But come the top of the sixth, all sense of risk evaporated.

Geanes threw 30 pitches.

Three were good for strikes.

The other 27 were good for six walks and a sacrifice bunt, forcing a shaken Geanes off the mound in favor of reliever Meredith Woods.

Crowley proceeded to knock her second RBI single of the afternoon, before Woods finally retired Gia Barresi to end the inning--just 10 batters and four runs after it started.

Tufts retaliated somewhat in the bottom half of the frame, as Woods scored from third on a delayed double steal. What a prospect: the Jumbos merely had to retire the Crimson in the top of the seventh to escape with their honor.

Easier said than done.

Woods walked five batters, and Harvard batted around again, scoring three times, to up its lead to seven runs.

And Dickerman closed the door in the bottom of the seventh to pick up her first victory of the year against one loss.

THE NOTEBOOK: The Crimson hosts a pair of doubleheaders this weekend. Cornell, a club team not officially part of the Ivy League, comes to Soldiers Field for a 1 p.m. start tomorrow. The batswomen then face the University of Maine in a Sunday afternoon twin-bill...Dickerman scattered eight hits over seven innings, striking out two while walking three...Mary Baldauf, Lisa Rowning and Mary Sheehan each walked twice for Harvard...Jumbo first baseman Kris Herman walloped a mammoth home run in the second for Tufts first tally.