Baseball Readies for High Noon Showdown

The first day of reading period will also be the first day of postseason play for the Harvard baseball team as it battles Princeton for the Ivy League crown tomorrow at noon at O'Donnell Field.

The Crimson (26-15, 16-4 Ivy) and Tigers (24-18, 15-5) are meeting in the three-game series for the Ancient Eight title for the fourth year in a row. But this is the first time they will be playing for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which expanded from 48 to 64 teams for the 1999 season.

"Four years in a row," said Harvard Coach Joe Walsh, the two-time Northeast Region Division I Coach of the Year. "I think the Ivy League could save some money and print the shirts right now--Harvard vs. Princeton for the championship, and just change the year each season."

Fans can indulge themselves in the Harvard-Princeton rivalry even more as the games will be extended from seven- to nine-inning contests. Should the champions of the Red Rolfe and Lou Gehrig Divisions split tomorrow's double-header, they will play the rubber match at O'Donnell on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Crimson, which has won the last two Ivy titles, swept the playoff last year by walloping the Tigers 13-6 and 13-4, but the championship series could go the distance this time. Princeton beat Harvard, 3-1, in the first game of an April 10 doubleheader at O'Donnell before the Crimson took the nightcap, 3-0.

"These are two pretty evenly matched teams," Walsh said. "We played two good, low-scoring ballgames during the season, which is unusual with the aluminum bat, but that can be expected because both teams have good pitching staffs."

Princeton Coach Scott Bradley will likely give the nod to two rookie righthanders Saturday, Chris Young and Tom Rowland.

The 6'10 Young (4-1, 1.52 ERA), who won the Ivy Rookie of the Year in basketball as a center, earned his second Ivy League Rookie of the Week award on the diamond this week after a three-hit shutout over Columbia. He won the first award April 13 after holding Harvard to one unearned run on two hits and ten strikeouts in a 3-1 Princeton victory. In 29.2 innings of work, Young has held opposing batters to a .172 average and 17 hits.

"We had a team meeting about staying off pitches that hurt us and caused a lot of strikeouts the first time," junior first baseman Eric Binkowski said. "That means passing up high fastballs out of the strike zone against Young and staying off sliders against Rowland. We've really been working on that and I'm confident guys will swing the bats well when they get their pitch."

Rowland (4-2, 2.30) lost to the Crimson, 3-0, in the second game April 10. Bradley can also turn to a pair of righthanded workhorses in the bullpen in junior Jason Quintana (4-4, 3.40), who leads the Tigers with 45 strikeouts, and senior Howard Horn. Senior Tim Killgoar is the southpaw most likely to see action.

But Harvard's bats have come alive of late and the Crimson is averaging 7.25 runs in its last four games. In addition to run production from the heart of the lineup, Harvard has also received contributions from its two weakest hitters--sophomore left fielder John Portman (.282, 10 RBI) in the nine-hole and captain Hal Carey (.287, 24) in the leadoff spot.

"We've just got to keep doing what we've been doing over the last few weeks," said Carey, who belted two home runs Wednesday against Massachusetts. "We struggled to score runs last time against Princeton, but the key to this game is to not swing at a lot of balls, especially against Young. If we're disciplined at the plate we'll be alright."

Carey holds the school record for career hits (203) and doubles (45), but senior center fielder Andrew Huling (.417, 50), who is second to the senior third baseman in both categories, has anchored the lineup all season. He finished the regular season second in the Ancient Eight in batting average and leads the Crimson in nearly every offensive category.

Huling should bat in front of senior cleanup hitter Peter Woodfork (.375, 26), who is second on the team in batting average. According to Walsh, though, Woodfork is still hampered with a sore elbow and will probably be restricted to designated-hitter duties.

That means freshman Faiz Shakir (.429, 4), who has had 21 at-bats in 16 appearances, should replace Woodfork at second base and junior Jeff Bridich (.365, 20) might move from designated hitter to the outfield. Binkowski (.315, 30) and senior catcher Jason Keck (.296, 24) will provide experience to the lineup and the infield. Freshman shortstop Mark Mager (.327, 26) and sophomore outfielder Scott Carmack (.323, 14) round out the solid batting order.

But Harvard should rely on its pitching, as usual. Walsh said senior righthander Garett Vail (3.09, 1-2), who lost to Young on April 10, will take the mound in the first game.

Sophomore righthander John Birtwell (4-3, 2.34), who leads the team in innings pitched (50.0) and strikeouts (55), and who also shut out the Tigers on April 10, should start tomorrow's nightcap, depending upon the outcome of the first game. Freshman righthander Ben Crockett (5-1, 4.80) is the other likely candidate to start.

"I had command of my stuff against Princeton last time, but lately I haven't had the same feel out there," Birtwell said. "After facing them last time, their hitters have an advantage because they've seen me before, but I think I have a good chance to beat them again. I don't know about a shutout, but that would be nice."

Birtwell and company will face a Princeton lineup led by senior first baseman Matt Evans (.331, 31). But, if Harvard can bring its recent momentum into the postseason, it should begin reading period by claiming its third straight Ancient Eight championship.

"Everything has come together for us over the past few weeks in terms of pitching, defense and hitting," Binkowski said. "This series means a lot to all the guys. Everyone says it's hard to beat the same team three straight years but I feel very confident that we can do it in front of the home crowd."