Tokyo, Apr. 17.
To the cheers of 60,000 spectators, the intercollegiate - baseball championship series was opened at the Meiji Shrine Stadium. yesterday.
In the first game of the season, the Waseda swatters easily defeated their rivals from Rikkyo University by the lop-sided score of 6 runs to 1 Waseda batters scored one run in the first stanza, three in the third and one in the eighth, The losers scored their only digit in the last inning.—Domei, good football; the second fell away and was not quite worthy of the great names the teams bore. The tackling was fierce, and although Watmough got in a shot which went only just wide of the post, Preston seemed for the first and only time ju the match uncertain of themselves. Aston Villa took the initiative, and, with a little more football of the kind they have been playing this season and a little more fluster on the part of the Preston defence, anything might have happened. The last touch of football virtue was denied Aston Villa, however, Smith was icy in control at centre halfback, and furiously as Aston Villa raged together they could not disturb the balance of a confident defence. After Dougal's injury the Preston attack virtually ceased to exist, although Mutch and Beattie worked and schemed brilliantly throughout, but, handicapped as it was, it was storming at the Aston Villa goal when the field whistle went, The teams were:—
PRESTON NORTH END:—Holdcroft, coal; Gallimore and Beatlie (A.). backs; Shankly. Smith, and Milne, half-backs: Watmough, Mutch, Dougal, Beattie (R.) and O'Donnell, forwards.
Callaghan and Cummings, ' back ASTON—Biddlestone, goal
VILLA:
Massie, Allen, and Iverson, half-back-Broome, Haycock, Shell, Starling, and Houghton, forwards.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.