MEDFORD--Shhh, be quiet.

Don't start a panic, but...wild elephants are loose in Medford.

Well, okay, perhaps that's a little sensationalist.

Suffice it to say that Jumbo pitchers had some major control problems yesterday--and as a result, the Harvard softball team paraded to a 10-3 victory over Tufts.

And of those 10 Crimson runs, eight were the direct result of Jumbo errors and walks. Three errors and 13 walks to be precise.

"I don't like to score runs on walks when we still haven't exploded at the plate," Harvard Coach John Wentzell said. "We're still looking for that big offensive display, but it makes it tough when their pitchers don't throw strikes. It's hard on the hitters."

Although yesterday's contest marked the Crimson's second-highest run production for the year--the squad scored 12 runs against Vermont two weekends ago--it showcased just five Harvard hits.

Last Sunday, when the batswomen (now 8-4) faced three-time defending league champion Princeton in a twinbill, four-hit and five-hit efforts resulted in a double defeat.

But yesterday, five hits was more than enough for victory, considering the opposition.

"The [difference in] competition is night and day," Wentzell said. "Princeton proved to be the best team we've faced so far."

And Tufts proved to be one of the worst.

The Jumbos wasted no time in digging their own graves, spotting the Crimson to a quick three-run lead in the top of the first.

After Harvard's first three batters reached base, freshman center fielder Elizabeth Crowley picked up an RBI with a single off Tufts pitcher Tami Geanes. Jumbo left fielder Kathy Durga bungled the pick-up, bringing home the Crimson's second run.

Just two batters later, with a pair of runners on, Gerri Rubin's routine grounder to third turned into Tufts error number two and Harvard run number three.

The Jumbos nibbled back with lone runs in the second and fourth off Crimson hurler Janet Dickerman, leaving the batswomen with a somewhat precarious 3-2 lead.