When, in The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy said, "there's no place like home," you can be sure the Harvard baseball team knew exactly how she felt.

After starting the season with 20 consecutive games on the road, the Crimson is anxious to return to the friendly confines of O'Donnell field for its home opener this Saturday.

"The team is all really excited about the home opener," sophomore pitcher Ben Crockett said. "It's tough to be on the road so long before you get a chance to play at home, but it's the same for most teams in the northeast."

Sweeping Cornell in two games and splitting a doubleheader with Princeton last weekend, Harvard (8-12, 3-1 Ivy) is set to host Columbia (6-19, 3-1 Ivy) in a doubleheader tomorrow.

Following the pair with the Lions, the Crimson host Penn (11-10, 3-1 Ivy) for a deuce on Sunday.

The weekend is shaping up as a classic battle between bruising bats and precise pitching.

"The cliche is good pitching beats good hitting," Crockett said. "I guess we'll see how true that is this weekend. We've faced some good-hitting teams in Florida and UCLA. Anything can happen, but I think it's looking good for us."

With a combined ERA of 4.87, the Crimson boasts the best bullpen in the league, led by Crockett and junior John Birtwell.