It was spring training, spring break and the opening of the season for the Harvard baseball team. Or the good, the great and, well, the ugly.

The Crimson finished 1-4 in the California-Riverside Baseball Invitational. The trip began with a win as inspiring as the California coast.

After being rained out against the University of Redlands (California), Harvard battled Oregon State and came back from a five-run deficit to take the game, 9-7.

But then came the earthquake came. The Crimson faced top-20 teams Arizona State and Brigham Young--two squads that have already played 30 or more games.

Harvard came up against the big teams and fell big. It was rattled by BYU, 12-5, Arizona St., 18-2, and Cal-Riverside, 11-5. Falling behind early, the Crimson was out-matched.

The team, however, recognized the challenge of playing those squads. In this series, Harvard was only battling itself--trying to get its rotation set, giving the players an opportunity to start and develop a positive attiude.

To any sports fan, a 1-4 record does not inspire confidence, but the character of the Harvard team might.

"As far as team spirit and unity are concerned, it was a very successful trip," Captain Dan McConaghy said. "We never gave up. We needed a team effort when the times got tough."

The series marked the comeback of pitcher Bob Baxter who missed most of last season with an arm injury. Rebounding from his arm injury, Aron Allen saw some action behind the plate.

McConaghy and sophomore Ted Decareau provided the Crimson's offensive punch, and the freshmen, including Sean Johnston and Todd Forman, continued to make effective contributions to the team.

Head Coach Alex Nahigian was also encouraged by the development of a solid bench, which he believes the team was missing last season.

"We went out there for the experience," Nahigian said. "It was an extremely positive experience, and I was encouraged."

The Crimson believes that its season begins again on Wednesday when Harvard travels to Northeastern for a double-header.

"Everybody has a lot of confidence," McConaghy said. "We're just going to take it as 0-0 and start on Wednesday."