If "hard luck" may ever be given as a reason for defeat, it certainly was the cause of Harvard's defeat by Yale yesterday. The game was Harvard's up to the ninth inning, when two costly errors gave Yale three unearned runs and the game. The game was the most exciting played in Cambridge this year, and at the beginning of the ninth inning it looked as if there were hardly a possible chance of Yale's gaining the victory. The game was witnessed by one of the largest audiences that ever assembled on Jarvis, and the enthusiasm of the spectators was unbounded.

The game opened with Yale at the bat. Camp, Platt and Badger were quickly retired, leaving S. Hopkins on third. For Harvard, Coolidge, Olmsted and Nichols went out in one, two, three order.

In the second inning Smith and Jones were both put out at first, and H. Hopkins got first by an overthrow by Baker, and reached second by a passed ball by Hall. He was knocked home by a beautiful two-base hit of Hubbard's, thus scoring the first run of the game. Wilcox got his base on balls, but was left there by Camp, who knocked a fly to Coolidge. For Harvard, Baker and Burt went out on three strikes, and Crocker was retired at first by a ball thrown by Platt.

In the third inning Platt, S. Hopkins, Badger and Smith were retired in short order. Hall went to the bat for Harvard, and was put out at first. Bean made a beautiful two-base hit and reached third on a base hit by Le Moyne. Both crossed the home plate on a base hit by Coolidge, making the score 2 to 1 in favor of Harvard, giving us a lead that we held till the ninth inning. Olmsted went out on three strikes and Hall was retired at first on a grounder knocked to second base.

Both sides failed to score in the fourth.

In the fifth Yale went out in short order, Hall putting out the third man by a beautiful foul-tip catch. Harvard added another run to her score in this inning, making the score stand 3 to 1. Bean was put out at first, and Le Moyne went out on three strikes. Coolidge went to the bat, knocked a beautiful base hit, reached second and third on a passed ball by Hubbard, and got in on an error by Camp, who fumbled a grounder knocked by Olmsted. Olmsted stole second, but was retired in an attempt to steal third.

The sixth inning was an uneventful one, neither side scoring.

In the seventh Hubbard went to the bat for Yale, and was put out at first by an elegant stop by Bean. Wilcox got his base on balls, stole second, and got in on a hot liner knocked by Camp, and fumbled by Baker. By this error Camp reached his second, got third on a passed ball, and was cut off at home by a beautifully fielded ball by Le Moyne. Platt was retired at first. Harvard failed to make any runs in this inning, and the score stood Harvard, 3; Yale, 2.

Yale was quickly retired in the eighth. Olmsted went to the bat for Harvard, and went out on a foul fly to catcher. Nichols made a base hit, and by a series of errors and wild throws by Jones and Smith, reached home, making the score 4 to 2 in favor of Harvard. Baker knocked a long fly, which was captured by Smith. Burt succeeded in reaching third base by several wild throws, but was left there by Crocker, who went out on a fly knocked into the centre fielder's hands.

The disgust of the several thousand spectators during the ninth inning beggars description. Hall went to the bat, and Hopkins was retired by a beautiful hot line catch by Coolidge. He was immediately followed by Hubbard, who knocked a grounder to Coolidge, and who was put out on first. The score now stood 4 to 2 in favor of the crimson, with two Yale men out and no one on base. Wilcox stepped to the bat and got his base on seven balls. Camp knocked a grounder to Le Moyne, who picked it up very prettily. The enthusiasm of Harvard's friends was about to break loose when Le Moyne threw the ball high above Burt's head, and through the rows of seats. Before the ball could be brought back into the diamond again Camp and Wilcox had passed the home plate, thus tying the score. Platt then got his base on balls, stole second, got third on a passed ball, and in on an error by Baker, who let pass him a hot grounder knocked by Hopkins. The score now stood 5 to 4, in favor of Yale, and this was the result of the game, as Harvard was unable to score in her last inning. As some one exclaimed, "the game was not won, but lost" by these costly errors. Following is the score :

YALE.

A.B. R. B. T. B. P. O. A. E.

Camp, s.s 5 1 0 0 1 1 0

Platt, 3b 4 1 0 0 1 2 1