Baseball Escapes URI with 7-6 Win

Coming off of a Sunday sweep of Cornell, the Harvard baseball team traveled to Kingston, RI yesterday trying to extend its winning streak against the Rhode Island Rams.

With the aid of another strong performance from sophomore Rich Linden--of Harvard football fame--and multi-hit games from five different players, the Crimson (11-7) was able to hold off the late-charging Rams (11-13), taking a 7-6 decision in 10 innings.

"Rich Linden pitched really well today, changing speeds and keeping hitters off balance," sophomore Erik Binkowski said. "And the hits came today. We had eight doubles that were all hit well."

The Crimson got on the scoreboard right out of the box. Senior Andrew Huling and Junior Bo Menkiti hit back-to-back one-out doubles to give the Crimson a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

The Rams answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the second, touching Linden for two hits and a walk in the inning for the tying run.

Harvard came right back in the top half of the third to reclaim the lead, as sophomore Erik Binkowski drove in junior Todd Harris with a double to right-center.

The Crimson added another score in the sixth. Senior Brett Vankoski laced a one-out double to left field, and advanced to third on a single by senior Jason Keck. Junior Hal Carey then extended the Harvard lead to 3-1, driving in Vankoski with an infield hit to short.

The Rams refused to give up, however, chipping away at the Harvard lead. With two outs in the bottom half of the sixth, Linden gave up a walk and two consecutive singles, as Rhode Island cut the deficit to one run.

Linden--who allowed only two runs and six hits in six and one-third innings--left the game with one out in the seventh with the Crimson maintaining its 3-2 lead, but Harvard could not hold it.

In the bottom of the eighth the Rams managed to knot the game up at three on two hits and two intentional walks off of senior Michael Marcucci, but missed a golden opportunity to take the lead, leaving the bases loaded.

After surviving the eight-inning scare and a scoreless ninth, the Crimson bats finally heated up in extra innings.

Senior Aaron Kessler doubled to center with one out in the 10th. Huling then followed up Kessler with his second double of the game to give the Crimson a one-run lead.

Harvard, however, didn't stop there. After receiving two walks to load the bases, the Crimson sent Keck to the plate. The Harvard catcher singled to center to notch two more runs for the Crimson. Vankoski then closed out the scoring in the inning, scoring on a fielder's choice by Carey, as the Harvard entered the bottom half of the 10th with a 7-3 lead.

The Harvard bullpen, however, once again made things interesting, as sophomore Michael Madden entered the game for Marcucci to start the tenth.

The Rams led off the inning with a single to right followed by a run-scoring double to left center. The next batter singled to center moving the lead runner to third. Another base hit followed, and an error on the play by Huling allowed the runner to score from first, cutting the lead to one.

Madden, however, settled down and finished off the Rams with no further damage done--securing Marcucci's first win of the season--as the Crimson escaped with the victory.

"I really feel that our bullpen is one of the stronger points on the team," Binkowski said. "Mike Madden came in and threw strikes which is all you can ask him to do. They hit him today, but when it counted he came up big with two strikeouts and a fly out to end the game."

The Crimson now continues its quest for a second-straight Ivy crown, facing Ancient Eight foes Penn and Columbia for two doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

HARVARD, 7-6 at Kingston, R.I. R  H  E URI  010  001  010  3  -- 6  4  0 Harvard  101  001  000  4  -- 7  3  1

2B: URI--Farrell; Harvard--Huling (2), Kessler, Menkiti, Vankoski, Carey, Forst, Binkowski. E: Harvard--Huling.

WP: Marcucci (1-0); LP: Picket (0-3)