Tufts Beats Crimson Nine in Home Opener

The Harvard baseball team opened its northern season yesterday on an ominous note as the Crimson dropped a 7-5 decision to little-regarded Tufts.

The Jumbos capitalized on a five-run fifth inning (all unearned) to capture the victory under gray skies as a 25 mile-per-hour wind blowing in from left field made it feel colder than the 40 degrees recorded.

The Crimson nine scored first as the second inning leadoff batter Joe Sciolla reached first on an error by Tufts shortstop Bob Berluti. Sophomore outfielder Tommy Joyce sacrificed him to second and Sciolla scored on a single by captain Dan Williams.

Harvard senior Milt Holt pitched the first four innings for the Crimson allowing no runs on five hits but was replaced in the fifth with junior hurler Bob Larsen.

Too Hot to Handle

In the epic fifth inning, the first Tufts batter Larsen faced, Mike Russo, tagged him for a single. The next batter, Steve Speroni, hit the ball back at Larsen who could not handle it letting him get to first. Berjutti sacrificed Russo to third and Speroni to second and outfielder Bob Norton was put out for the second our.

So with two outs and men on second and third Eric Haley singled in two runs. Harvard shortstop Ed Durso made an error on his throw on the next play allowing Pat Sullivan to get to first and the following batter. Randy Rundle doubled in two more runs.

The comedy of errors continued as Rundle tried to stretch his double into a triple and relay man Durso hit the runner as he went into third letting Rundle score.

Larsen pitched three more innings giving up two additional runs in the sixth inning (earned this time) to close out the Tufts scoring.

Harvard got one run back in the bottom of the fifth and three more in the eighth. In the eighth, Jumbo pitcher Jeff Berkman walked Jimmy Thomas and Sandy Milley to start off the inning. Tufts coach Richard Giachetti brought Mark Fisher to relieve and Fisher gave up a single to his first batter, Sciolla.

Joyce hit the ball back to the pitcher who threw home on his knees trying to nab Thomas at the plate. The throw was wide and Thomas scored the Crimson's third run. Don Driscoll singled in Harvard's final two runs.

Nine Miscues

The Jumbos tagged Harvard pitching for a total of 11 hits while the Crimson connected for six. Nine errors marred the game, six of which were committed by Tufts with three on the shortstop Herlutti.

The baseball team will go for its first northern victory tomorrow, when it faces Boston College at Soldier's Field.