M. Baseball Set for Cornell Showdown

Streaks are everything.

The baseball team (10-7, 4-0 Ivy League) hopes to extend Cornell's four-game winless streak when it faces the Big Red (6-11, 1-3 Ivy) in today's doubleheader at Soldier's Field. A Crimson sweep would stretch Harvard's winning streak to three games.

Tomorrow Harvard will face Princeton in a doubleheader rematch of last year's Ivy championship series, which the Tigers captured in a two-game sweep.

"They can throw anyone out there; you're not going to get lots of runs against them," Harvard coach Joe Walsh said. "Cornell has dangerous hitters in the middle of their lineup. Bill Walkenbach is a good shortstop who can swing the bat."

Walkenbach, one of five Cornell players who have started all 17 games, is second on the team with nine RBIs.

Michael Macrie leads the Big Red in batting (.322), runs (16), hits (19), total bases (24) and stolen bases (nine). Eric Kirby has driven in a team-high 11 runs.

Cornell is streaky this year--it lost its first seven before winning six straight.

In the first game of tomorrow's doubleheader, Walsh will start sophomore James Kalyvas (2-0, 1.29 ERA). Either senior Frank Hogan (3-1, 3.86) or sophomore Quinn Schafer (1-1, 7.04) will start the second game. The coach will choose whichever pitcher he does not use in relief in the first game, and is currently leaning toward Hogan.

Schafer had four strikeouts in the sixth and seventh innings of Harvard's twelve-innings of Harvard's twelve-inning, 5-4 victory over Maine on Thursday.

"Even though it was cold, I felt I had good pop in my fastball," Schafer said. "I slowed down my curveball, placed it in there with two strikes and struck out a few."

Hogan picked up the win in relief.

"The win gives us a good jump on the weekend," sophomore Jason Keck said. "Maine is a big power-house in New England, and we matched them run for run in the late innings."

Harvard scored the game-winning runs in the bottom of the twelfth, but the team must get ahead early against Cornell.

"We have to come out and dictate tempo," Walsh said. "We're better when we're leading. We're not a good catchup baseball team yet."

The cold weather might prove a factor this weekend. "We were fighting the weather as much as the teams last week," Keck said.

Harvard split two games against Cornell last year. Schafer and Harvard won the first game, 3-1.

"My off-speed stuff worked well in that game," Schafer said. "They hit my fastball well; they were all solid hits. They have some good power hitters."

Harvard defeated Princeton twice early last season. However, the Tigers went 10-3 heading into the championship series with Harvard.

Walsh was still in the stands for the first game, the result of a toss from the team's previous matchup against UMass. Princeton scored five runs in the first inning en route to a 15-6 win.

"Hogan had a rocky first," Coach Walsh said of last year's game. "Balls were finding holes. It was as if someone had busted a balloon out there."

Schafer then pitched the next game against Princeton, a 1-0 loss.

"It was a good, solid game," Coach Walsh recalled. "It was disappointing, yet a better team beat us.

"We're a veteran team now. We're not looking back at last year. Guys might dig in a little bit deeper against Princeton, though. We want to show that the way to the Ivy League title goes through Harvard," he added.