Baseball Cruises in Beanpot Opener

BOSTON--Frankly, the Crimson couldn't have asked for anything more.

A day after returning from a lackluster trip to New Haven, the Harvard baseball team trotted out a remarkably complete package in the semifinal round of the 1998 Beanpot Tournament against Northeastern.

Sparkling pitching, both from junior starter Quinn Schafer and senior John Wells; crisp, aggressive hitting, keyed by seniors David Forst and Brian Ralph, who combined for six hits and four RBI; and a thorough 11-0 dismantling of the Huskies (16-13, 12-4 America East) sent the Crimson (21-9, 9-3 Ivy) to the finals of the Beanpot for the second straight season. NORTHEASTERN   HARVARD  11

And all of this at storied Fenway Park on a picture-perfect afternoon? It was a day on which Ernie Banks would have wanted to play two, and the way things were breaking for Harvard, everybody would have been glad to oblige.

"I felt pretty good today," Schafer said. "It had been a while since I had thrown out there, but our defense played well and everything fell into place. And pitching in Fenway was a great experience. After I came out, I just went out to the bullpen to look around."

Schafer ought to remember this game fondly: It marked the junior lefthander's longest outing and his first start of the 1998 campaign, which has for him been handicapped by off-season surgery.

And though he did exit in the top of the fifth with tightness in his pitching shoulder, Schafer looked sharp all afternoon, allowing only two hits over four and two-thirds innings, fanning three while walking none.

"I was very impressed with Schafer today," said Harvard Coach Joe Walsh. "He threw strikes, and we'd love to get him back healthy."

Schafer, who made a team-high seven starts as a freshman, joined Wells (3-0) in crippling a Northeastern offense powered by senior designated hitter Tim Daley, who batted .372 in 1997, and junior first baseman Carlos Pena, MVP of the prestigious Cape Cod summer league.

The pair allowed only three hits, facing just three above the minimum through nine innings.

Harvard also enjoyed its second consecutive error-free game, which included a defensive swap by Walsh in the infield. Junior third baseman Peter Woodfork, who had committed 10 errors and was fielding .865, switched to second while junior Hal Carey took over at the hot corner.

"I was just shaking things up in the infield," Walsh said. "Woodfork and Carey are both shortstops, and I changed things up. I don't think it had a big effect, just changed the rhythm of the club a little."

Whatever rhythm Walsh found certainly struck gold in the lineup as well. Harvard rallied for 11 runs on 11 hits, nine off Husky starter Tim Bonehill (1-2), who worked four and one-third innings, walking four and allowing seven hits.

Bonehill enjoyed one-two-three frames in the first and second before the Crimson scrapped three in the bottom of the third to break the ice.

Forst--who collected four quality rips in four trips to the plate--led off with a single and moved over on a pair of sacrifices. Ralph then nonchalantly drove a groundball between first and second for the game's first run.

After Carey walked, Walsh called a gutsy two-out double steal while senior leftfielder Aaron Kessler flashed a bunt, preventing a throw from Husky catcher Greg Scott.

Kessler then took advantage of the engineered situation, dropping a sinking liner into left field for a two-run single--which extended his hitting streak to 17 games--giving the Crimson a 3-0 lead.

Harvard delivered the coup de grace with a six-run rally in the bottom of the fifth, sandwiching two-run singles from junior catcher Jason Keck and senior designated hitter Brett Vankoski around a mishandled double play ball by Bonehill.

Forst also added a bases-loaded RBI single, upping his batting average to .386 while tallying his 21st RBI, second best on the team.

"I wasn't trying to hit it out," said Forst, despite launching several bombs off of the Green Monster. "I just saw some good pitches and played a little pepper."

Wells, meanwhile, was sterling, retiring 14 of 15 batters, fanning two. Ahead in virtually every count, Wells located his fastball cleanly and mixed speeds to bury a normally potent Northeastern order.

"We had a big lead, so I was just trying to throw strikes with my fastball," Wells said. "They're a free-swinging team, so that helped, and they just made outs."

Indeed, this Husky team looked quite different from the one the Crimson needed a ninth-inning rally to topple 9-8 in Florida, and even more distant from last year's 33-19 squad that made the NCAA round of 48.

Leave it to a pair of pitching gems, some rockets off the Monster and an infectious exuberance at playing on this hallowed field to create an absolutely beautiful day at the ball yard.

Notes

Harvard takes today off before meeting UMass in the Beanpot final tomorrow afternoon. UMass beat Boston College, 7-2, in the second game yesterday.

The Crimson has not captured a 'Pot since 1991, while the Minutemen have won two straight, including last season's title in an 11-4 decision over Walsh's club.

