Crimson Defeats B.U., 5-4

The sun shone on Soldiers Field for a full five minutes this afternoon--6:15 until 6:20, and it was in these five minutes that the varsity baseball team finally broke an eleventh inning tie and pushed the winning run across the plate, defeating Boston University, 5-4.

It was not a day for baseball--ask any of the 25 ardent fans who stuck out the entire catastrophe. All but one of B.U.'s four runs were set up by Harvard miscues. Three out of five Harvard runs were caused by wide throws.

Aside from the rather sloppy fielding exhibition put on by both teams, however, it was one of those games that you read about in novels, but very rarely see. B.U. held a 4-1 advantage at the end of eight innings. There had been few clean hits up to this point. The only extra base hit was a triple off the bat of B.U.'s Steve Gordon in the eighth inning which set up the Terriers' only earned run of the game. Harvard managed only six singles.

In Harvard's half of the ninth, however, the roof blew off Kindlestick Park. Needing three runs to tie the score and four to win. Harvard's chances seemed dim when Diehl flied to center, Miller singled and Sargent advanced him to second by grounding out to the first baseman. But Jim Mullen, pinch hitting for pitcher Dick Garibaldi, drove a deep single to right center, scoring Miller. Curly Combs followed this with a double to right, leaving men on second and third. When B.U.'s third baseman bobbled Bilodeau's hot grounder and threw wide to first, both of these men came in, tying the score at four runs all.

Again in the bottom of the eleventh, with darkness closing in all around, Bilodeau was at the plate with two gone, two men on base, and a two-two count. Another sizzling grounder, again too hot for the third baseman to handle, scored Lee Sargent from second, and the ball game was over.

Tom Rucker, taking over in the tenth for Garibaldi, went two innings and picked up the victory. Dick Walsh, B.U.'s reputed wonder boy, was charged with the loss.