News
Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor Talks Justice, Civic Engagement at Radcliffe Day
News
Church Says It Did Not Authorize ‘People’s Commencement’ Protest After Harvard Graduation Walkout
News
‘Welcome to the Battlefield’: Maria Ressa Talks Tech, Fascism in Harvard Commencement Address
Multimedia
In Photos: Harvard’s 373rd Commencement Exercises
News
Rabbi Zarchi Confronted Maria Ressa, Walked Off Stage Over Her Harvard Commencement Speech
First baseman Eddie Parrell pounded a two-run homer in the eighth to tie it and right fielder Don Allard stroked a run-scoring one-out double in the bottom of the tenth to win it yesterday, as the Harvard baseball team downed Boston College, 7-6, at Soldiers Field.
Sophomore righthander Scott Vierra came in from his usual left field spot to turn in 21/3 innings of shutout relief work to earn his first win for the Crimson, upping the squad's record to 6-0 in the Greater Boston League, 15-3-1 overall.
Allard's game-winning RBI climaxed a Harvard comeback effort marked by bad breaks and missed opportunities. Crimson hitters stranded a total of 15 runners on the afternoon, leaving the bases loaded three times.
The Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead off Crimson starter Charlie Marchese Center fielder Larry Hill sliced a wind-blown double to right on the first pitch of the game and scored one out later when first baseman Rick Murphy doubled to left center. Walks to Steve Moriarty and Bob Miller, sandwiched around a ground out, loaded the bases before Steve Simoes, who had three RBIs for B.C., drilled a single up the middle to bring home Murphy and Moriarty.
But Marchese soon settled down After surrendering one more run in the third, the sophomore righthander regained both his poise and his control, baffling B.C. hitters with corner nipping curves and sliders Marchese retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced after the third inning.
Meanwhile, the batmen whittled away the Eagle lead Harvard picked up its first run in the second when Eagle starter Mike O'Neill hit catcher Vinnie Martelli. Martelli moved to third on an Allard single and scored on designated hitter Mickey Maspons' perfect hit-and run single to right Second baseman Tony DiCesare followed Maspons with a walk, loading the bases.
But Vierra's grounder to the right side hit the advancing DiCesare. It was an automatic single for Vierra, but DiCesare became the second out of the inning, and Allard--because the ball was automatically ruled dead when it hit DiCesare--had to retreat to third. Center fielder Bruce Weller's ground out left the bases loaded.
In the fourth, Captain Brad Bauer capped a two-out rally with a bases-loaded walk that scored Vierra. But the Crimson again left the sacks jammed as Farrell followed Bauer with a groundout to second.
Harvard finally knotted the score in the fifth. Martelli (two-for-four, two runs scored) led off with a double. Following an Allard strikeout, Maspons and DiCesare walked, and a Vierra sacrifice fly scored Martelli. A walk to Weller by the increasingly wild O'Neill and an Elliot Rivera infield single loaded the bases with two out. But Bauer's harmless grounder to first ended the inning.
B.C. battled back in the eighth. Harvard Coach Alex Nahigian had lifted Marchese at the end of seven innings to save the righthander for Sunday's doubleheader with Brown. Freshman lefthander Paul Vallone, making his first regular season appearance, surrendered two walks and an RBI single by Simoes. Nahigian quickly called in Vierra to put out the fire Larry Hill greeted Vierra with an RBI single to make it 6-4, but the righthander retired Mike Scott to end the inning.
Harvard rebounded in the bottom half of the inning. Bauer drew a lead off walk, and that was all for O'Neill, but Farrell stung new pitcher Rick Callahan with a line drive that cleared the left field fence by 20 feet.
In the tenth, Farrell set the stage for Allard's game-winning heroics with a one-out double to center. After Martelli walked, Allard drilled a one-strike pitch from Reardon, B.C.'s third pitcher, to the base of the fence in right field.
Farrell's resurgence at the plate was perhaps the brightest spot in the batmen's performance. The beffy cleanup hitter endured a one-for-13 slump in the team's doubleheaders against Penn and Columbia last weekend. Yesterday he roared buck with a four-for-six outing that lifted his batting average from 333 to 367.
"The slump's over," Farrell said after the game "Last weekend I wasn't very selective at the plate. But today I stayed back in the box and waited for my pitch."
The Crimson's next big test comes this weekend when Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League rivals Yale and Brown invade Cambridge for back-to-back doubleheaders.
"Brown looks tough," Nahigian said. "They've won six in a row, and they just swept a doubleheader from Army." He plans to start ace Bill Larson and sophomore Jeff Musselman against the Elis Saturday, and to use Marchese and righthander Bill Doyle against the Bruins Sunday. There was one out when the winning run scored Game-Winning RBI--Allard E--Allard, DiCesare. Giaquinto DP--Harvard 1. Boston College 1 LOB--Boston College 9. Harvard 17 28--Farrell, Allard, Martelli, Hill Murphy HR--Farrell (6) SB--Allard S--Hill 2, McQuirk SF--Vierra O'Neill faced one batter in the eighth. HBP--Giaquinto by Vierra Martelli and Rivera by O'Neill. T-3:41. A--76
There was one out when the winning run scored Game-Winning RBI--Allard E--Allard, DiCesare. Giaquinto DP--Harvard 1. Boston College 1 LOB--Boston College 9. Harvard 17 28--Farrell, Allard, Martelli, Hill Murphy HR--Farrell (6) SB--Allard S--Hill 2, McQuirk SF--Vierra O'Neill faced one batter in the eighth. HBP--Giaquinto by Vierra Martelli and Rivera by O'Neill. T-3:41. A--76
There was one out when the winning run scored Game-Winning RBI--Allard E--Allard, DiCesare. Giaquinto DP--Harvard 1. Boston College 1 LOB--Boston College 9. Harvard 17 28--Farrell, Allard, Martelli, Hill Murphy HR--Farrell (6) SB--Allard S--Hill 2, McQuirk SF--Vierra O'Neill faced one batter in the eighth. HBP--Giaquinto by Vierra Martelli and Rivera by O'Neill. T-3:41. A--76
There was one out when the winning run scored
Game-Winning RBI--Allard E--Allard, DiCesare. Giaquinto DP--Harvard 1. Boston College 1 LOB--Boston College 9. Harvard 17 28--Farrell, Allard, Martelli, Hill Murphy HR--Farrell (6) SB--Allard S--Hill 2, McQuirk SF--Vierra O'Neill faced one batter in the eighth. HBP--Giaquinto by Vierra Martelli and Rivera by O'Neill. T-3:41. A--76
O'Neill faced one batter in the eighth.
HBP--Giaquinto by Vierra Martelli and Rivera by O'Neill.
T-3:41. A--76
Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter.