Crimson Nine Defeats Yale In Squeaker, 2-1

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the bases loaded and the score tied, Ed Durso watched four balls go by to give him a free trip to first base, but more importantly, giving Hal Smith a free pass home to score the deciding fun in yesterday's baseball game as Harvard took a squeaker from Yale, 2-1.

The Crimson uprising in the ninth began with one out as Smith singled into center field and Larry Barbiaux drew a walk from Yale ace Bob Corcoran. Rich Bridich then fanned with three mighty cuts that indicated he was looking for the fences. Pinch hitter Joe Mackey managed to reach first after Yale first baseman Dick Jauron bobbled the ball and then made a late throw to first that Mackey just beat out by a few angstroms or so. Durso then faced four misplaced pitches to give the game the type of ending little leaguers dream about.

Just before the Harvard surge, Jauron pulled his own form of heroics. With two out and two strikes in the top of the ninth, he lined a Roz Brayton pitch to within five feet of the fence to score teammate Charlie Thorne and tie the score 1-1. Jauron's double, within an eyelash of becoming a homer, was one of only three hits that Crimson senior Brayton allowed in the contest. Yale pitcher Corcoran was tagged for a run in the third and one in the ninth, but managed to escape with a four-hitter.

Peeved

Ken MacKenzie, Yale coach and star on the original New York Mets squad, was more than slightly peeved at the outcome of yesterday's game. "We just fell asleep and the way the game was called today, it didn't take much to beat us," MacKenzie said. "Harvard doesn't have that good a team, a few OK pitchers and that's about it. Penn is the team on top of the league this year. They've played the best ball so far."

Looking forward to today's doubleheader with Brown, coach Loyal Park said, "Brown is a powerhouse this year. Their sophomore shortstop Almon was offered $100,000 to sign with the pros, their pitcher Lukas was all-EIBL last year, their first baseman (Scott Bingham) lead the league in hitting last year and their centerfielder hit two home runs in one game last week."

"What more do you want? But don't kid yourself, we're going to be out there to win and believe me, we can," Park added.