-Ivy centerfielder Andrew Spencer has a chance to end his career as one of the most prolific hitters in school history. The speedy Spencer may lead the league in steals, while 1996 team Rookie of the Year Ron Friedman will also chase down fly-balls in the Big Green outfield. BROWN Although Brown lost some talented players to graduation, the 1997 squad boasts a strong combination of experienced veterans and talented newcomers who will enable Brown to challenge its Ivy foes in the Rolfe division. Returning only 13 players from last year's cellar dweller, first year head coach Marek Drabinski will rely on the addition of 12 freshmen to climb their way out of the Red Rolfe cellar. Relief ace Aaron Simmons will be gunning down batters once again, as junior Mike Scarlata will return to the mound as the Bears' top starter. Last year, he finished second on the team in strikeouts, innings pitched and earned run average. Three returnees will start in the Brown infield. Junior Andy Donnelly and sophomore Peter DeYoung will play at the corners. Last season, Donnelly led the team in walks and tallied 20 hits in 30 games. Sophomore Brian Silston is the team's top returning hitter with a .296 average and a flawless 1.000 fielding percentage. He will probably get the nod at second base. The graduations of honorable mention All-Ivy Ravi Malick and Ron Klino assure that changes will take place in the Bears' outfield.