Entering yesterday's Harvard-Rhode Island baseball contest in Providence, R.I., Crimson second-baseman Dave O'Connell was struggling along with only five hits in 34 at-bats, and his .147 batting average was last among Harvard regulars.

But Crimson Coach Alex Nahigian stuck with his freshman infielder, and O'Connell responded with three hits and two RBI, leading the Crimson to its fifth consecutive victory, an 8-2 decision over the URI Rams.

"I've been hitting the ball well all year," O'Connell said. "I didn't hit it any harder today. Things just started to fall in for me."

Harvard centerfielder Dan McConaghy--the squad's leading hitter at .410--matched O'Connell's three-hit performance, as the Crimson (now 12-3) banged out 13 hits overall.

Greg Ubert pitched three innings before giving way to a trio of relievers who allowed only one run over the final six frames.

Harvard hurler Mike Dorrington improved to 2-0 on the year and saw his 10.38 ERA drop considerably with four scoreless innings of middle relief.

Crimson left-fielder Tom Konjoyan led off the game with a walk, reached second on an error, and advanced to third on a Frank Caprio sacrifice. Mike DePalo's RBI single brought Konjoyan home with the first Harvard run, but the lead was short-lived.

URI (now 9-22) answered back with a run in the bottom of the opening frame, as centerfielder John Brodeur drew a lead-off walk, was sacrificed to second, and scored on a single by clean-up hitter Peter Parente.

The batsmen bounced back in the top of the second with three more runs. They could have had more.

After Ram starter and loser Steve McManus walked the bases loaded with none out, O'Connell collected the first of his three hits (the game-winner), a single to right field scoring first-baseman Rich Renninger.

But Crimson catcher Frank Morelli attempted to score on the play and was gunned down by URI right-fielder Kevin Shea. Konjoyan followed O'Connell's hit with a double to score two more Harvard runs and put the visiting Crimson comfortably ahead, 4-1.

Harvard padded its lead with a run in the third and three more in the ninth. Five straight Crimson batters reached base safely in the final frame, and again O'Connell was right in the middle of the rally.

McConaghy singled and Renninger and Morelli both doubled, the latter driving home two runs. After senior Dave Jamieson walked, O'Connell capped the string of consecutive men reaching base safely with a single to drive in his second run of the day.

O'Connell, who entered the contest with only four RBI in the Crimson's first 14 games, also walked and scored a run.

"We're really coming into our own," Captain Mike Pakalnis said. "We've got to play well during the week to carry us over into the weekend."

The batsmen, who are on the road for the remainder of the season, travel to Princeton Saturday and Cornell Sunday in a pair of critical Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League (EIBL) match-ups.

Harvard currently stands atop the EIBL standings at 9-1, percentage points ahead of Dartmouth (10-2). The Crimson and Big Green will square off in Honover, N.H., May 9 in a game that may decide the EIBL championship.

"Pitching-wise, we have everybody available [this weekend]," Pakalnis said. "We're hoping to get good starts from our pitchers like last weekend."

"Hitting-wise, we're looking smooth," Pakalnis continued. "We just haven't been getting the run production. I hope we break on this weekend."

THE NOTEBOOK: Renninger and Morelli had two hits apiece for the Crimson yesterday. Caprio and Pakalnis were the only batsmen not to collect hits...O'Connell's game-winning RBI was his first of the season...By surrendering only two earned runs to the Rams, Harvard's team ERA dipped under the 3.00 mark.