Harvard Rebounds, Sweeps Sunday Doubleheader at Brown

Despite losing its first two Ivy League matchups of the weekend, Harvard came back to break even and close out its weekend on a high note.

The Crimson defeated Brown in the last two games of a four-game series with the Bears, as Harvard used 25 hits on Sunday to earn solid positioning in the league with Ivy competition nearing its end.

“We lost some heartbreaking games [Saturday],” senior catcher Cole Arledge said. “But we started to play at a higher level. The bats came alive, and it was really great to see us finally hit the ball the way we all know that we can.”

HARVARD 12, BROWN 7

In the nightcap of the weekend’s second day, Harvard went up in the first inning, 4-0, landing the Bears in a deficit from which they could not recover.

Though Brown picked up a run in the bottom of the first, the 4-1 hole would not be filled.

Freshman Jack Colton, senior Dillon O’Neill, and junior Jeff Reynolds contributed three hits each in the Sunday’s second matchup to lead Harvard over the Bears.

Senior pitcher Ben Sestanovich earned the win for Harvard, securing the final 5.1 innings for Harvard on the way to the win.

“The bats just came alive tonight,” Arledge said. “[Sestanovich] finished a complete ballgame ... and we’re not going to win games if we can’t play until the finish.”

Brown staged two-run comebacks in the third, fourth, and sixth innings, but Harvard held off the attack to finish on top for the second time this weekend.

“We’re excited about the two wins,” co-captain Albright added. “We know we can play like we did [yesterday]. Now, we have nothing to play for except knowing that we can play well. We hope to take some of the momentum we gained today and use it for the rest of the season.”

HARVARD 6, BROWN 3

In the morning on Sunday, Harvard came out ready to play, scoring four times against the Bears in the seventh inning as the Crimson topped Brown for the first time this year.

Harvard dominated both of Sunday’s matchups, scoring in nine of 16 innings on the second day of competition, and the Bears were stymied early by junior pitcher Brent Suter’s complete-game, seven-strikeout effort.

“We really need to take things one game at a time,” Arledge said. “Sometimes we’re too focused on the big picture. Brent Suter came out to win one game for the sake of winning one game ... As a team, we still have a lot to play for.”

“I really think we need to just play our game,” Arledge added. “It’s more fun to win. The momentum that we have now with the bat will help us a lot. We’re getting hits, and that gives us great momentum. Hopefully, we’ll be able to go off of the confidence we’ve developed with the bat. We had a hitting coach come talk to us—Walt Hriniak—who really took our team’s mentality to the next level.”

BROWN 4, HARVARD 3

Though the two teams entered the ninth inning of Saturday’s nightcap tied, 3-3, a late Bears run pushed the second game of the series away from the Crimson.

Two runs in the seventh led Brown back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game. Eventually, Brown pulled away from the Crimson with a ninth inning run on a Harvard error.

Though senior pitcher Max Perlman struck out six batters in 6.2 innings, Harvard was unable to recover to win the early matchup.

BROWN 2, HARVARD 0

Brown came out strong to start the four-game series. After holding the Crimson scoreless in the top of the first inning, Brown scored the game’s winning run in the bottom of the same frame.

After an assurance tally in the fourth, Brown relied on a three-hit shutout by Matt Kimball to secure the victory, as the Crimson was unable to capitalize on many opportunities on the day.

—Staff writer Catherine E. Coppinger can be reached at ccoppinger@college.harvard.edu.