Inertia-n the tendency for an object at rest to remain at rest and an object in motion to remain in motion.

Like a sprinter who's slow out of the blocks or a boulder resting stop a mountain, the Harvard baseball team has a lot of trouble getting started. But once they get going, the batsmen pick up speed quickly and are virtually impossible to stop.

The Crimson displayed its inertia in this weekend's trip to Columbia and Penn. In both New York and Philadelphia, the batsmen split doubleheaders, dropping the opener and then capturing the nightcap. In all four games, Harvard came alive in the late innings after sluggish starts.

In yesterday's opener with Penn, the batsmen took a two-run deficit into the top of the seventh. With two out, Quaker hurler Pete Shutte gave shortstop Brad Bauer a free pass to load the bases, then walked Vinnie Martelli to bring Harvard to within one. But Donnie Allard popped to Shutte, and Billy Doyle fell victim to a 2-1 defeat despite tossing a three-hitter.

In the second game, Penn scored two in the sixth and one in the seventh to send the game to extra innings.

Eddie Farrell, four for five on the nightcap, ignited Harvard's eight-inning rally with a two-bagger. A Tony DiCesare walk and an Elliott Rivera triple gave the Crimson a two-run edge. Hurler Jeff Musselman held on for a 7-6 victory, his first at Harvard.

The batsmen battered Columbia's Doug Softy in Saturday's nightcap, helping Charlie Marchese to his first Harvard victory. 10-5. The Crimson scored six runs in the sixth to break open a 4-3 ballgame.

In Saturday's opener, the batsmen stranded a man on third when a seventh-inning rally fell short, and Lion Kurt Lundgren claimed a 6-5 decision over Billy Larson.