It was Byrne’s home run, nonetheless—a high liner into the netting beyond Aldrich Field’s left field fence—that gave the Crimson a 7-1 lead and the comfort to continue its assault on the box score.

Byrne has given coaches little choice but to find a regular place for his hot bat. He opened the season as the team’s incumbent second baseman, but faced questions early on about his ability to supplement his solid glovework with consistent hitting.

Flash forward to yesterday, and Byrne raised his average to a team second-best .360, adding three more RBI. Ironically, he did it from the DH slot.

“Pretty good move, huh?” Walsh joked. “I tell you what, he’s been battling all year for us, doing a nice job. He doesn’t get cheated up there.”

Senior Mike Morgalis hurled 7 2/3 strong innings on the mound, yielding two earned runs and only five hits. After suffering through an injury-marred offseason, Morgalis (5-0) has become the staff’s most reliable workhorse, leading the team in innings pitched. His ERA of 2.67—the league’s third-best—remained unchanged after yesterday.

“As a pitcher I was throwing a lot of strikes today,” Morgalis said. “I felt like I could keep them honest.”

For Walsh, the secret to Morgalis’ dominance was simple: “I thought he had his best fastball of the season this year,” he said.

BROWN 6, HARVARD 5

Klimkiewicz’ second home run of Game 1 appeared to win the game.

A two-run mammoth shot that impacted a local house—it actually cleared some netting designed to protect the quiet, tree-lined avenue beyond left field—Klimkiewicz’ homer built a 5-3 Harvard lead in the extra eighth inning of the seven-inning game.

“I tell you, he crushed it,” Walsh said.

Reported Klimkiewicz, “it was a fastball. [Pitcher Ethan Silverstein] took some off just to try to throw a strike. And he threw it inside. I saw it the whole way. Just put a good swing on it.”

Regardless, with Harvard ace Frank Herrmann staying on the mound to finish the game, Brown had designs on victory.

Bears first baseman Danny Hughes led off the bottom of the eighth by walking on four straight pitches. Devin Thomas, the catcher, followed that at-bat by homering to right-centerfield on an outside slider, tying the game at five.