Sophomore catcher Dane Sardinha bats .374 with 11 home runs and 56 RBI and has collected 85 hits, second-best in the conference. As a team, the Waves slug .494 to the Crimson's .426, and bat .326 to Harvard's .314.

Containing power hitting will be a challenge Harvard is accustomed to facing in NCAA play. In last year's South II Regional in Baton Rouge, La., the Crimson surrendered 43 runs in four games, most to powerhouses Fullerton and Tulane.

One factor playing in Harvard's favor is surrogate home-field advantage. Since host USC wants a Pepperdine loss in the first round, the Trojan faithful will be pulling for the Crimson.

"It's a nice position to be in," Walsh said. "In the last few years, we've gotten a couple of wins off crowds. It's really something to see 6,000 people in the stands with half of them wearing Harvard t-shirts."

That scenario has played out for the last two trips to the regional, last year when LSU fans pulled for Harvard against in-state rival Tulane, and in 1997 when Oklahoma State rooters helped along a 7-2 upset of UCLA.

But the Crimson has not played since a lackluster doubleheader sweep at Northeastern two days after clinching the Ivy, and the three-week layover is a potential problem.

"That's a big concern for us," Walsh said. "Since the season has ended we've been practicing, but we're a team that's getting a little testy. We need to go out and play. But you can also look at it the other way and say it's good because we're rested."

Walsh has had his club working in simulated games over the last two weeks, fitting practices around the finals crunch.