It was brief, in truth.

It was unsatisfying and minor, a predictable blip on the national baseball radar: two unmemorable box scores scrolling by meekly on ESPN during one hot weekend in early June.

It was all these things, one must admit.

But they meant the world to Joe Walsh and Harvard baseball.

For two games, the Crimson went big-time—and in the end, understandably, its venerable head coach wasn’t satisfied.

“It’s going to be tough to swallow,” Walsh said. “Nobody came down here with the idea that we just wanted to be in the tournament. We wanted to make a few upsets, get a couple of ‘W’s under our belt, and see what happened after that.”

Sent to what was universally dubbed the NCAA tournament’s “Bracket of Death,” Harvard had its first opportunity to nationally showcase the “athlete” aspect of its student-athletes since 2002.

The trial by fire, as it happened, was less than ideal.

Downed by defending champion Cal State Fullerton in its first game by a score of 19-0, and then thumped 14-6 by Big 12 power Missouri the next day in the loser’s bracket, it was an early exit for Harvard University in baseball’s big dance.

Along the way, Crimson players’ names were mispronounced (Mike Morgalis magically became Mike “Margolis” on Titans radio) and the usual—and, in this context, uniquely unflattering—jokes were made about SAT scores and GPAs.

“I just kind of told them that it’s real easy just to dwell on these [losses] and let them linger,” Walsh said. “You’ve got to shake it off.”

But really, to frame Crimson baseball (29-17, 15-5 Ivy) just by its performance in that first week of June would be overwhelmingly shortsighted.

Harvard’s season was ended by the Tigers, yes, but this time, it happened to be Missouri’s—not Princeton’s.

With a true balance of youth, veteran leadership, pitching, and slugging, the Crimson charged to its first Ivy championship since 2002.

Ironically, Harvard’s pitching staff was estimated as its weakest link in the preseason, with four starters besides former ace Trey Hendricks ’04 having made at least five starts in 2004—and none recording an ERA lower than 5.05.