Batmen Rediscover Defense As Knoll Provides Offense, 7-3

It was a game as rare as this schizophrenic month of April. The 3-7 Harvard baseball team put together two previously scarce commodities--pitching and defense--to pick up its third victory of the season, a 7-3 trouncing over Northeastern.

The pitching was provided first by Tim Clifford, one of only three pitchers who weren't sent to the mound as a sacrifice to Holy Cross Monday, and then Mark Linehan. Clifford pitched seven strong innings before tiring in the eighth, when Linehan came in to shut out the Huskies and the rest of the way and preserve the win.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The Crimson defense, which had committed so many errors (35) since spring vacation that it was ready to be committed itself, played near-flawless baseball. The only miscue came in the eighth on an attempted double play, which helped Northeastern tally its only three runs of the contest.

After Monday's 21-4 disaster in Worcester, in which Harvard committed seven errors and sent six hurlers to the sacrificial mound, yesterday's game was a welcome sight.

Northeastern, which entered the game with its best chance in years to beat Harvard, could only generate fire in the third inning, when the dry grass next to its dugout went up in flames thanks to a careless smoker. And the Huskies had to put that one out themselves.

Starter Jim Walker wasn't exactly throwing smoke either. In the first inning he surrendered a leadoff single to Dave Singleton, a fielder's choice to Paul Halas, a double to Leon Goetz and a three-run homer to Harvard offensive her Dave Knoll before retiring the side. Not an auspicious start.

Banishment

Knoll, who went two-for-three with four RBIs, crossed the plate in the fourth after collecting a two-base walk. Ball four got away from Husky catcher Steve McKinnon and rolled to the backstop, allowing the hustling Knoll to move into scoring position. Pete Bannish brought him across the plate one out later with a single.

Walker never got the chance to pitch to Knoll a third time. After catcher Bill Cote reached second on a two-base error by Husky first baseman Joe Ginn, Singleton drove him in to make the margin 5-0, Halas singled and Goetz walked. That was all for Walker and Nick Kokinidis came in with the bases full to pitch to Knoll, who greeted him with a two-run single.

Clifford, meanwhile, breezed through seven frames, scattering five hits and striking out three. But one out, four hits and three runs into the eighth inning, coach Loyal Park was forced to call in Linehan.

Linehan struck out the next two batters in the inning, and, after loading the bases with two out in the ninth, struck out Jim Whitehouse to end the game.

The 7-3 outcome as rare as the balmy April breezes the game was played in.