Harvard Nine Gains NCAA Tourney Berth

Harvard crushed the top teams in New England last week to win a berth in the NCAA "College World Series," which opens today in Omaha, Neb.

Harvard went undefeated through the District I Playoffs, whipping B.U., Connecticut, and Providence College in the round-robin eliminations to gain one of eight positions in the NCAA championships.

The Crimson's chances in the tournament do not look so bright. In the latest baseball writers poll, Harvard is ranked 30th in the nation. St. Johns College of New York, the Crimson's opponent today is number four in the country, with one of the best pitching staffs around.

Victory at the Playoffs

Some observers doubted that Harvard could stand up against New England competition with only one topnotch pitcher--Ray Peters. But in the playoffs, Bob Lincoln and Bob Dorwart also came through with victories to pace the Crimson to a runaway victory.

District Playoffs were a continuous round-robin affair, normally with two games a day. When a team loses two games, it is eliminated. In the first game, last Monday, Connecticut beat Providence. In the second, Harvard beat B.U. behind Peters, 4-1.

Dorwart Comes Through

Then, the two losers played, and B.U. won in a 13-inning game that had to be continued until the next day because of darkness. Dorwart whipped Connecticut 3-0, with a 4-hitter, and the Crimson was left as the only undefeated squad.

The next day, Connecticut knocked off the Terriers to keep alive and win the right to meet Harvard in the showdown. The Crimson scored two runs early, but Connecticut tied the game with a two-run homer. Then, in the seventh, Jeff Grate, Dick Manchester, and Jeff Turco all singled. Grate scored, and Harvard was on its way to Omaha.

The Crimson has never played in a title tournament in recent memory, and the way the squad made it to Nebraska is a strange story.

In the last game of the season, Army lost in an upset to give the Crimson sole possesion of first place in the Eastern Intercollegiate League after a tie for fourth the year before. The squad did not have an especially great year, but three of its four losses came in nonleague games with Boston schools.

Even with the Eastern win, Harvard's chances of playing in an NCAA title game looked dim. The District I Playoffs were during examination period, and the Administrative Board does not normally find baseball games a good excuse for missing a final.

It was the NCAA, however, that came through, shifting the playoff schedule to allow the Crimson to participate. Harvard won in something of an upset. May be it can happen again.