Mager led off the inning with a single to left, and reached third on a throwing error. A base hit to left by Carey scored Mager. Carey then stole second, and Keck followed with yet another single, chasing McCarthy.

Right-hander Mike Finnegan entered the game for the Elis, but did not fare much better, as Huling--the first batter Finnegan faced--hit a line drive over the right-field fence to extend the Crimson lead to 6-2.

"I knew he was going to come in and throw a strike," Huling said. "I just wanted to get it up in the air for a sacrifice fly to get the runner home. But I hit it well, and fortunately it went out."

In the top of the sixth, Birtwell gave up another run as Yale cut the lead to three. But Harvard answered back once again in the bottom of the inning with two runs of its own.

Sophomore Scott Carmack led off the inning with a stand-up double into the right-centerfield gap and later scored on a perfect bunt single by junior Jeff Bridich. Carey then hit a home run over the fence in right field to give Harvard an 8-3 lead.

"It felt good to get a couple of big hits today," said Carey, who finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI for the game. "It was great to get that single that gave us the lead early on, and it's always nice to hit a home run."

In the top of the seventh, Birtwell ran into a bit of trouble. After the leadoff batter reached on an error, Birtwell allowed two consecutive singles, as Yale cut the lead to 8-4. Junior Derek Lennon then entered the contest in relief and promptly set down the next three Eli batters to secure the 8-4 victory for Harvard.

Harvard 20, Yale 4

Saturday's opener was a game Binkowski may look back to as his break-out game of the season.

Binkowski was 3-for-4 with an RBI single, a three-run double and a three-run home run, providing the bulk of the Crimson hitting attack in a 20-4 romp, a mauling that was assisted by six errors from a Bulldog infield that looked straight out of the Bad News Bears.

Harvard set the tone early and often, notching four runs on two hits and two errors in the first, including a costly throwing miscue by Yale starter Jon Steitz.

With the bases loaded for Mager, the freshman bounced back to the mound and Steitz flipped home, trying to start a double play. But his toss was off, allowing two runs to score. A passed ball and an RBI single by Carmack made it 4-0.

Binkowski then closed a four-run rally in the third with a mammoth three-run shot to right, making it 8-1.

"The coaches have been working with me on staying back in the box, on keeping my hands loose and going with the ball," Binkowski said. "[Steitz] had some nice pop on his fastball, but I was able to turn on it and drive it."

While the bats continued the wild ride they begun last Thursday, when they scored 13 runs against Providence, senior righthander Garett Vail was having his way on the bump, tossing a complete-game while scattering eight hits and allowing just two earned runs.

Vail (1-2) also struck out a career-high 12 batters while posting his first win of the season. Vail located his fastball with impeccable control and also threw his curveball for strikes all afternoon.