Batsmen Slip to HC, Themselves In 7-6 Loss

Batters and fielders were caught looking several times yesterday afternoon in Worcester. Yet it was two ninth-inning fielding miscues that sunk the Harvard Baseball team, lifting Holy Cross to a 7-6 victory.

The loss, the second one-run defeat for the Crimson in two days, drops the Crimson to 4-7. The Crusaders' mark now stands at 4-9.

Nine errors and nine caught-looking strikeouts were shared by the teams, giving the umpires and the scorer the most active of afternoons. Still, precise pitching and an uneven infield deserve the most credit.

"I noticed a lot of bad hops when we were taking infield, but these things happen," said Harvard reliever Cody Weston (0-3). "We still weren't having our best fielding day."

Though the Crimson led for much of the contest, it had to rally in the seventh to tie the Crusaders, 6-6. Holy Cross starting pitcher Brendan Grady (1-3) set down the batsmen in order in the top of the ninth, setting the stage for the tragi-comedy of errors in the Crusaders' final act.

Weston had stifled the Holy Cross offensive since the fifth, but the Crusaders broke loose on the second pitch of the inning. Cleanup batter Paul Pearl sent a hard shot to the left side, which took a bad bounce that baffled Crimson shortstop Dave O'Connell. Joe Noone put Pearl in scoring position with a single up the middle.

Up stepped Mike Irons, pinch hitting in the sixth slot. Irons squared to bunt, sending the ball to first basemen Rich Renninger. Renninger, set to gun the ball to third to force Pearl, failed to get any of the runners out.

With the bases loaded, Weston faced Gerald Bochese. The Crusader left-fielder had been caught looking, walked, and twice grounded out in the contest. Weston brought the count to 3-1 before Bochese unloaded a single, bringing in the winning run.

The Crimson bats delivered nine hits, including four for extra bases. Yet the left-on-base statistic continues to embarrass Harvard, as they stranded nine yesterday.

"We're getting people on," said starting pitcher Greg Ubert. "We're just not getting the key hits."

Ubert left the game after pitching five innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits. The righty chalked up four strikeouts, catching all his victims looking. Except for a shakey third inning in which he surrendered three runs, Ubert was solid. It was his first outing since his impressive one-hit, complete-game victory against Northeastern last week.

O'Connell and Dan McConaghy powered the Crimson with two RBI's apiece. O'Connell's second inning double brought home Co-Captain Frank Morelli and Casey Cobb to start the scoring. McConaghy ripped a home run to lead off the third and then doubled in O'Connell in the sixth.

O'Connell crossed the plate again in the fourth after Co-Captain Frank Caprio sent a sacrifice fly to deep right. A two-base error by Crusader left fielder Bochese, one of his three errors on the afternoon, allowed Hurley to score and move Harvard into a 6-6 tie. Crusaders 7, Crimson 6

Holy Cross

News  AB  R  N  Bl Dextr'd',cf  5  0  1  1 Demeo,2b  4  2  4  2 Davison,3b  5  0  2  3 Pearl,1b  4  1  1  0 Noone,rf  4  0  1  0 Zodda,dh  4  0  0  0 Irons,ph  1  0  0  0 B'chese,If  4  1  1  1 M'illan,ss  4  2  1  0 Cardew,c  2  1  0  0 Totals  37  711  7

Harvard

News  AB  R  N  Bl O'C'nnell,ss  5  2  2  2 Agran,dh  4  0  1  0 McC'ghy,cf  4  1  2  2 Caprio,If  4  0  2  1 Renn'ger,1b  4  0  0  0 Hurley,3b  4  1  0  0 Durand,pr  0  1  0  0 Allen,ph  1  0  0  0 Cobb,2b  4  1  1  0 S'llivan,rf  4  0  1  0 Total  35  6  9  5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E

Harvard 0 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 6 9 5

Holy Cross 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 1 7 11 4

Game Winning RBI: Bochese

Errors: O'Connell 2, Hurley 2, Renninger, Bochese 3, Cardew. Left on Base: Harvard 9, Holy Cross 9. Deubis Plays: None. 2B: O'Connell, McConaghy, Demeo 3, Davison, 3B: Sullivan. HR: McConaghy (1). SS: Agran, Caprio, Demeo. Caught Steeling: Agran, Sullivan. SAC: Cardew, Caprio. Harvard  IP  H  R  ER  3B  K< /B> Ubert  5  5  3  2  3  4 McGrady  2/3  3  3  2  1  0 Weston (L, 0-3)2  1/3  2  1  0  0  1 Holy Cross  IP  H  R  ER  3B  K Grady (W, 1-3)  9  9  6  6  4  6

Weston pitched to four batters in the ninth.

N by Pitch: Cardew (by Ubert). Wild Pitch: None. Passed ball: Cardew. Walk: None.

A: 35