Slugging Batsmen Bust Tufts; Decareau Decks Two Homers

Hey, was that Jose Canseco tearing up Soldiers Field?

No, it was Harvard rightfielder Ted Decareau, but yesterday it was hard to tell the difference between the Oakland All-Star and the Crimson slugger.

The Crimson (5-8-1 overall, 1-3-1 Greater Boston League), paced by Decareau's two homers and seven RBI, crushed crosstown rival Tufts (11-4 GBL) by a score of 16-4. Harvard pounded 19 hits off of three unfortunate Tufts pitchers to secure the victory for senior righthander Mike Dorrington.

"We finally showed our offensive potential as a team today," Captain Tom Konjoyan said. "It was only a matter of time before we got some hits. I was glad to see Decareau hitting the ball well because he's our power hitter."

Harvard took a commanding lead in the first inning, scoring five runs at the expense of losing pitcher Chris Lamothe. With one down in the inning, freshman Mike Hill lofted a wind-aided homer just over the 375-foot sign in right-center field. Centerfielder Marcel Durand followed with a single before Decareau lifted the first of his round-trippers to left-center. The Crimson scored two more runs in the inning, both unearned, before Lamothe could put out the fire.

The Crimson struck again in the bottom of the third inning, sending 11 batters to the plate. Harvard picked up four runs in the frame to put the game out of reach.

In the bottom of the eighth with the Crimson leading by eight runs, Decareau decided to end his stellar perfomance in grand style.

Decareau strode to the plate after Jumbos' reliever Eric Zamor had jammed the bases. The first pitch from Zamor exploded like a cannon-ball off of the outfielder's bat, soaring 400 feet before coming to rest in the grass beyond the leftfield fence.

"I was just looking to get a hit," Decareau said. "He was wild and with the bases loaded...I knew he was trying to get the inning over with. He threw a fastball and I hit it pretty good."

Decareau's "pretty good" performance made a winner out of Harvard hurler Dorringon, despite his sub-par outing on the mound in a rare relief role. Senior Bob Baxter pitched two innings of shutout ball, but Harvard Coach Alex Nahigian gave him the hook in the third so that he would be rested for Friday's key matchup with Yale.

Reliever Peter Rau yielded one run during a solid two-inning stint before Dorrington came in for five rocky innings of three-run ball to pick up the win.

Dorrington's wild pitching was the one low point of the afternoon for the triumphant Crimson. The senior righthander had trouble finding the plate, issuing seven walks, including four free passes in a two-run Tufts sixth.

He Fields, Too

Dorrington was the beneficiary of several good defensive plays, including a spectacular homer-saving grab in the eighth by none other than Decareau.

Tufts' shortstop Matt Guanci smashed a hard drive to right field. with two outs in the top of the eighth inning that had all the appearances of a dinger. But Decareau got a good jump, stretched his body over the fence and pulled the ball back into the park.

"I moved in a little and then went back," Decareau said. "I timed it pretty well...I just kind of caught it."

But Konjoyan was not so restrained in his praise of the acrobatic grab.

"It was one of the best plays I've ever seen," Konjoyan said. "But its typical of him. Dec's a tremendous defensive rightfielder...he's just a terrific all-around player."

If Decareau and his teammates can continue to play as well as they did today, the Crimson will be a terrific all-around team.

THE NOTEBOOK: Harvard will face its next test today in a doubleheader against Holy Cross before heading for New Haven Friday to challenge the Elis.