Princeton entered the series with just a 10-10 record, but by then Harvard's players knew that sometimes in baseball, records just don't matter.
In fact Princeton taught that lesson again in the first game of the championship series, beating the Crimson 2-1 and handing Duffell his first loss of the year. Hogan, pitching in the second game of the best-of-three series, was faced with a must-win situation to avoid a repeat of last season.
This time, however, there would be no sweep by the Tigers. After Princeton jumped out to an early lead, Hogan turned in a gritty performance to top Princeton, 4-2.
"That was a big, big win," Albers said. "Right then, I think we knew that we were going to take the series."
The victory broke a string of five straight losses to Princeton. With the tiger, err monkey, off its back, the Crimson closed out the series in commanding fashion the following afternoon, winning 22-4 and forcing an NCAA Regional best-of-three play-in series with Army.
The Crimson disposed of the Cadets in three games, sandwiching a 6-5 loss in the second game between victories in the first and third games, 12-1 and 4-1. Jamieson, who also recorded the victory in the clincher over the Tigers, pitched a five-hit, complete-game gem in the rubber match to send Harvard to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1984.
The news came out of Stillwater, Oklahoma the following Thursday afternoon: Harvard 7, UCLA 2. Hogan, pitching in what turned out to be his last start for the Crimson, scattered six singles over eight-plus innings for his eighth win of the season.
"I knew that UCLA wasn't respecting us and that I could key in on that," Hogan said. "Every hitter came up trying to hit a grand slam with no one on base."
Typically, every hitter in the Crimson lineup recorded a hit.
Harvard beat Stetson the next day 8-6, as Vankoski drove in three runs and Duffell kept the Crimson in the game over six and two-thirds innings for his seventh victory.
The win set up a matchup with Oklahoma State the following morning: a win, and Harvard would be one victory away from the College World Series. A loss and the Crimson would have to win that evening and then sweep a doubleheader the next day in order to take the region.
The final score was OSU 10, Harvard 7. The Cowboys jumped to an early 6-1 lead, then put the game away with three in the eighth. The Crimson mounted a four-run rally in the ninth and brought the tying run to the plate, but came up short.
That night, UCLA avenged its earlier loss with a 14-9 drubbing to end Harvard's Cinderella run.
"I don't think we played over our heads the entire season," Albers said. "We did what we thought we could do, which was win the Ivy League and make a statement in the tournament."
The twist of this story is that it need not end here. Harvard graduates five players: Albers, Hogan, reserve third baseman Mike Hochanadel, reserve catcher Craig Wilke and pitcher Bart Brush.
They will be difficult to replace, but a strong contingent of sophomore arms has another year of experience under its belt.
"We're still a young team," Albers said. "None of us are irreplaceable. [Younger players] can pull from experience at Oklahoma State the same way we pulled from experience losing in the Ivy League championship [last season]."
The starting staff, anchored by Duffell and Jamieson, also welcomes the return of a healthy Schafer. The sophomore southpaw, who was named to the All-Ivy first team last year, battled injuries throughout the season.
With the Ivy League Player of the Year returning, a full arsenal of young guns and a year of playoff experience under its belt, Harvard is indubitably the team to beat in 1998.