....And B.C. Batsmen Slug to Victory; Eagles Hit 5 Homers in 8-4 Conquest

At the beginning of the month, the Harvard baseball team squeaked by Boston College at Soldiers Field, 3-2, when Crimson right fielder Chris McAndrews walked with the bases loaded.

The Eagles recorded only four hits in that game, all singles.

Yesterday, the two teams squared off again--this time at Boston College's Shea Field in a make-up of Wednesday's rain out.

And this time around, the Eagle batters knocked five hits out of the ballpark, and notched five more that didn't soar over Shea's short fences.

The result was an 8-4 B.C. win in a slugfest which left the Crimson batsmen at 10-7 overall, and 6-1 in the Greater Boston League.

But the record Harvard is most concerned with right now is 4-4.

That's the batsmen's record in the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League. The problem is that Navy, which swept the batsmen last weekend, 2-1 and 11-1, is 13-3 in the league.

A Midshipman sweep of its final double-header at Penn this weekend would knock Harvard out of pennant contention. And even if Navy did drop a game, the Crimson would have to win 10 in a row (starting with this weekend's double-headers at Army and Columbia) to gain a tie and force a one-game playoff.

But there's some good news: 5-3.

That was the Crimson's EIBL record last year about this time. Meanwhile, the Princeton Tigers had finished their league season with a stunning 15-3 mark, meaning that the batsmen had to win 10 league contests in a row.

Sound familiar?

Well, last year, the batsmen did the incredible, rampaging through 10 contests in a row before falling to the Tigers in the playoff game.

Can the Crimson pull a repeat miracle out of the bag? "We have to have some help from Penn," Crimson Captain Bobby Kay says. "But there's no question in my mind that we're capable of winning 10 in a row."

By Sunday, the batsmen will know if they have a chance for another fantastic finish.

Yesterday against B.C., however, the squad fell victim to the long ball.

But despite the Eagles' power-hitting connection--featuring five solo taters--Harvard remained in the ballgame until the eighth inning, when Crimson relief pitcher Doug Sutton fell victim to a fatal home-run swat.

The Eagles ran off to an early 5-1 lead off Crimson starter and loser Greg Ubert--usually Harvard's short relief man, making a guest appearance in a starting role.

But the Crimson fought back with some power of its own when Harvard slugger Jim DePalo banged a three-run homer off Eagle starter and winner John Dolan.

Ironically, Dolan had been the losing pitcher in the Crimson's 3-2 extra-inning victory.

His teammates made sure that he nabbed the win yesterday, however, striking for three insurance runs in the eighth, the first two on solo homers.

"We didn't play badly out there," Kay said. "We hit the ball well and made the plays in the field defensively, but we just couldn't cope with all the homers."

Harvard next sees action tomorrow at Army.