Hot Hitting Continues As Baseball Downs Eagles

SPECIAL TO THE CRIMSON

Just a day after suffering one of its most heartbreaking losses of the season, the Harvard baseball team rebounded with perhaps its best all-around effort of the year.

Harvard took the lead early and rode strong pitching the rest of the way in trouncing a quality Boston College squad, 6-1, yesterday at a blustery Eddie Pellagrini Diamond. It was the Crimson's (13-19, 7-5 Ivy) fourth win in its past five games.

"I'm real happy with our performance," Coach Joe Walsh said. "We had quality defense, pitching and hitting in the same game for the first time this year."

The win came a day after Harvard's 4-2 loss to Northeastern, a game which ended when Husky outfielder Todd Korchin's leaping, over-the-wall-catch robbed left fielder Javy Lopez of a go-ahead home-run.

Harvard took the lead for goo d in its first at-bat against the Eagles (18-17). Senior outfielder Scott Carmack led off the game with a double to right center, and scored two batters later on a wild pitch by Eagle starter Matthew Duffey.

The Crimson scored the winning run in the second on catcher Brian Lentz's solo home run, his third of the year. Lentz, who's been on a hot sreak of late, took an inside fastball from Duffey and lined a shot down the left field line. Lentz finished the game 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI.

That would be all Harvard would need, as three Crimson pitchers combined to silence the normally potent B.C. bats, allowing only four hits for the game.

Starter Ben Crockett (2-4), struggling through an inconsistent junior season, earned the win with three nearly perfect innings of work. Crockett allowed only a leadoff single and retired that runner on a double play. The righthander struck out three batters while walking none.

With Crockett scheduled to pitch Sunday against Brown, sophomore Kenon Ronz took over in the fourth. In two innings, Ronz also gave up only a single hit, striking out a batter while walking none.

"Our pitchers' ability to throw strikes was the key to the game," Walsh said.

But the most surprising pitching performance of the day belonged to junior Chaney Sheffield. The seldom-used pitcher closed out the game for Harvard, picking up his first save his career and allowing only one run in four innings.

"Chaney gave our staff a rest," Walsh said. "He came in and pitched the best game of his career."

Sheffield fell behind most of the batters he faced. But despite giving up four walks, he pitched effectively from behind in the count, allowing only two hits in all.

No Eagle batter made it past second base until third baseman Brian Macchi finally broke through in the seventh with a solo shot to left-center. It was Macchi's tenth home run of the season.

But by then Harvard had the game well in hand. After adding a third run in the third inning, the Crimson broke the contest wide open in the sixth. RBI singles by junior shortstop Mark Mager and Lentz stretched the Harvard lead to 5-0.

Freshman outfielder Bryan Hale, batting in the ninth spot, greeted Eagle reliever James Dawson with a solo home run to left, closing out the scoring for Harvard.

Boston College did shut down the Harvard running game, throwing out three of four Crimson runners attempting to steal.

"We're normally a hit and run team," Walsh said. "Two home runs is not our style of game."

The Crimson helped itself with a solid defensive performance. Harvard played error-free ball a day after committing four costly miscues against Northeastern.

Sheffield helped his own cause with a defensive highlight in the eighth. The pitcher ran full speed up to the BC dugout to make a running catch on a ball hit to foul territory.

Harvard will play its third non-conference road game in as many days when it travels to Burlington to play Vermont this afternoon.