Crimson Nine Falls in World Series, 8-9

A determined comeback by the Harvard baseball team fell short in the College World Series last night as the Crimson fell to powerful Tulsa, 9-8, at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

The loss was the first for Harvard in the double-elimination tournament. The Crimson meets Pan American, 43-8 for the season and the second ranked team in the nation behind Southern California, in a 2:30 p.m. game today.

Pan American-probably the best pitching team in the Series-lost to Southern Illinois, 5-4, Saturday but ousted Seaton Hall from the tournament yesterday, 8-2. Bill Kelly is the probable starting pitcher for the Crimson today.

Tulsa, one of two unbeaten teams remaining in the Series, jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third inning after tagging Harvard starter Phil Collins for four runs and six hits in the first.

J.C. Nickens relieved Collins and gave up five runs in six innings. But the Crimson battled back, with Howie Smith leading the way with a triple, a double and a single.

Harvard could not manage to get the tying run across the plate, though despite the fact that the Crimson had the tying and go-ahead runs on base in each of the last three innings. Pete Varney was duped by two slow curves in the seventh and the ninth, taking a called third strike both times. He was the final Harvard out in the top of the ninth.

Altogether, Harvard left a staggering 14 men on base. Had it not been for seven Tulsa errors (four by Phil Honeycutt for a tournament record), the game would not have been close.

The Crimson collected three runs in the fifth to close the gap 8-4, but a misjudgment by Dave Ignacio cost Harvard what proved to be the tying run.

Ignacio walked to lead off the inning and moved to second on a single by Dan DeMichele. Varney then slammed a long double, but Ignacio hesitated as he rounded third and was tagged out at home.

DeMichele went to third, and singles by Pete Bernhard. Mike Thomas and Harry Smith scored three runs.

Two errors by Tulsa in the seventh and a pinch single by Kevin Hampe set the stage for three more tallies when Ignacio and DeMichele singled.

That ended the Crimson's scoring, however, despite repeated opportunities in the eighth and ninth.

Sandy Weissent and Barry Malinowski came on in the last two innings and shut out Tulsa after the Hurricanes got their last run in the bottom of the sixth. Weissent looked especially strong in relief.

Cliff Butcher went four innings for Tulsa before coming out in favor of en Petruck. Reggie Rowe finished it up after the sixth, catching Varney twice on curves.

In Friday's opening round victory over Brigham Young, the Crimson leaned on a four-hit performance by Kelly and the solid hitting of Varney and Ignacio.

Kelly had a one-hitter going until the ninth inning, when he gave up three hits-and the lone run-to the bottom of the BYU batting order. He got himself out of the jam, though, by collecting one of his two strikeouts to end the game with the tying run at the plate.

Varney gave the Crimson an early lead when he slammed a hanging curve ball 400 feet over the left centerfield wall. The home run-longest in Rosenblatt Stadium this season-came after DeMichel head walked and V.J.McGugan and Ignacio had been put out on ground halls to the infield.