Baseball Stomps Clueless Engineers

While they may not have defeated the 1927 Yankees, the Harvard baseball team will certainly take a big win, no matter who the opponent is.

Emerging form the doldrums of three losses to Yale last weekend, the Crimson (9-14 overall, 4-8 Ivy) shellcked MIT by a 15-6 count yesterday.

"We just played solid baseball," senior Eric Weissman said. "We did what we had to do. The pitchers threw strikes. When the pitchers got into jams, they pitched themselves out of it."

"We capitalized on their mistakes. We played a very solid game," he said.

Good hitting, Harvard's almost error-free fielding and MIT's less-than-error-free gloves brought the victory home for the Crimson.

"Defense is where it all starts," Weissman said. "If you're giving the other teams runs, then you can't win games."

"The defense was tremendous today," senior winning pitcher Tony Lancette said. "The guys are starting to catch the ball better and starting to make the plays. That's what we're going to need going into this weekend against Brown."

Lancette (1-1) started and pitched four innings, allowing two runs, seven hits and one walk.

Harvard first drew blood in the top of the first inning, vaulting out to a 4-0 lead. After sophomore Mark Levy walked to start the inning, seniors Bill madden and captain Mike Giardi both reached on errors. The miscues scored Levy and placed Madden and Giardi on third and second, respectively.

Junior catcher Bryan Brissette, who led Harvard's charge with a spectacular 4-for-5 on the day with his first career home run and three RBI's, then doubled in Madden and Giardi. After junior Jamie Crowley hit a ground and ball to the right side, advancing Brissette to third, Weissman sacrificed in the fourth and final run of the inning. The Crimson just took off from that point. By the time Lancette left the game, the scoreboard read 10-2, Harvard.

"It felt great for the offense to explode like that," junior Bo Bernhard said. "Although it was unfortunate that it was a few days late, it was a great feeling."

"Bryan played really well," Weissman said. "Not only has he been hitting the ball really well but his defense has been unbelievable."

And Brissette's afternoon certainly gave the Crimson a big left.

"He hit a ball on his front foot that sailed out of the park for a home run," Lancette said. "The home run picked us up and sent us on our way to victory."

Lancette also emphasized his backstop's defense. A catcher, after all, is a pitcher's best friend.

"With the wind blowing, the breaking stuff was going everywhere," Lancette said. "Bryan did a tremendous job blocking the plate in those conditions. He also threw out a runner trying to advance on a wild pitch."

The loose atmosphere of a blowouts always boosts team morale. After a stressful weekend at Yale, Harvard was happy to have a game where it could just chill out and play ball.

"There was so much pressure this weekend," Weissman said. "It was a much more relaxed atmosphere. Everyone was playing to the best of their abilities. It was a great win."

The Crimson faces Brown at Soldiers Field in four games this Saturday and Sunday.

"I think this game bodes well for the rest of the season," Bernhard said. "It would have been really easy to take this game lightly. It is a really good sign for us."