Usually, it's tough for a non-everyday player to play a leading role, but Birtwell defied that convention. Even on days when he wasn't scheduled to pitch, no one was louder with his cheers than Birtwell.

The Crimson is a team that never sits in its dugout. The players stand so close to the field in order to cheer on their teammates that many an umpire has been forced to kindly request that they take a few steps back. Throughout his career, Birtwell was a fixture at the head of that group.

Yesterday, with the game tied in extra innings, Birtwell did everything he could to inspire the offense. In the bottom of the ninth, he even went up and down Harvard's bench, turning his teammates' caps sideways in hopes of inciting a rally.

If it was at all possible to will a win, Birtwell would have come out victorious yesterday. But after banging out 46 hits in their three previous games, the Harvard bats fell asleep for Birtwell. The Crimson mustered just five hits off Dartmouth freshman Tim Grant.

Grant will be hard-pressed to match Birtwell's feats over the next three years, but for one day at least, he could say say he got the better of him. Fate, it seemed, was on his side.

In the bottom of the ninth, Harvard outfielder Joe Llanes drilled what appeared to be a game-winning homer to left field, but the ball got caught up in the wind and instead went for a long out.

Then, in the Dartmouth half of the tenth, outfielder Derek Draper's one-out bunt straddled the line but stayed fair, and a double by shortstop Matt Klentak brought him home to give the Big Green the lead, and ultimately the win.

It was a tough-luck loss and an even tougher way to end a career. But Birtwell has no regrets.