Crimson Nine Sweeps Pair at B.C., 9-7 and 9-2

"It's a great day to play two." Ernie Banks used to say. Bill Larson must have felt that way yesterday. He pitched in both ends of a Harvard-Boston College doubleheader, notching a save and a win as the Crimson swept the twinbill in Chestnut Hill, 9-7 and 9-2.

Larson entered late in the opening slugfest, after the visitors had run up a 6-3 margin. The Eagles had scored four runs in the first three innings off starter and eventual winner Jim Curtin, but Harvard bats struck the biggest blows in the fifth inning. A pair of two-run homers by Donnie Allard and Chris Schindler put the Crimson up for good, and Ed Farrell added another two-run blast on the sixth.

B.C. bats accounted for three round trippers also, but Larson quieted things down after making his relief appearance in the fifth stanza He allowed no runs in the final two innings, though John McGuirk very nearly tied it up in the seventh, but hits near homer fell just foul over the left field wall.

Larson Redux

Harvard Coach Alex Nahigian obviously had a lot of confidence in Larson, since Larson appeared back on the mound 15 minutes later, starting the second contest Harvard played as the home team in the late game, which was a make-up of a snowed out contest scheduled earlier at Soldiers Field.

Larson moved down in the Eagles in the early going, fanning four batters and yielding just one hit. While the Crimson are held B.C scoreless, the Harvard offense ran up a comfortable lead in the first inning, right fielder Allard in drove two runs with a double into the left-center field gap. And at the start of the seconds. Elliot Rivera and Kevin Larson touched Eagle pitcher John Cooper for back-to-back home runs.

In the fifth, Allard's sacrifice fly scored Bruce Weller from third base, and Brad Bauer reached home thanks to a fielder's choice on the next play for Harvard's fifth and sixth runs. With one out and two men on in the top of the sixth, a Weller single and a thoroughly embarrassing three-base error by B.C's right-fielder led to a three-run inside-the-park circuit for the Crimson center fielder.

Nine runs was move than enough to finish off the Eagles, but Larson came fairly close to shutting them out for good measure. He started to line in the fourth, then and in the truth he managed to retire the sides with B.C runners in scoring position. In the fifth inning, three walks and a single put the Eagles on the board. In the seventh stanza a one-out homer by third baseman Mike Scott make at 9-2.

Larson allowed only four hits on the day, though, and racked up eight strikeouts, at least one in every inning.

Less could he said for B.C's sub stellar reliever. Mike Pramuck The junior sported a speeded up blooper ball and a very nearly underhand patch And, to better his footing on the mound he dug an unusually large trench in front of the rubber I ate in the second game he barely escaped being tagged with what would have been a well-deserved three run homer.