Tough Weekend for Baseball

While area baseball fans may have to wait for a few more weeks to see the Red Sox battle the Yankees, another storied baseball rivalry renews itself this weekend.

The Harvard baseball team hosts Ancient Eight rival Yale, for a pair of doubleheaders, Friday and Saturday.

The Bulldogs (6-2 Ivy, 15-11, overall) currently sit stop the Ivy league's Red Rolphe Division, with the Crimson (3-5 Ivy, 5-10 overall) three games back and fighting for second place. A strong showing this weekend is crucial for Harvard to have any shot at taking the league title.

Defeating the Bulldogs should be nearly as difficult as halting a runaway train. Yale is riding the crest of a four-game winning streak, as they swept twinbills with Columbia and Pennsylvania last week, increasing their division lead from one to three games.

Swinging the big stick all season long for the Bulldogs has been junior Dan Thompson, who hit .545 with four runs and four RBI in Yale's victories last week and was also the winning pitcher in the second Penn game.

For his performance last week, Thompson earned a spot on the Ivy league Honor Roll.

To beat the Bulldogs, the Crimson will need to play at the top of its game, but simply taking one game from Yale is not enough.

"We're looking to take three out of four games," freshman outfielder Brett Vankoski said, "That is what we have to do."

Winning three games this weekend is the only way that Harvard can make up ground on Yale, and with twelve games remaining in the season, time is running out. Fortunately, the Crimson outlook is positive even in light of the daunting task at hand.

"Everybody seems upbeat and ready to play," said Vankoski, who is second on the team with a .370 batting average, and last week hit .467 and made the Ivy League Honor Roll.

Other keys for the Crimson include the big bat of senior Joe Weidenbach. Weidenbach leads the team with a .438 batting average.

He and the rest of the Crimson will have to hit the ball well, to keep the Crimson close. Actually, keeping close to their competition has not been a problem for Harvard; it's winning those tight games that has proven difficult.

Late inning stumblings have plagued the Crimson all season long, as Harvard has lost three of its last four games in the last inning. They have also dropped four one-run games already this season.

This is truly a make-or- break weekend for the Crimson, and despite Yale's better record, in baseball, the underdog can always defeat the favorite on a given day. Unfortunately, the Crimson will need a pair of those given days to make up ground on the first place Bulldogs.