In the last lesson of a four-game clinic against Yale yesterday, Harvard Coach Joe Walsh did a very characteristic thing.

Senior righthander Donny Jamieson had just made his only serious jam of the afternoon a lot less sticky, starting a rare bases-loaded, 1-2-3 double play in the fifth by cleanly fielding Mike Kahney's come-backer to the mound and firing home for the lead runner. Senior catcher Jason Keck then turned and gunned Kahney out at first to preserve a 4-4 tie and leave runners at second and third with two outs.

Or so we all thought.

Pointing out that Kahney had, in fact, been called out for interfering with first baseman Erik Binkowski in the basepath, Walsh casually strolled out to home plate and correctly reminded umpire Rick Milner that runners may not advance on an interference call. Second and third quickly became first and second.

Though Jamieson made it a moot point by striking out shortstop Steve Dankof on a slider down and away to end the inning, it was a move symbolic of what Harvard did right all weekend--sweating the details.

In and of itself, Jamieson's double play was intelligent--it prevented the go-ahead run from scoring and got two outs for the price of one--but Walsh's spin made it that much better.

Seeing little things done correctly should come as no surprise to regular followers of Crimson baseball. Even a brief acquaintance with the Harvard dugout tells you how seriously everybody takes seemingly minor plays.

When a runner leads off and the pitcher makes anything like a pickoff move, 32 Harvard uniforms scream out "Back!"

When a batter hits a lazy fly ball, Assistant Coach Gary Donovan, who vigilantly and vociferously patrols the sideline, calls out "Run hard! Never know!" on the off-chance that the fielder might shank it.

And when any ball finds its way into the gap, the dirt or the hands of an unsure outfielder, the first thing on everybody's mind is to take an extra base.

Take yesterday's opener, a 7-6 extra-inning decision that showcased several of the Crimson's typical fundamental successes.

Senior center fielder Andrew Huling, one of the squad's most aggressive baserunners with a team-high nine stolen bases, helped engineer the winning run in the bottom of the ninth when he wheedled his way into a double on a freak play with two outs.

Huling lined a ball off the pitcher's mound, and when the rebound ricocheted into short center field, he dug hard around first and motored for second while the Bulldog outfield looked at the ball like an arrival from another planet. He arrived in a cloud of dust, well ahead of the dilatory throw.

One batter later, pinch hitter Jason Larocque slapped an easy grounder to second baseman Luis Costa, who fielded it cleanly but threw wildly to first, his fourth error of the weekend.

As the ball rolled away into foul territory, Huling trotted home with the winning run. By taking the extra base, Huling allowed Costa's error to become decisive.