Crimson Wins Night Game; Brown Baseballers Bomb

The Harvard baseball team almost froze last night in cold, near empty, McCoy Stadium, home of the Pawtucket Red Sox, but survived two late-inning rallies by a fired-up Brown squad to eke out a 9-7 win.

Relief specialist Norm Walsh preserved the Crimson victory by pitching his way out of a ninth-inning, bases-loaded jam after giving up two runs.

Fran Cronin, running for designated hitter Joe Mackey, who had received his fourth walk of the ballgame, scored the winning run from third on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth, sliding under Bruin relief pitcher Don Cawley's lunging tag. Dave St. Pierre scored the ninth run on Ed Durso's sacrifice fly.

Crimson starter Milt Holt breathed through the first seven innings, allowing only four hits, while Crimson batters piled up a 7-1 lead. However, a four run Bruin uprising in the eighth on two hits, three walks and two hit batsmen narrowed the gap to 7-5 and sent Holt to the showers to set the stage for Walsh's heroics.

Walsh allowed a single to open the ninth, but the next batter popped out to third baseman Jim Thomas. A single, two walks and a missed double-play attempt scored two runs and loaded the bases with one out. Walsh then got down to business, recording a strikeout and forcing a groundout to end the game.

"Walsh came in and did the job that he's been doing for three years," coach Loyal Park said after the game. "This is a big win for us."

Jump on Lynch

Harvard jumped on Bruin starter Kevin Lynch for four unearned runs in the second inning. Leon Goetz reached second on a two-base error to open the inning, Mackey walked, but was forced out on St. Pierre's grounder. Don Driscoll then rapped one of his three singles, scoring Goetz and moving St. Pierre to third.

St. Pierre scored on Ric LaCivita's grounder, and Thomas blooped a single to center to score two.

St. Pierre clouted a two-run homer over the left field fence in the fifth and Leigh Hogan's sixth inning sacrifice fly knocked in LaCivita to up Harvard's lead to 7-1.