After wrapping up the Rolfe, Harvard punched its ticket to the expanded 64-team NCAA field when it picked Princeton's pocket in Game 3 of the Ivy League Championship Series, rallying for three runs in the top of the ninth for a 5-4 victory.
An RBI single by Binkowski off Tiger closer Jeff Golden brought the Crimson within one, then rookie second baseman Faiz Shakir knocked maybe the most improbable hit in O'Donnell Field's history.
Shakir, who had just 11 hits--10 of them singles--on the year, and never batted outside the nine-hole in the order, slapped a two-run single to center for the winning runs.
"I had a rough day but I just tried to get that out of my head," Shakir said. "I was happy when Coach let me come up in that situation with the bases loaded and everybody on the team had confidence in me. This was the greatest moment of my career in sports."
The Crimson groomed another strong freshman class in 1999, as shortstop Mark Mager filled in admirably for Dave Forst '98, batting .309 with 42 hits and 28 RBI. Mager stole eight bases and played several positions--including third base, second base and left field--before settling in at short.
Mager even earned the affectionate nickname "Crash Davis" from his coaches, after Kevin Costner's character in the baseball classic "Bull Durham."
Righthander Ben Crockett, who blitzed his way into the starting rotation with high-80s cheese and also developed a curve and a sidearm fastball en route to a 5-1 record with a 4.88 ERA. Crockett shared Ivy Rookie of the Year honors with Princeton's two-sport standout Chris Young, likely to represent Crockett's nemesis for the next three years.
With the best control on the staff (47 strikeouts, six walks in 51.2 innings), Crockett was a weekend mainstay, and went 4-0 with a 3.69 ERA in five league starts.
"Going in, we knew we had a good staff," Vail said. "It was a staff with a lot of experience from guys like Birtwell, Donny Jamieson and Andrew Duffell, but Crockett really stepped up this season, and he's going to be hard to beat in the next three years."
If the Crimson maintains its dynastic control of the Ivy into the next millennium, it will be on the back of the deep, talented pitching staff that sparked its resurgence in the first place.
Birtwell and Crockett will go one-two in the starting rotation, but the departures of veterans like Duffell (3-1, 3.86) and Jamieson (5-0, 4.91) means an expanded role for this year's second-tier of midweek pitchers.
Sophomores Dan Saken (1-0, 3.10 with a .205 batting average against), Mike Dryden (1-2, 3.66) and John Franey (0-0, 4.05) threw substantial innings in long relief and spot-start roles, and could jump to the weekend four.
Meanwhile junior Derek Lennon (3-1, 5.46) made a team-high 18 appearances out of the bullpen and struck out 23 while walking just three in 31.1 innings. He figures to provide the long relief backbone and make an occasional start, as he did in 1998.
Walsh will also have to reshuffle his defense, filling gaping holes in center, at third and at catcher. Shakir looks to see increased infield time, while freshman Josh San Salvador, who hit .267, may DH more to accommodate a shift to left field by Bridich.
And highly-touted recruit Javy Lopez, who took a medical redshirt after playing in just three games, could return from a devastating eye injury sustained during fall batting practice to see outfield time.
To the optimist, the Crimson held serve in 1999, showing it could compete, if not dominate, on the national level. But losing as quietly as it did does not reassure. The magic of Stillwater, Okla. and Baton Rouge, La. can be resuscitated, but the Harvard bats will have to match its arms in their zeal.