Crimson Batmen Clinch Title

Winning their final three Eastern League games last weekend, the Crimson batmen slammed their way to the 1973 EIBL title for their third consecutive Eastern League crown.

Harvard formally clinched the pennant on Saturday as the Crimson swept a pair of games from Army, 4-3 and 6-1. Cornell, the only other team close in the standings, backed out of contention by dropping both ends of a doubleheader to Dartmouth.

The Crimson's win yesterday over Cornell, 7-3, while doing little to the final EIBL standings, was especially sweet as the Big Red are perennial contenders for the league title.

This weekend had been billed as a classic pitching duel featuring three of the finest staffs in the nation; the strike-out artists of Cornell, the Cadet hurlers with the lowest ERA nationally and the great depth of Harvard. But the Crimson easily made a sham of the Army and Cayugan defense as they tallied a total of 17 runs in three games.

The Harvard batmen quickly took control in yesterday's game with Cornell as they punched across a run in the top of the first. They added two more in the fourth as captain Kevin Hampe singled and was advanced to second on Leigh Hogan's sacrifice fly. Third baseman Jim Stoeckel slashed a single that brought Hampe home and Stoeckel came home on a hit off the bat of senior Hal Smith.

Cornell got back two runs in the bottom of the seventh as Cayugan second baseman Kazura lashed a single, scoring men from second and third base.

Harvard put the game out of reach in the eighth inning as the Crimson tallied three times. With one out, leadoff batter Ed Durso and centerfielder Hampe walked. Hogan then smashed a long triple to score the base runners. Hogan reached pay dirt on a hit by Stoeckel. Each team added another run in the ninth inning to close out the scoring.

Barry Malinowski hurled the win for Harvard Sunday with Norm Walsh coming in to pitch the final two outs and seal the victory.

The Big Bat

Kevin Hampe wielded the big bat for the Crimson as he went three for three at the plate and got on base two more times on walks. Stoeckel had two hits, tallied two RBIs and scored twice himself. Hogan was credited with a triple and a sacrifice in four at bats.

In the games with Army on Saturday, Harvard rallied in the top of the seventh inning in the opener to score twice and take the contest 4-3. Roz Brayton started the game and was relieved in the sixth by Walsh and Keith Schappert. Mike O'Malley came in to throw in the seventh inning and preserve the win.

In the nightcap, Harvard exploded for five runs in the second inning to sweep the doubleheader. Both teams scored once more to make the final score 6-1. O'Malley got the credit for the win and Sandy Weissant came in the fifth to relieve for the remainder of the game.

The Crimson finished with a 11-2 record in the Eastern League and now stands with a phenomenal overall record of 33-2