Harvard's Greg Brown no-hit the Pennsylvania baseball team, 4-0. Saturday at Soldiers Field to complete a sweep of a key Eastern League doubleheader.
After watching his teammates rally from a 5-0 deficit to take an emotional, 6-5 victory in the opener. Brown tossed his seven-inning gem to improve the Crimson's EIBL record to 4-2. The overall mark stands at 10-8.
Brown did not walk a Quaker until the sixth inning. By that time, Harvard had scored all four runs--three in the first inning on two walks, a Vinnie Martelli double and a Paul Chicarello single--and the only remaining question was whether the massive righthander could hang on.
Suspense
Brown came within one pitch of his materpiece going 1-2 on Jerry Smith with two outs in the seventh before building the suspense by losing him with three straight balls. But he didn't have to wait long. Two pitches later, Gib Cater slapped a hard grounder up the middle which Brown speared and flipped to first to end the ballgame.
"It scared me that I didn't really have a strikeout pitch," said Brown, who fell to his knees and raised his arms after the final out. "But I was throwing real well. This is easily the best game I've ever pitched."
Like all no-hitters, this one was helped by extraordinary fielding. Donnie Allard ranged deep into the right center field gap to corral a Joel Mock smash in the fourth, and third baseman Danny Skaff made a nifts play on a sharp grounder to nail Pete Shutte an inning later. And Brown's play that ended the game ("I grabbed it off my chest") could have easily bounced through.
Early Troubles
Earlier it appeared Penn (now 1-5 in the league) was going to hand the Crimson a serious setback, exploding for four runs in the fifth inning of the first game to take a 5-0 lead off of starter Billy Doyle.
But Harvard came back. "We fought back tooth and claw in that first game," designated hitter Chicarello said. With reliever Mike Smerczynski derailing the Quakers, the Crimson pulled to within 5-4 on two singles, a walk, and a two-run single by Brad Bauer, a two-base error by Penn's Paul Kupeha and a triple by Chicarello. And when Allard singled home Bauer with one out in the seventh, the score was tied.
See You
After Gaylord Lyman walked to lead off in the ninth. Chuck Marshall lined a double just inside the third base line to put the winning run at third. After an intentional walk to Bruce Weller, Paul Scheper rifled a base hit to shallow center to end the ballgame.
"I think this is going to give us a real boost." Chicarello said after the twinbill. "We were very close to being out of it but we came back. This doubleheader was important in a million ways."
One was the re-emergence of Smerczynski as the bullpen ace. The fireballer picked up his first win with a strong performance in the opener, whiffing Paul Kupcha in the seventh with probably the best fastball thrown all day. His one mistake, a change-up which number two hitter Steve Flacco pelted for a single, was erased when Vinnie Martelli gunned down Flacco as the Quaker tried to steal second.
