Baseball Closes Out Weekend with Split at Yale

In its second doubleheader in as many days, the Harvard baseball team split its road matchups with Yale, claiming the first, 4-3, before falling in the second, 5-3.

“I thought the whole weekend was just up and down. There was good pitching on all sides, and it was really a great classic Harvard-Yale series in my estimation,” Harvard coach Joe Walsh said. “Well played by both teams. But we were hoping to take three out of four this weekend, so I think we were a little disappointed to lose some close games.”

“We played well both games [on Sunday]. They just outplayed us the second game,” sophomore pitcher Baron Davis added. “We got lucky on the first one too.”

This weekend’s games moved the Crimson to 8-25 overall and 4-8 in the Ivy League. With eight conference games left, Harvard is currently tied for second in the Red Rolfe division.

YALE 5, HARVARD 3

In the fourth and final game of the weekend in New Haven, Conn., Yale (8-26-1, 2-10 Ivy) rode a late-game surge to get past Harvard and split the series. Back-to-back doubles off senior relief pitcher Marcus Way in the bottom of the eighth proved to be the difference, as the Bulldogs scored the last three runs of the game.

“Marcus was pitching with a pulled hamstring,” Crimson coach Joe Walsh said. “He just wasn’t himself, and he didn’t have the velocity to push off.  It was probably a mistake on my part putting him in.”

Way took over for junior starter Joey Novak after Novak pitched seven innings, striking out six and giving up two earned runs. Way only managed one out, after Bulldogs Jacob Hunter and Kevin Fortunato started the inning with successive two-baggers. Fortunato scored on a sacrifice bunt after a throwing error advanced him to third.

“The difference in the game was our ability to bunt the ball,” Walsh said. “Offensively and defensively, our bunting game has a lot to be desired, and that’s disappointing to see. With these new bats, college baseball has changed. You need to be able to bunt the ball and really move runners forward. We need to work on that.”

The game started with a two-run first inning for a Yale offense that managed 11 hits, compared to just three in the first game of the double-header.

On the offensive side for the Crimson, the infield provided most of the pop. Senior second baseman Jeff Reynolds drove in two runners on a triple in the third, while sophomore shortstop Jake McGuiggan and junior third baseman Kyle Larrow both went 2-for-4 from the plate.

Bulldogs relief pitcher Eric Shultz captured the win, moving his record to 4-1. The loss ended Harvard’s chance at winning its first weekend series of the season.

HARVARD 4, YALE 3 (8 inn.)

A dominant pitching performance from Davis and junior Andrew Ferreira gave Harvard the victory in the first game on Sunday.  After freshman starter Matt Timoney gave up three runs in the opening frame, Davis and then Ferreira pitched shutout ball the rest of the way as the Crimson won in eight innings.

“I didn’t have my stuff.... I was kind of stiff,” Davis said. “My teammates, especially Jake [McGuiggan], picked me up pretty well, making plays behind me.”

Ferreira got the victory, retiring eight of the nine batters he faced and giving up only one hit to go with his three strikeouts. Davis also contributed 4.2 innings in relief. The defense surrendered no errors.

“Ferreira came in and did an outstanding job in relief,” Walsh said. “We had a limited roster for this away trip, but we got some really solid relief pitching.”

Offensively, a three-run top of the sixth inning brought Harvard even before the Crimson pulled ahead in the eighth. Reynolds and Larrow started off the inning with back-to-back singles, and after Way reached first on a fielder’s choice, sophomore first baseman Steve Dill knocked a triple to left to put Harvard on the board. Dill later scored in the inning on a passed ball.

Reynolds rounded out the scoring in the eighth, advancing to second on a wild pitch before scoring on an error by Hunter.

“We got a little fortunate,” Walsh said. “The ball just got underneath the second baseman’s glove, and Reynolds was running hard the whole way.”

Reynolds went 2-for-4 from the plate, moving his batting average to .297. The two runs gave him 15 on the season, good for second on the team.

“Reynolds was swinging a pretty good bat,” Walsh said. “With these close games, you really appreciate all the runs you can get.”

—Staff writer Alexander Koenig can be reached at akoenig@college.harvard.edu.