A.J. SOLIMINE, shown here in earlier action, left it all on the field this weekend.

PRINCETON, NJ—If one play had to end the Harvard baseball team’s Ivy title defense, at least it was a play that embodied its season.

It began with bad luck, had a flash of brilliance and was oh-so-close to beautiful.

With two outs and runners on second and third in the bottom of the fourth inning yesterday, Princeton sophomore B. J. Szymanski chopped a grounder to first base. It took a bad bounce off freshman Mike Dukovich, but was quickly and gracefully gloved by freshman second baseman Zak Farkes.

Farkes slung the ball to sophomore pitcher Mike Morgalis—who was rushing to cover first—just before Szymanski reached the bag.

At least, that’s what Morgalis thought.

“I remember hitting the bag,” Morgalis said. “I thought I’d caught it. Then I remember hearing his foot.”

But the umpire remembered differently and called Szymanski safe. By the time Morgalis—who had fallen to the ground on the play—recovered and threw home, two runs had scored and the Tigers had tripled their lead to 5-2.

The Crimson got out of the inning immediately when sophomore catcher Schuyler Mann threw Szymanski out at second as he tried to advance on Morgalis’ throw home. But with all-Ivy ace Tom Pauly on the mound, Princeton’s advantage would be insurmountable.

Pitching with a three-run cushion, Pauly yielded only a single hit over the remaining five innings.

“I totally thought with the play Mike made, we were out of the inning,” said freshman right fielder Lance Salsgiver. “It was definitely the turning point in the game.”

Bench Pressed

For weeks, the Harvard lineup survived—even thrived—without junior first baseman Trey Hendricks. But on Saturday, the Crimson came up a hitter short.

When Salsgiver was called in from right field to take the mound in the fifth inning, there was a consequence almost as interesting as a freshman seeing his first collegiate pitching experience in the League Championship Series.

Harvard’s pitchers would now have to bat.

Senior Brian Lentz trotted to Salsgiver’s spot in right field, and the double-switch forced the Crimson to forfeit the designated hitter’s spot in its lineup. And after playing four innings of musical outfielders to accommodate Salsgiver’s pitching debut, Harvard coach Joe Walsh had used just about every position player on his bench