If the Harvard baseball squad ever found itself in a hole against Tufts yesterday afternoon, it was because of the trenches formed by the Crimson runners rounding the bases so often.

The batsmen scored in all but two innings of its opening day contest against the Jumbos, and three Harvard pitchers scattered six hits en route to a 15-2 Crimson triumph.

After suffering two shutouts at the hands of the Crimson last year, the Jumbos (now 0-2) played an April Fool's Day joke on the home team by scoring in the game's first five minutes.

But Harvard bounced right back, tallying four runs in the bottom of the inning, thanks in part to two successful hit-and-run plays.

Designated hitter Jim DePalo (2-for-4, two runs, two RBI) opened up the Harvard scoring by ripping a ground ball past the diving third baseman, sending teammate Frank Caprio across the plate. Chris McAndrews followed with a hit-and-run double, which allowed Captain Bob Kay--who also got on base with a hit-and-run--to record Harvard's second run.

After a sacrifice fly by Mike Pakalnis (2-for-4, two runs, four RBI) and a run-scoring single by Frank Morelli, Harvard had a 4-1 lead on Tufts hurler Peter Beal.

The Jumbos picked up one more run in the second inning off Crimson starter Doug Sutton, but that marked the end of their scoring.

"[Sutton] pitched very well," Harvard Coach Alex Nahigian said. "I'm extremely pleased."

And with good reason. Sutton, who had only three decisions last year in a 2-1, 1.88 ERA campaign, allowed only five hits and two runs (neither of them earned) over six innings of work while compiling four strikeouts.

Sutton showed outstanding control and location with his fastball, curve, and slider, getting Jumbo batters to make futile stabs at pitches on the border of the strike zone. Rarely did he fall behind in the count, never giving up a walk.

Four Crimson errors in the first three frames made things tough for Sutton, but he stranded five Jumbo runners along the way.

Although Sutton surrendered two hits in the top of the sixth inning, a fielder's choice and an around-the-horn double play--from Paul Rooney to Kay to Rich Renninger--enabled the senior pitcher to escape unscathed.

Lefthander Jim Chenevey relieved Sutton in the seventh inning, and freshman Greg Ubert entered in the ninth to finish the job.

Unlike the three Crimson hurlers, Beal and his successor on the mound, P.J. Horgan, had their share of control problems.

In his 2- 1/3 innings of pitching, Beal often found himself behind in the count, though he allowed only three walks. Horgan met with even less success, as he threw nine consecutive balls before finding the strike zone.