The Harvard pitching was good, too, but B.C. struck early. In the second inning, facing Crimson starter Ryan Tsujikawa, Eagles left fielder Neal McCarthy walked and scored after a Mendoza double and a fielder's choice. Boston College also scored on a mental defensive mistake in the third inning. Shortstop Mike Hubbard singled down the right field line. Tsujikawa threw a wild pitch, but Lentz was slow to the ball and Hubbard was able to get all the way to third. He then scored on a sacrifice fly to put B.C. up 2-0.

Harvard answered in the bottom half of the inning. Shakir hit a bloop single over Gambino's head and Mager singled. After Franey walked, Carter, who leads the teams in runs batted in, extended his hitting streak to seven games with an infield single. An error on the shortstop allowed another run to score and the Crimson tied up the game.

Things quieted down over the next several innings as a pitchers' duel ensued between Knapic and the Crimson's pitcher-by-committee. In the seventh, B.C. third baseman Eric Olson put reliever Dan Saken's low-and outside offering over the fence in right-center field to put the Eagles up for good. They added an insurance run in the eighth off a wild pitch.

As is common in a middle-of-the-week game, Harvard used six different pitchers (sometimes it used the same pitcher twice, as is allowed in college ball). Tsujikawa was pulled after two and a third innings, and his reliever, junior Mike Dryden, pitched an effective two more innings. Saken, who got the loss, gave up the final two runs. A combination of three other pitchers finished the game.

The inconsistency may have hurt the Crimson. Lentz and his pitchers sometimes miscommunicated, which led to three wild pitches, including one that scored a run.

The loss ended Harvard's five-game winning streak and extended the Eagles' to six games. Harvard showed improvement compared to last year's meeting with B.C., when the Eagles pounded out 28 runs over two games. The difference this time, as it is with most games in the Senior Circuit, was a failure to capitalize with men in scoring position.

"We had good at-bats in the middle of the lineup," Walsh said, "but nothing to show for it."