Baseball Holds Off Holy Cross in Last Contest Before Ivy Play

After a home run in the first inning against Holy Cross (11-10), the Harvard baseball team would not relinquish the lead. The Crimson defeated the Crusaders, 7-6, on Fitton Field Wednesday evening and improved its record to 2-16.

It was a welcome win for Harvard, which has lost 10 of its last 11 games by either one or two runs.

“It feels great,” senior pitcher Brent Suter said. “It kind of felt like these games were kind of the same story, where we got a lead and they’d come crawling back. But today we were able to stop it and come away with a W.”

It was senior designated hitter Marcus Way’s first home run of the season that gave Harvard the early edge, and it was exactly the type of start that the Crimson needed heading into the contest.

“Marcus has missed, I think, all but four games this whole year, so it was nice getting him back, nice for him to make a statement like that,” junior captain Andrew Ferreira said. “It definitely boosted the team’s confidence right away.”

After gaining a 1-0 lead, Harvard continued to add on the runs.

The Crimson scored four in the fourth inning, which began with a double down the left-field line by senior second baseman Jeff Reynolds. Reynolds eventually scored off of a single by sophomore left fielder Jack Colton. Freshman right fielder Zach Boden helped add another run, batting a single to give him an RBI.

The final two runs of the inning were batted in by junior first baseman Robert Wineski.

With two on and two out, Wineski laced a stand-up double down the left-field line, clearing the bases and extending Harvard’s lead, 5-0.

Harvard tacked on another two runs in the fifth inning. Reynolds, recording his second double of the day, made it to home plate off of a single by sophomore shortstop Carlton Bailey.

Bailey’s classmate Steven Dill, a catcher, also scored on a passed ball by his counterpart behind the plate, Stephen Wadsworth. The Crimson led, 7-0, at the end of the fifth.

The bottom of the same frame saw a resurgence from Holy Cross. With freshman Tanner Anderson on the mound for the Crimson, the Crusaders recorded six-straight hits and four unearned runs to get back into the game.

Anderson was the fifth of 10 total Harvard pitchers on the day, the win going to sophomore starter Baron Davis (1-1).

While the sixth inning saw no runners round the bases, the seventh was dangerous for Harvard.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Ferriera stepped out of the bullpen to get the Crimson out of a sticky situation. The Crusaders were able to score one run from an error by Wineski, but that was all Ferriera would allow. He went lights out for the rest of the inning, striking out two-consecutive batters and keeping the Crimson’s lead at two.

“I felt pretty good,” Ferriera said. “I just knew if I threw the ball over the plate, my defense was going to make plays for me. I wasn’t really too nervous—I was just trying to step up for my team.”

After a scoreless eighth frame for both teams, Harvard also went three-and-out in the top of the ninth.

But the pressure rose in the bottom of the final inning.

With Holy Cross’s Evan Ocello on base after hitting a single, Mike Ahmed made it to first from a throwing error by junior pitcher Joey Novak, advancing his teammate to second. A sacrifice bunt by Alex Maldonado put both Ocello and Ahmed in scoring position. Capitalizing on the situation, Chris Sintetos hit a single that sent Ocello home.

With one out in the ninth and Harvard winning, 7-6, Suter came to the mound to replace Novak.

“Honestly, I kind of told Coach to go with another guy instead of me at first because I was feeling a little stiff today,” Suter said. “The nerves were definitely going, but I knew we wanted this win really badly, so I just went out there and said, ‘Put the fear aside; let’s just get in the zone and see what happens.’ Fortunately, good things happened.”

Suter struck out the first batter he faced, and the game ended soon afterwards, when Sintetos was caught off the bag and tagged out in a pickle.

The win is crucial for the Crimson to gain momentum to carry into its opening Ivy League games this weekend.

“It definitely feels good and gets the momentum going into the weekend,” said Suter. “It’s a good feeling now, but we know we’re going to have to recharge and get out there again.”