Neither of them was supposed to be here in the first place.

Harvard and Brown, facing off for a shot at the Ivy League title.

Today's doubleheader (1 p.m., Soldiers Field) should have been just another anti-climactic battle for second place, a twinbill transpiring on the banks of the Charles while the real champs relaxed down in Princeton, N.J.

Not since 1982 had the Tigers lost a game in Ivy League play.

And sure, the Crimson and Bruins were good--but they looked destined to fight for second place yet again, after tying in '85 with identical 4-4 league marks.

But something incredible happened last weekend: Brown swept a doubleheader from Princeton.

So long, four-year Ivy winning streak.

Hello, Harvard-Brown showdown.

If the Crimson (2-2 Ivy) sweeps the Bruins (5-1) this afternoon--and follows through with a pair of wins over a weaker Yale squad (1-5) tomorrow--it will clinch a tie for its first-ever league championship.

And the Tigers (6-2), who concluded their Ivy slate last week, can only sit in Princeton hoping for a Harvard sweep and subsequent Yale upset.

With three-quarters of their schedule behind them, the batswomen (12-6 overall) are keeping up with last year's record-setting 17-win pace. The 1985 Crimson went 17-8 overall, recording the most victories in the six-year history of Harvard varsity softball.

And just like last year, when a rookie paced the squad in batting--Mary Baldauf's .476 average eventually ranked tops in the country--the leading Crimson hitter is a Yardling.

Freshman center fielder Elizabeth Crowley, an Arlington, Mass. native who earned Boston Globe Division I Player of the Year honors last season, is currently leading the squad with a .382 batting average.

Crowley's 21 hits and .435 on-base percentage also rank her first in those departments.

Another rookie making a splash for the Crimson is freshman hurler Lora Rowning, a fireballer who has posted a 4-4 mark on the mound.