Granted, there would have been reason to look past this one.

Just two days before putting its Red Rolfe Division title on the line against Dartmouth, Harvard took a mid-week trip to Providence, R.I., matching up against a Friar squad that had lost five of its last six.

In a game all about local bragging rights, the Crimson (26-9, 13-3 Ivy) stayed focused, jumping all over host Providence for 12 runs on 15 hits. Harvard reasserted its status as New England's top team by beating Providence, the number two team in New England, 12-7.

"It was definitely a big game," said senior shortstop Dave Forst. "Coach Walsh emphasizes beating regional teams, and since we've got a bunch of local guys on the team, it means a lot to be first in New England."

Junior catcher Jason Keck, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI and four runs scored and smacked his first homer of the 1998 season, joined Forst (2-for-5, RBI) in providing the ammunition that roughed up three Friar hurlers, including loser Brett Donovan (0-1).

Donovan, a freshman lefthander making his first collegiate start, lasted only a third of an inning against the top of the Crimson order, retiring only one of five batters he faced.

Senior leftfielder Aaron Kessler's leadoff triple kicked things off in the top of the first, and doubles from junior third baseman Hal Carey, Keck, Forst and junior rightfielder Andrew Huling paced the basepath merry-go-round, sticking Donovan with four earned runs on five extra-base hits before a merciful hook.

"We got a freshman who hadn't started a game before, and we just started swinging," Keck said. "We got four extra-base hits in our first five at-bats and put up five quick runs."

The Crimson got another solid start from sophomore righthander Rich Linden, who worked four and two-thirds innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits, but needed to go four-deep into the pen to secure the win.

Senior reliever John Wells picked up Linden's two-on, two-out jam in the bottom of the fifth, stranding a pair of runners to preserve a commanding 11-5 lead, then worked the sixth to post his fourth victory of the season.

Freshman John Birtwell, senior Mike Marcucci and sophomore Mike Madden closed the door with three innings of relief, getting in some work before this weekend's all-important Dartmouth series.

Most significant was the return of Birtwell, who hadn't thrown since an April 5 start in Ithaca, N.Y. against the Cornell Big Red due to a nagging virus. Birtwell maintained his pristine 0.00 ERA through 19 and two-thirds innings of work on the campaign.

"It's good to have him back and get him some experience today," Keck said. "He's the kind of guy who can help us out right away."

All nine Crimson starters collected base knocks on the afternoon, including Huling's 2-for-3 and senior center-fielder Brian Ralph's 1-for-4 with two runs scored.

With its seventh straight win under its belt, the Crimson now turns to a crucial home-and-home series with the Dartmouth Big Green beginning with tomorrow's doubleheader in Cambridge.

With a three-game lead, Harvard's magic number for clinching its third straight Rolfe division title is two; any combination of two Crimson wins or Yale losses will earn the squad a trip to the Ivy championship series, currently up in the air between Princeton and Cornell.

Harvard Coach Joe Walsh will likely throw his weekend quartet--juniors Andrew Duffell, Donny Jamieson and Garett Vail along with sophomore Derek Lennon--against the Green, whose hot-hitting lineup posted a whopping 38 runs in home wins against New Hampshire College and Holy Cross this week.

Keyed by junior shortstop Mike Conway, who broke a school record with his 63rd hit of the season, and sophomore first baseman Aaron Meyer, who leads the squad with nine home runs, Dartmouth will look to spoil the Crimson's title defense.

"There's no love lost with Dartmouth," Forst said. "We look to take four from them every year and this series, whatever the standings, is about sticking it to them."

That will be the unquestioned order of business this weekend, and for a program rapidly distinguishing itself as the class of the region, another title is little more than the first step.