Make that stifled opponents, period. The Crimson just continued to win. Three consecutive opponents could not score against Harvard; less than a month later, the Crimson started a new streak of four straight shutouts.
The team's school-record 16th victory, capping its school-record 16-game winning-streak, epitomized the season: Harvard just found a way to win. Down two goals with 20 minutes remaining against Boston University in the NCAAs, the Crimson stormed back to win. While Hartford eliminated Harvard in the semifinals, the unexpected brilliance of the season lingers to captivate Crimson fans.
Most Improved Player: Brian Ralph
Everyone knew junior Brian Ralph could play center field with anyone in the Ivy League. He used his speed and grace to make many a difficult catch look like a can of corn during his first two seasons with the Crimson.
But the criticism was always that he was erratic at the plate and too small to put the ball over the fence. This year, Ralph proved his critics wrong in dramatic fashion.
He still made run-saving grabs in center, laying out for several diving catches over the course of the season, but he also arrived at the plate, hitting .390 with six home runs and 36 RBI in the team's 50-game season. Several of Harvard's longest home runs of the season came off the bat of the 5'10 Ralph.
Ralph played especially well in the second half of the season, hitting two home runs in the division-clinching series against Dartmouth and adding another one in the series clincher against Princeton. His two Ivy League Player of the Week awards in the last two weeks of the season undoubtedly helped him win the Ivy League Player of the Year award for the 1997 season.
Coach of the Year: Joe Walsh
The sign of a good coach is an overachieving team. Even if the players believed otherwise, the Harvard baseball team was not expected to make its way two-deep into the NCAA Regional Tournament.
Walsh inherited a 10-25 last-place team two years ago. Last season he took the Crimson from worst to first in the division, finishing 23-17 and an Ivy-best 14-6.
But after last season's loss to Princeton in the Ivy League championship series, Harvard had some unfinished business. Walsh was not only able to take his team to an Ivy title over the Tigers the following season, but the Crimson bested Army to win a ticket to the tournament, then posted upset victories over UCLA and Stetson in the Midwest Regional.
Even in defeat, against Oklahoma State and in the second game against UCLA, Walsh's squad went down clawing. Harvard baseball fans can rest assured that their team is in good hands.