After a night of defensive anxiety and hurried at-bats—thanks, in part, to the rowdy presence of the second-largest crowd in Fullerton history at 3,604 strong, as well as ESPN cameras and the pressure of playing the champs—the Crimson will benefit from playing before a customarily smallish crowd against Missouri.

Salsgiver said that the team no longer feels “the pressure to do too much.”

“Maybe people thought we needed to be changing our approach,” he said.

Frank Herrmann (5-1, 3.09 ERA, .222 batting average against), who was the team’s No. 1 starter during the season and its most effective pitcher against Ivy League opponents, will take the hill against the Tigers.

If Herrmann faces trouble against a Missouri lineup that scored the second-most runs in the Big 12 Conference—and which features a home run-hitting outfielder by the name of James Boone (.347, 7 HR, 71 RBI)—then the Crimson may bring in standout freshman Shawn Haviland in relief.

“When you’re on the ropes, it’s no use saving guys,” Salsgiver said.

Missouri’s pitching situation remains murkier. Either the Tigers will send their No. 2 starter, sophomore Nathan Culp (9-2, 3.18), to the mound, or they will save him for a hypothetical Sunday Game 3.

In that event, they will turn to a trio of juniors—lefty Taylor Parker (1-2, 1.90), who started only two games this season but remains an option, and right-handers Doug Mathis (5-4, 3.27) and Nick Admire (2-2, 3.69), who could also start—to face the Crimson.

In any case, of paramount importance will be bouncing back from a defeat that has Harvard on the brink of elimination.

Certainly the Crimson will take the advice of one of its most distinguished alumni to heart.

—Staff writer Alex McPhillips can be reached at rmcphill@fas.harvard.edu. For the rest of the weekend, he will issue reports live from the Fullerton Regional.