Baseball Avenges Beanpot Loss

Behind timely power hitting and a battalion of solid pitchers, the Red Rolfe Division champion Harvard baseball team (26-16, 16-4 Ivy) avenged an earlier loss by beating UMass (22-17), 6-4, yesterday on O'Donnell Field.

Captain Hal Carey blasted two home runs at clutch moments for the Crimson and finished with four RBI on the day.

Senior Donnie Jamieson (5-0) recorded the win for the Crimson-one of eight Harvard hurlers to take the mound.

"So many people contributed today," Harvard coach Joe Walsh said.

The solid win gives Harvard important momentum going into its weekend series with Lou Gehrig Division champion Princeton to determine the Ivy title.

"Everything's working for us right now," senior catcher Jason Keck said. "Hitting, pitching and defense--it feels awesome."

The Crimson and the Minutemen met in the Beanpot semifinals last Tuesday, with UMass winning the slugfest 13-12. However, Harvard leads the all-time series 16-10 with today's win.

"Last time had nothing to do with today," Walsh said. "UMass is a real good ball club, but we didn't let them beat us today. We did a real good job."

Sophomore Mike Dryden got the start for the Crimson, giving up a run off two hits in two innings of work. UMass went up 1-0 in the second off a two-out single up the middle by Seth Kaplan.

Freshman phenom Ben Crockett came on in the third and retired the side. In the bottom of the frame, the Harvard bats came alive.

Another standout freshman, designated hitter Josh San Salvador, led off the inning with a stand-up double deep into the right field corner.

Two batters later, Carey stepped to the plate and drove a line drive home run down the left field line. The ball, still rising as it cleared the fence, curved inside the foul pole and staked the Crimson to a 2-1 lead.

"I've been feeling really good the last couple of days," Carey said. I've been hitting the ball hard and getting a lot of extra base hits."

UMass was not done, however, and answered with two runs in the top of the fourth off senior Andrew Duffell. The Minutemen got a pair of solo home runs to reclaim the lead at 3-2.

With the crucial series against Princeton approaching, Walsh rotated the Harvard staff each inning to keep his pitching arms loose.

Accordingly, senior Donnie Jamieson worked the fifth inning, shutting down the UMass batters to set the stage for more Carey heroics.

With one down, sophomore John Portman laid a neat but up the third base alley and beat the throw at first.

Once again, Carey stepped up and jumped on an offering from UMass starter Jesse Santos deep to right center field. Like a recurring bad dream, the Minutemen watched Carey round the bases and take a 4-3 lead.

"Hal really came through today," Walsh said.

The teams traded runs in the bottom of the sixth and top of the seventh, but UMass never mounted a serious threat to the Crimson lead.

"We did a good job today shutting down the middle of their lineup," Walsh said.

Harvard earned a run in the sixth when freshman Faiz Shakir, in for Woodfork at second, led off the inning with a bunt for hit and a stolen base. With two outs freshman shortstop Mark Mager ripped a line drive single to left to drive Shakir in.

Shakir again played a key role in Harvard's sixth run, stroking a double to deep right center in the top of the eighth. Keck moved Shakir to third, and first baseman Erik Binkowski was intentionally walked.

The speedy Shakir stole home when Binkowski was caught in a rundown between first and second.

Junior Derek Lennon worked the final 1.1 innings for the save.

Harvard looks ahead to a showdown with Princeton this weekend to determine the Ivy League champion.

"We've got momentum and we're healthy," Walsh said. "Princeton is a very similar team to us, and it will come down to who plays better defense."

Notes:

Today's games were the last regular season home contests for eight Harvard seniors, although the Crimson host Princeton this weekend. With these important games approaching, the seniors were unwilling to rest on their laurels.

"These seniors have been contributors from the start," Walsh said. They came to this program when it was at the bottom of the league, and they've been terrific. Four straight division titles is very impressive."

Duffell made his second appearance in a week after receiving a cortisone shot for an injured elbow. His elbow injury was thought to be season-ending.

"My arm is feeling good, I can go one or two innings," Duffell said. "Coach wanted to test me out before the weekend. I feel ready to go if he says so."

Carey's pair of round-trippers marked the first multi-homer game of his career. The double-dingers gave him five for the year, moving him into a tie for the team lead with fellow senior, center fielder Andrew Huling.

Defense was solid for the Crimson today, with both Carey and Shakir snagging line drives to rob Minutemen batters of base hits. Keck was also tough in the field, throwing out all three UMass attempts at stealing second.

"Nobody steals on Keck," Duffell said.

HARVARD, 6-4 at O'Donnell Field   R  H  E UMass  010  200  100  --  4  80 Harvard  002  021  01x  --  6  9   1 UMass  AB  R  H  BI  BB  SO B> Kulak If  3  0  0  0  1  0 Mazzaferro 3b  3  0  1  0  1  1 Samela dh  3  0  0  0  0  0 Barunstein rf  4  0  1  0  0  0 Gorneault cf  4  1  1  1  0  2 Morgan c  3  2  3  1  1  0 Clark 1b  3  1  1  0  1  2 Senez ss  4  0  0  1  0  1 Kaplan 2b  3  0  1  1  0  0 TOTALS  30  4  8  4  4  6 HARVARD  AB  R  H  BI  BB  SO Carey 3b  4  2  2  4  0  0 Bridich If  4  0  0  0  0  2 Huling of  4  0  0  0  0  1 Woodfork 2b  2  0  1  0  0  0 Shakir 2b  2  2  2  0  0  0 Keck c  4  0  0  0  0  0 Binkowski 1b  2  0  0  0  2  0 Mager ss  4  0  1  1  0  1 San Salvador dh  2  1  1  0  1  0 Portman rf  2  1  1  0  0  0 TOTALS  30  6  9  5  3  4

E: Woodfork (3). LOB: UMass 4, Har 4. 2B: Clark (3), Morgan (1), San Salvador (2). 3B: None. HR: Carey 2(5) SB: Shakir 2(5), Binkowski (4). CS: Kulak 2(3), Mazzaferro (5), Morgan, Mager (4). UMass  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO B> Santos, L (2-1)  6  8  5  5  1  2 Blumsack  2  1  1  1  2  2 HARVARD  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO Dryden  2  2  1  1  2  1 Crockett  1  1  0  0  0  0 Duffell  1  2  2  2  0  2 Jamieson (5-0)  1  0  0  0  0  0 Schafer  1  1  0  0  0  0 Giampaolo  0.2  1  1  1  1  0 Devine  1  0  0  0  0  1 Lennon  1.1  1  0  0  1  1

E: Woodfork (3). LOB: UMass 4, Har 4. 2B: Clark (3), Morgan (1), San Salvador (2). 3B: None. HR: Carey 2(5) SB: Shakir 2(5), Binkowski (4). CS: Kulak 2(3), Mazzaferro (5), Morgan, Mager (4). UMass  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO B> Santos, L (2-1)  6  8  5  5  1  2 Blumsack  2  1  1  1  2  2 HARVARD  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO Dryden  2  2  1  1  2  1 Crockett  1  1  0  0  0  0 Duffell  1  2  2  2  0  2 Jamieson (5-0)  1  0  0  0  0  0 Schafer  1  1  0  0  0  0 Giampaolo  0.2  1  1  1  1  0 Devine  1  0  0  0  0  1 Lennon  1.1  1  0  0  1  1