The wind whistled through Splinter Stadium yesterday afternoon and the few hardy fans fled to their heated cars, but Springfield College right-hander Jeff Williamson kept the hear on the Harvard baseball team with a wicked hook and led the Maroon to a 5-4 win.
Williamson weathered a two run Crimson burst in the fourth inning, then held Harvard to one single the rest of the way, spicing his effort with 10 strikeouts.
In the last of the ninth -- after the sun had dropped behind the third base stands -- Crimson shortstop Bob Cunningham drew Williamson's third walk and his pinchrunner Bill Cobb stole second.
But Williamson leaned back and got Carter Lord swinging on a 3-2 pinch and the Maroon had ruined Harvard's 1967 home opener.
Wild playing ruined a Crimson effort marked by two comebacks. Bob Lincoln had relieved Crimson starter, southpaw Jim McCandlish, after the fifth inning with Harvard behind 4-3. The fireballing righti coasted through the sixth, but lost control in the seventh and ran into trouble.
Lincoln walked Springfield's Jim Watson and Skip Clayton. Then Charlie Lelas stumbled away from an inside pitch and poked it over third base to drive in Springfield's fifth and winning run.
In the third inning McCandlish walked himself into a similar predicament -- but he didn't get out of it until four Springfield runs had crossed the plate. The redhead gave up three walks and three hits, including a base-clearing triple.
The Crimson pecked away at the four-run lead with single runs in the third and sixth and a two run attack in the fourth. In the third Phil Smith lined a hit to center knocking in limping, wincing Nelly Houston. The next inning Jeff Hall, Pete Karegeannes and McCandlish bunched singles for a pair of scores and then in the sixth Joe O'Donnell dropped a Texas Leaguer into right to drive home Karegeannes.
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