Another was the play of Bruce Weller, who improves daily in center field and at hat. The freshman had a tough time hattling the sun in the opener but made some difficult grabs look easy. He also rapped out three hits from his leadoff spot.
And another, obviously, was Brown. This kind of Eastern League performance from your third starter (and don't forget his shutout at Princeton two weeks ago) gives Harvard the kind of pitching depth it has needed. Yale, Princeton and Cornell may each have an ace, but when Brown, Doyle and Jim Curtin are throwing well, no team has better starters than Harvard. And if that continues to be true, the hitting won't even matter. FIRST GAME PENNSYLVANIA (5) AB R H BI Syrek, ss. 4 0 0 0 Flacce, rf 5 1 3 0 Rom, c 4 0 1 1 Mock, dh 2 1 0 0 Smith, 1b 3 1 1 0 Criscuolo, 2b 3 1 1 0 Carter, rf 3 1 2 0 Kupcha, 3b 3 0 1 1 Sailor, lf-p 4 0 1 3 31 5 10 5 FIRST GAME IP H R ER BB SO Shutte 6 1/3 9 5 5 4 4 Sailor (L) 2/3 2 1 1 2 0 Doyle 4 2/3 7 5 5 6 2 Smerczynski (W) 3 1/3 3 0 0 0 1 FIRST GAME HARVARD (S) Weller, cf 4 2 3 0 Scheper, lf 3 0 1 1 Bauer, ss 2 2 1 2 Martelli, 1b-c 2 0 0 0 Allard, rf 4 1 1 1 Chicarello, dh 4 0 1 1 Skaff, 3b 4 0 1 0 Lyman, 2b 3 0 0 0 Wark, c 2 1 2 0 Bowles, pr 0 0 0 0 Crowley, pr 0 0 0 0 Marshall, 1b 1 0 1 0 29 0 11 5 FIRST GAME Penn 000 140 00--5 Harvard 000 040 11--6 Second Game PENNSYLVANIA (0) AB R H BI Syrek, ss 3 0 0 0 Flacco, cf 3 0 0 0 Rom., c 3 0 0 0 Mock, dh 3 0 0 0 Smith, 1b 2 0 0 0 Carter, lf 3 0 0 0 Shuttle, 2b 2 0 0 0 Sailor, lf 1 0 0 0 Kupcha, 3b 2 0 0 0 22 0 0 0 Second Game IP H R ER BB SO Criscuolo (L) 4 3 4 4 5 1 DiPietro 2 0 0 0 1 2 Brown (W) 7 0 0 0 2 3 Second Game HARVARD (4) Weller, cf 4 0 0 0 Scheper, lf 1 1 0 0 Bauer, ss 1 2 0 0 Martelli, 1b 2 1 1 2 Allard, rf 3 0 0 0 Chicarello, dh 2 0 2 2 Skaff, 3b 3 0 0 0 Lyman, 2b 3 0 0 0 Wark, c 2 0 0 0 21 4 3 4 Second Game Penn 000 000 0--0 Harvard 301 000 x--4
FIRST GAME IP H R ER BB SO Shutte 6 1/3 9 5 5 4 4 Sailor (L) 2/3 2 1 1 2 0 Doyle 4 2/3 7 5 5 6 2 Smerczynski (W) 3 1/3 3 0 0 0 1 FIRST GAME HARVARD (S) Weller, cf 4 2 3 0 Scheper, lf 3 0 1 1 Bauer, ss 2 2 1 2 Martelli, 1b-c 2 0 0 0 Allard, rf 4 1 1 1 Chicarello, dh 4 0 1 1 Skaff, 3b 4 0 1 0 Lyman, 2b 3 0 0 0 Wark, c 2 1 2 0 Bowles, pr 0 0 0 0 Crowley, pr 0 0 0 0 Marshall, 1b 1 0 1 0 29 0 11 5 FIRST GAME Penn 000 140 00--5 Harvard 000 040 11--6 Second Game PENNSYLVANIA (0) AB R H BI Syrek, ss 3 0 0 0 Flacco, cf 3 0 0 0 Rom., c 3 0 0 0 Mock, dh 3 0 0 0 Smith, 1b 2 0 0 0 Carter, lf 3 0 0 0 Shuttle, 2b 2 0 0 0 Sailor, lf 1 0 0 0 Kupcha, 3b 2 0 0 0 22 0 0 0 Second Game IP H R ER BB SO Criscuolo (L) 4 3 4 4 5 1 DiPietro 2 0 0 0 1 2 Brown (W) 7 0 0 0 2 3 Second Game HARVARD (4) Weller, cf 4 0 0 0 Scheper, lf 1 1 0 0 Bauer, ss 1 2 0 0 Martelli, 1b 2 1 1 2 Allard, rf 3 0 0 0 Chicarello, dh 2 0 2 2 Skaff, 3b 3 0 0 0 Lyman, 2b 3 0 0 0 Wark, c 2 0 0 0 21 4 3 4 Second Game Penn 000 000 0--0 Harvard 301 000 x--4