Wells's win marked the eighth straight the Crimson has won in relief. No Harvard starter has tallied a victory since junior Garett Vail shut out Penn April 10 in Cambridge. Senior Mike Marcucci (5-0) and sophomore Derek Lennon (2-1) have provided the bullpen's long relief backbone. HARVARD, 11-0 at Fenway Park   R  H  E Northeast.  000  000  000  -  03  1 Harvard  003  060  20X  -  11  1 1  0

NORTHEASTERN  AB  R  H  BI  B B  SO Guerrero cf  3  0  0  0  0  0 Estano ph  1  0  0  0  0  0 Lomuscio 2b  3  0  1  0  0  0 Wysong ph  1  0  0  0  0  0 Pena 1b  4  0  0  0  0  1 Daley rf  3  0  1  0  0  1 Kim ss  2  0  0  0  0  0 Korchin If  3  0  1  0  0  1 Keating 3b  2  0  0  0  0  0 Griffin ph/3b  1  0  0  0  0  1 Scott c  2  0  0  0  0  1 Troville ph/c  1  0  0  0  0  0 Paolucci dh  1  0  0  0  0  0 Lewis dh  2  0  0  0  0  0 TOTALS  29  0  3  0  0  5

E: Bonehill. LOB: Northeastern 3, Harvard 6. 2B: Lomuscio, Forst (2). SB: Ralph.

HARVARD  AB  R  H  BI  BBSO Ralph cf  4  2  2  2  1  1 Carey 3b  3  2  0  0  2  0 Kessler If  3  1  1  2  1  0 Portman ph/If  1  0  0  0  0  0 Keck c  4  1  1  2  0  0 O'Donnell ph/c  1  0  0  0  0  0 Woodfork 2b  4  2  0  0  1  0 Huling rf  3  1  0  0  1  1 Forst ss  4  2  4  1  0  0 Harris dh  1  0  1  0  0  0 Vankoski dh  2  0  2  3  0  0 Binkowski 1b  1  0  0  0  0  0 Carmack ph  1  0  0  0  0  1 Menkiti ph  1  0  0  0  0  0 Larocque 1b  0  0  0  0  1  0 TOTALS  33  11  11  10  7  3

NORTHEASTERN  IP  H  R  ER  B B  SO Bonehill, L (1-2)  4.1  7  9  5  4  3 Donoghue  3.2  4  2  2  3  0

HARVARD  IP  H  R  ER  BBSO Schafer  4.1  2  0  0  0  3 Wells, W (3-0)  4.2  1  0  0  0  2

WP: Wells, LP: Bonehill. HBP: Kim, by Schafer.

NORTHEASTERN  AB  R  H  BI  B B  SO Guerrero cf  3  0  0  0  0  0 Estano ph  1  0  0  0  0  0 Lomuscio 2b  3  0  1  0  0  0 Wysong ph  1  0  0  0  0  0 Pena 1b  4  0  0  0  0  1 Daley rf  3  0  1  0  0  1 Kim ss  2  0  0  0  0  0 Korchin If  3  0  1  0  0  1 Keating 3b  2  0  0  0  0  0 Griffin ph/3b  1  0  0  0  0  1 Scott c  2  0  0  0  0  1 Troville ph/c  1  0  0  0  0  0 Paolucci dh  1  0  0  0  0  0 Lewis dh  2  0  0  0  0  0 TOTALS  29  0  3  0  0  5

E: Bonehill. LOB: Northeastern 3, Harvard 6. 2B: Lomuscio, Forst (2). SB: Ralph.

HARVARD  AB  R  H  BI  BBSO Ralph cf  4  2  2  2  1  1 Carey 3b  3  2  0  0  2  0 Kessler If  3  1  1  2  1  0 Portman ph/If  1  0  0  0  0  0 Keck c  4  1  1  2  0  0 O'Donnell ph/c  1  0  0  0  0  0 Woodfork 2b  4  2  0  0  1  0 Huling rf  3  1  0  0  1  1 Forst ss  4  2  4  1  0  0 Harris dh  1  0  1  0  0  0 Vankoski dh  2  0  2  3  0  0 Binkowski 1b  1  0  0  0  0  0 Carmack ph  1  0  0  0  0  1 Menkiti ph  1  0  0  0  0  0 Larocque 1b  0  0  0  0  1  0 TOTALS  33  11  11  10  7  3

NORTHEASTERN  IP  H  R  ER  B B  SO Bonehill, L (1-2)  4.1  7  9  5  4  3 Donoghue  3.2  4  2  2  3  0

HARVARD  IP  H  R  ER  BBSO Schafer  4.1  2  0  0  0  3 Wells, W (3-0)  4.2  1  0  0  0  2

WP: Wells, LP: Bonehill. HBP: Kim, by Schafer.

NORTHEASTERN  IP  H  R  ER  B B  SO Bonehill, L (1-2)  4.1  7  9  5  4  3 Donoghue  3.2  4  2  2  3  0

HARVARD  IP  H  R  ER  BBSO Schafer  4.1  2  0  0  0  3 Wells, W (3-0)  4.2  1  0  0  0  2

WP: Wells, LP: Bonehill. HBP: Kim, by Schafer.