With runners on first and third and two outs in the 10th inning of a tied game, senior infielder Rob Wineski stepped to the plate with the chance to earn a win in Harvard’s first baseball game of the year.

Wineski quickly fell behind in the count, 0-2, and it looked as if the game might be headed to an 11th inning.

But when the co-captain slapped the next offering up the middle for a base hit, and sophomore outfielder Brandon Kregel scampered home from third, the Crimson opened its 2013 season with a victory over Bucknell in Charlottesville, Va.

Players bolted out of the Harvard dugout and mobbed Wineski, jumping up and down in pure joy. But, the scene was imperfect.

Absent was the man wearing No. 2 who had been present for moments like this for the last 17 years. His joyful personality, deep affection for others, and on the field presence were missing.

DREAM JOB

Since the unexpected death of coach Joe Walsh on July 31, something has been different about the Harvard baseball program. For years, whenever one thought of Harvard baseball, Walsh was the first thing to come to mind.

The head coach of the Crimson since 1996, Walsh was a fixture at games and practices for 17 years.

He could be found at camps for prospective players and clinics for elementary school kids.

If it had to do with Harvard baseball, you could count on Walsh being there.

“[The job] was everything to him,” says former Harvard recruiting coordinator Tom Lo Ricco, who worked alongside Walsh for eight years. “He absolutely loved it. He put his whole life into the job. Many times he was there late at night and slept in the office. It was just a big part of him.”

Wineski recalls a memory of Walsh after a tough weekend loss to Columbia. As Wineski was walking past O’Donnell Field three or four hours after the game, he saw Walsh still sitting in the dugout in silence.

“It was just his life,” Wineski says. “He lived and died every day on the baseball field. He had so much pride for that program…. I can’t begin to describe how much he loved baseball and how much he loved Harvard.”

Indeed, it seemed that Walsh was destined to end up as Harvard’s coach.

Born in West Roxbury, Mass., Walsh grew up in Boston and spent his entire life in the area. He attended Suffolk University after high school and played baseball for the Rams.