FIRST GAME HARVARD (S) Weller, cf 4 2 3 0 Scheper, lf 3 0 1 1 Bauer, ss 2 2 1 2 Martelli, 1b-c 2 0 0 0 Allard, rf 4 1 1 1 Chicarello, dh 4 0 1 1 Skaff, 3b 4 0 1 0 Lyman, 2b 3 0 0 0 Wark, c 2 1 2 0 Bowles, pr 0 0 0 0 Crowley, pr 0 0 0 0 Marshall, 1b 1 0 1 0 29 0 11 5 FIRST GAME Penn 000 140 00--5 Harvard 000 040 11--6 Second Game PENNSYLVANIA (0) AB R H BI Syrek, ss 3 0 0 0 Flacco, cf 3 0 0 0 Rom., c 3 0 0 0 Mock, dh 3 0 0 0 Smith, 1b 2 0 0 0 Carter, lf 3 0 0 0 Shuttle, 2b 2 0 0 0 Sailor, lf 1 0 0 0 Kupcha, 3b 2 0 0 0 22 0 0 0 Second Game IP H R ER BB SO Criscuolo (L) 4 3 4 4 5 1 DiPietro 2 0 0 0 1 2 Brown (W) 7 0 0 0 2 3 Second Game HARVARD (4) Weller, cf 4 0 0 0 Scheper, lf 1 1 0 0 Bauer, ss 1 2 0 0 Martelli, 1b 2 1 1 2 Allard, rf 3 0 0 0 Chicarello, dh 2 0 2 2 Skaff, 3b 3 0 0 0 Lyman, 2b 3 0 0 0 Wark, c 2 0 0 0 21 4 3 4 Second Game Penn 000 000 0--0 Harvard 301 000 x--4
FIRST GAME Penn 000 140 00--5 Harvard 000 040 11--6 Second Game PENNSYLVANIA (0) AB R H BI Syrek, ss 3 0 0 0 Flacco, cf 3 0 0 0 Rom., c 3 0 0 0 Mock, dh 3 0 0 0 Smith, 1b 2 0 0 0 Carter, lf 3 0 0 0 Shuttle, 2b 2 0 0 0 Sailor, lf 1 0 0 0 Kupcha, 3b 2 0 0 0 22 0 0 0 Second Game IP H R ER BB SO Criscuolo (L) 4 3 4 4 5 1 DiPietro 2 0 0 0 1 2 Brown (W) 7 0 0 0 2 3 Second Game HARVARD (4) Weller, cf 4 0 0 0 Scheper, lf 1 1 0 0 Bauer, ss 1 2 0 0 Martelli, 1b 2 1 1 2 Allard, rf 3 0 0 0 Chicarello, dh 2 0 2 2 Skaff, 3b 3 0 0 0 Lyman, 2b 3 0 0 0 Wark, c 2 0 0 0 21 4 3 4 Second Game Penn 000 000 0--0 Harvard 301 000 x--4
Second Game PENNSYLVANIA (0) AB R H BI Syrek, ss 3 0 0 0 Flacco, cf 3 0 0 0 Rom., c 3 0 0 0 Mock, dh 3 0 0 0 Smith, 1b 2 0 0 0 Carter, lf 3 0 0 0 Shuttle, 2b 2 0 0 0 Sailor, lf 1 0 0 0 Kupcha, 3b 2 0 0 0 22 0 0 0 Second Game IP H R ER BB SO Criscuolo (L) 4 3 4 4 5 1 DiPietro 2 0 0 0 1 2 Brown (W) 7 0 0 0 2 3 Second Game HARVARD (4) Weller, cf 4 0 0 0 Scheper, lf 1 1 0 0 Bauer, ss 1 2 0 0 Martelli, 1b 2 1 1 2 Allard, rf 3 0 0 0 Chicarello, dh 2 0 2 2 Skaff, 3b 3 0 0 0 Lyman, 2b 3 0 0 0 Wark, c 2 0 0 0 21 4 3 4 Second Game Penn 000 000 0--0 Harvard 301 000 x--4
Second Game IP H R ER BB SO Criscuolo (L) 4 3 4 4 5 1 DiPietro 2 0 0 0 1 2 Brown (W) 7 0 0 0 2 3 Second Game HARVARD (4) Weller, cf 4 0 0 0 Scheper, lf 1 1 0 0 Bauer, ss 1 2 0 0 Martelli, 1b 2 1 1 2 Allard, rf 3 0 0 0 Chicarello, dh 2 0 2 2 Skaff, 3b 3 0 0 0 Lyman, 2b 3 0 0 0 Wark, c 2 0 0 0 21 4 3 4 Second Game Penn 000 000 0--0 Harvard 301 000 x--4
Second Game HARVARD (4) Weller, cf 4 0 0 0 Scheper, lf 1 1 0 0 Bauer, ss 1 2 0 0 Martelli, 1b 2 1 1 2 Allard, rf 3 0 0 0 Chicarello, dh 2 0 2 2 Skaff, 3b 3 0 0 0 Lyman, 2b 3 0 0 0 Wark, c 2 0 0 0 21 4 3 4 Second Game Penn 000 000 0--0 Harvard 301 000 x--4
Second Game Penn 000 000 0--0 Harvard 301 000 x--4