Forgive Harvard baseball coach Joe Walsh if he seemed a little anxious in the final moments of the Crimson's 3-2 victory at Penn yesterday.

But as Harvard's 3-0 lead hung in the balance with the bases full of Quakers and only one man out, Walsh may well have bridled at the prospect of seeing his team blow a ninth-inning lead and begin the Ivy season with a 1-3 record.

Or perhaps, with Harvard starter John Birtwell on the hill-he having already surrendered a ninth-inning, game-winning homer the day before-and Quakers second baseman Nick Italiamo striding to the plate with three hits to his credit already on the day, Walsh simply smelled disaster.

Whatever his thinking, the Harvard skipper made the decision to give his senior ace the hook, opting instead for sophomore reliever Barry Wahlberg.

After a week when frustratingly little turned out as the Crimson (5-13, 2-2 Ivy) hoped, Walsh's call to the bullpen did. After hitting Italiano with a pitch to force in Penn's first run, Wahlberg got the next two Quaker batters to fly out for the final outs of the game.

And just like that, a split with Penn was salvaged and Birtwell's strong starting effort-not to mention Harvard's start to the league season-was saved.

It wasn't painless, but it brought a collective sigh of relief to a Harvard squad that had struggled mightily on its Florida trip over the previous week. Over the break, the Crimson won just one of its ten games.

But by taking a game each from Penn (12-6, 1-3) and Columbia (7-16, 3-1) this weekend-no small feat, considering they came on the road-the Crimson may well have turned the corner, and, in Wahlberg, found a new closer in the process.