After this reverse Yale started on one of the winning streaks that has characterized its whole season. On April 27 the Elis rolled an 11-5 score up against Brown, pounding the Bears' first pitcher out of the box in the sixth with a fusilade of hits. Trinity next was smothered 19-0 in a one-sided contest, and three days later, in the Dartmouth game they forced the Green to use three pitchers, and even then came out the winner 6-5. Catholic University, Virginia, Williams, were three other scalps that the Blue added to its belt while on its two-week rampage, the scores being 2-1, 9-1, and 9-5 respectively.
The rich vein of victory, however, was immediately followed by a losing streak. Penn State piled up six runs in the ninth, thereby breaking the 3-3 tie that Yale had been able to maintain, chiefly through the brilliant fielding of Aldrich and Hickey, and winning 9-3. The following game, on May 14, was also a defeat, the second administered to Yale by Holy Cross. Tunney was again effective against the Blue, allowing them only two hits, both by Crane. Some snappy work on the bases, however, gained Yale two runs, while a corresponding sleepiness on the part of the Worcester players kept their tally down, so that at the end the score stood at the low figure of 5-2. Four days later Pittsburg hung up its eighth victory when it humbled the Elis 6-3.
It was necessary then for the Blue players to come out of their slump if they expected to count among the college teams of 1921. They did come out, and rolled up ten consecutive wins before they were defeated last Saturday by the unexpectedly improved Princeton team. Cornell was the first to suffer from the Eli rejuvenation; and the next victim was Wesleyan, who was topped 10-6 in a struggle featured by hard hitting and loose defensive work on both sides. The following day the Waseda University nine was humbled 5-1 in a cleverly played contest, and then in a return game at New Haven, the Cornell team was again downed, this time 3-1. Next the Yale team journeyed to New York to make the crowds gathered for the Columbia Class Day unhappy by licking the Morning-side players 13-5.
Two days later, on June 1, the Blue nine swung into its longest stride, and reached its best form. Holy Cross went to New Haven basing their confidence of victory on their two previous successes, but the Yale players turned them down to a 7-3 defeat. Tunney, who had before held the Eli hits to a sad minimum, was knocked out of the box in the sixth, while his opponents continued to find his successor, Gill. This was unquestionably Yale's triumph of the season, and it is on account of this victory, more than for anything else that life University cannot feel confident today.
Even Break With Tigers
The first game in the Yale-Princeton series was played on June 4, and the Yale steam-roller flattened out the Tigers in a decisive fashion; the victory going to the Blue by the score of 4-0. Following this contest Yale downed Tufts 6-1, with Robinson's pitching the feature of the Blue play; Syracuse was out-smashed 13-6 in a slugging match; and Brown was nosed out last Wednesday 5-4 by ninth and tenth inning rallies, Aldrich bringing across the winning run in the extra session. Last Saturday, however, the Blue winning streak snapped. The Princeton Tigers recovered from the wounds administered by the University and Yale, and strengthened by playing on their home ground, uncovered the bunting game, and thus catching the Elis off their guard and giving them a 4-2 defeat.
It was a bad bump for Yale, especially at that critical time; but it must be remembered that the Princeton team that won last Saturday and the one humbled by the University were just as different as intensive coaching and the lack of it. Such a defeat, also, was perhaps the best thing for the Eli team. They have been saved from overconfidence for the coming series, and they go on the field more formidable than if they had beaten Princeton and gained their eleventh straight victory.