Luckily for the Crimson, Jeff Bridich managed to catch, throw and hit at the same time.

The junior backup catcher, who didn't enter Harvard's wild-beyond-words 18-16 win until he pinch-ran for Keck in the top of the seventh, figured in three bang-bang plays in the late innings, helping Harvard avoid the embarrassment of blowing a 12-run lead to snatch a win in Friday's opener.

Trailing 16-13, the Crimson loaded the bases with one out in the top of the seventh when Huling singled, freshman shortstop Nick Carter reached on Clark's error and Keck walked. Bridich trotted in to replace Keck, who represented the tying run, and when Larocque pounded a double to the right-centerfield gap, Walsh had no qualms about waving him home.

An off-line throw from the outfield brought Quakers catcher Jeff Gregorio up the third-base side of the plate, and Bridich, who arrived just before the ball, bumped Gregorio's glove on the way in, fouling up the tag at the plate to crash in with the tying run.

"At first I thought I would have to hold up, but Coach was waving all three of us in," Bridich said. "I knew I wasn't going to be able to run into [Gregorio], so I just tried to look for his mitt and hit it."

The game-tying hit was the culmination of an extremely solid opener for Larocque, who was 2-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored. The junior--who wasn't a regular at designated hitter until the Crimson's spring training trip--upped his batting average to .282 and finished the weekend with 16 RBI, good for third on the team.

"With the bases loaded and one out, all I wanted to do was put the ball in the outfield," Larocque said. "[Quaker reliever John Dolan] left a pitch up and I gave it a good shot. At least it was good enough to get all of the runs in."