Crimson Nine Routs Tufts, 11-2

According to Harvard coach Loyal Park, winning a baseball game isn't enough. A good game can only become a great game when the coach can clear the bench and give everyone some playing time.

The Crimson has been playing well and winning all season, but yesterday Park got a chance to really enjoy a game as 16 different players contributed to an 11-2 romp over Tufts.

Chalking up its 20th victory of the year, the Crimson became the first Harvard squad since the 1915-16 teams to have back-to-back 20-win seasons.

The lopsided triumph also kept Harvard undefeated in the Greater Boston Leagne. The Crimson needs only two more victories to clinch its 11th GBL title in 19 years.

The outcome of the game was never in doubt, as four of the Crimson's first five batters scored. But Tufts kept the score respectable until another four-run Crimson rally in the eighth.

Nickens Tough

J. C. Nickens was the most effective of three Crimson pitchers, holding the Jumbos to two hits in four innings. Fastball artist Barry Malinowski came on in the fifth and struck out five before getting himself into a two-run jam in the seventh. Sophomore Sandy Weissent held Tufts in check in the final two frames.

Outfielder Hal Smith led the Harvard hitting barrage with four hits and four RBI's. Sophomores Kevin Hampe and Rick Wolff delivered a total of three hits, after entering the line-up in the sixth, to key the final rally.

The first inning gave several indications that the game was soon to be a rout. Crimson runners stole second three times in the opening frame, twice when the catcher dropped the ball and once when the second baseman dropped the ball. And Mike Thomas delivered all the runs the Crimson needed with a double that cleared the bases.

The only outs recorded by Tufts right-hander Roy Borden were on the three hardest hit balls of the inning-two line drives in the infield and a towering drive by Dan DeMichele that was caught at the right field fence.

Tufts scored its only runs in the seventh when Malinowski lost control of his fastball, walking two runners and hitting a batter, Scott Marshall drove in two runs with a single to center, closing Harvard's lead to 7-2. But Tufts' third base coach had a Jumbo runner charge on a one-out fly ball that was caught, and the ensuing double-play ended the rally.

The most excitement of the afternoon came in the eighth when the Crimson bullpen decided to play touch baseball-football on the freshman field. The relief hurlers warmed up on deep post patterns that would have impressed coach Joe Restic. But the contest turned into what looked like a crawling race outside the right field fence when one of the pitchers dropped a contact lens.