Rhode Island pitches yield seven walks in the first three innings of yesterday's non-league game with the Harvard baseball team Six of the runners scored. The Crimson had four hrs and a 10-4 lead.
Don't be deceived by the 12.8 score; there was no semidlating display of batting prowess.
Two hits, four walks a hit batsman and an error an a six-run eighth inning allowed the Rams to make the result look respectable.
No matter how ugly the game was yes. Even though pitchers walked in three runs and hit a batsman to score another--the Crimson stretched its record to 18.3 overall.
Junior first baseman Ellioll Rivera also used the opportunity to better some stars. Rivera homebred went two for two, walked twice and scored twice. The Utica N.Y. native leads the team in home runs (seven), batting average (.385), rbi's(26) hits (28) and atbats (78). With 11 games remaining, he's slightly off the pace to tic the Harvard single season the record (40) and slightly ahead of the pace to tie the school's single season horde run mark(10).
Rivera's round-tripper led off the bottom of the second after pitcher Tony Hill's two run blast in the top of the inning had given URI a 2-0 fead.
"I figured he'd come with a fastball," Rivera said. "I just got it up in the jetstream."
His confidence shaken by Rivera blast. Hill walked Mickey Maspons and Scott Vierra Tony DiCesare flied to deep center, with Maspons taking third. Third baseman Greg McCarthy bobbled a Gaylord Lyman grounder. Chris McAndrews drew an rbi walk and Bruce Weller slapped a two run single to give the Crimson a 4-2 advantage.
With two down and the bases full in the third Lyman drew the rbi walk and McAndrews got the two run single. Weller stroked an 0-1 pitch over the left field fence, and Harvard led 10-4. Weller's three run shot gave him live this on the day. His 21 rbi's on the day. His 21 rbi's ranks him second to Rivera. He now has three homers.
The captain now has eight more rbi's and two more homers than he had last year, but he says he's not swinging for the fences. "If I was like Elliott. I'd be goin for it, "he said. "I just hope it'll fall in." Weller's batting 333.
A Bobby Kay double, a Jim DePalo walk a Rivera single and Maspons' ground-rule double gave Harvard its final two runs.
For a while in the top of the eighth, it looked like the Crimson might need the insurance. After pitching seven innings of two run, four-hit ball, starter Jim Cheveney, who had walked just three while fanning nine experienced control problems.
In the eighth he went to full counts four times while allowing two singles, walking three striking out one and hitting one batter. Reliever George Sorbara came in with the bases loaded walked in one run then pitched what should have been a double-play ball. But when shortstop DiCesare couldn't find the handle the inning continued. A Mike Pakalnis throwing error allowed the last of Chenevey's runs to score.
Sorbara struck out the 10th batter of the inning then pitched a one two three ninth to preserve Cheveney's first collegrate victory THE NOTEBOOK In Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League (EIBL) action yesterday. Yale swept Penn 9-8, 5-4 to keep a modicum of pressure on Harvard. The Elis are 10-6 in league action, a game behind the 8 2 Crimson Cornell (86) and Dartmouth (45) are the only other teams with lewer than seven losses. Harvard can clinch its second straight EIBI, title by going 5 3 the rest of the way, as long as Dartmouth loses one of its nine remaining games (a virtual certainty). In an effort to eliminate Cornell, the Crimson will probably start juniors Charlie Marchese and Jeff Musselman when the Big Red comes to town Friday. Harvard travels to MIT today. Game-Winning RBI--Weller. LOB--Harvard 8, Rhode Island 8, DP--Rhode Island 2. E--DiCesare, Pakainis, McCarthy, Lamond, 2B--DePalo, Kay, Maspons, HR--Weller, Rivera, Hill, CS--Kay, DePalo. Reid faced two ballers in fourth. WP--Chenevey 2. HBP--DePalo by Hill, Micale by Chenevey. T--3:05, A--33.
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