Other than Carter, though, the only other Crimson batter to reach base on Breslow was Carmack, who drew a pair of walks.

"We were very tentative and didn't come out aggressive," Walsh said. "I was shocked. [Breslow] pitched well-no doubt about it-but we weren't getting the bat on the ball. We were just sitting there watching his fastball go by us."

After spotting Yale the 1-0 run in the first, Crockett settled into a groove and mowed through the Yale lineup over the next four innings. At times, he was every bit as unhittable as Breslow, finishing the afternoon with ten strikeouts. But as the game progressed and Harvard failed to even mount a threat on offense, the prevailing sense was that Crockett's fine effort would be in vain.

And then, in the top of the sixth, the roof caved in.

Yale touched Crockett for five more runs that expanded the Elis' lead to 5-0. Crockett would be lifted one inning later after loading up the bases with no outs. Two of those runners eventually came in to score before the book finally closed on Crockett. His final line-seven earned runs, 10 hits, and the loss-hardly reflected his strong outing.

Breslow, meanwhile, went the distance for his first win of the season. As well as he pitched, though, the Crimson batters did a lot to accommodate him by falling behind in the count for most of the day.

"I think it was more a case of us overthinking, taking too many pitches, and questioning our ability," Birtwell said. "We have the tendency to beat ourselves sometimes."

Maybe so on Friday. But if the rest of this past weekend provided any indication, the pressure to beat Harvard will be on the opposition from now on.