Batswomen Clip Falcons' Wings, Triumph 6-4 in Extra Innings

WALTHAM--The Harvard softball team pulled out a squeaker in extra things yesterday, coming from behind to defeat Bentley, 6-4, and improve its record to 12-4.

The Crimson worked back from a fourth-inning, 4-1 deficit by relying on a little bit of everything-offense, defense pitching and a strategy error on the part of the Falcons.

Harvard's 12 victories, however, have not come easily. Yesterday's game was the fourth in which the Crimson has come back in its final at-bat to notch the win.

"That was a game of its and buts," Harvard Coach John Wentzell said. "It could have gone either way."

Luckily for the Cantabs, those ifs and buts have been going their way all year long.

Take the case of yesterday afternoon's late-inning scoring crisis: Harvard had tied the contest in the fourth, and the score remained knotted entering the top of the seventh.

With one down, Sharon Hayes smashed her second triple of the afternoon, and stood on base as the go ahead run.

On Lisa Rowning's subsequent long fly to left, however, signals were confused. Hayes left for the plate too early, had to return to the base, and ultimately was standard at third.

That failure to score would usually have proved disastrous for any squad, any squad, that is, other than this year's charmed Crimson.

For the Falcons made an even bigger boo-boo in the bottom of the eight, after Harvard had picked up two tallies in the top of the frame.

Tiebreaker

Because of an odd new NCAA tiebreaker rule, each extra inning begins with a runner positioned at second base.

Down by two, Bentley nevertheless had its two-three four batters due up, and the freeble runner at scored--by no means a hopeless situation.

What the Falcon coach opted to do, however, made little sense, unless his sole purpose was to play into the Crimson's hands; he had the first hitter sacrufuce the runner over to third.

"An out is precious to as at that time." Wentzell said. "He took away his number of two batter to give us an out. That's who our second run in that inning was so important."

With one down and the potential winning run only on deck, Bentley's situation certainly hadn't been helped by the sacrifice bunt.

Two spectacular defensive plays later--a line drive snag by second baseman Mary Baldauf and a sliding grab by right fielder Janet Dickerman--and Harvard had nailed down the victory.

At the start of the contest, however, it looked like the Crimson might not be so lucky.

After Baldauf hit a solo home run in the top of the first--her third in three games the--the Falcons stormed back with four runs on five hits in the bottom of the inning.

At that point, Harvard hurler Gerri Rubin settled down, facing four batters in the second and setting the Falcons down one-two-three over the next six frames.

"Gerri was mixing it up very well, throwing as well as she has all year," Wentzell said.

With Rubin mowing down the Falcons, the Crimson battery manufactured three runs in the fourth, with Baldauf (who went four-for-four on the day) driving in two with a double.

Then, in the eighth, Hanya Bluestone picked up the game-winning RBI with a single. The insurance run crossed the plate on a Bentley fielding error.

And that was all the skilled--and a little bit lucky--Crimson needed to notch yet another victory.