Baseball Splits Games in Pair of Doubleheaders

Behind a slew of impressive performances from the starting rotation, the Harvard baseball team (7-9) split a pair of doubleheaders this weekend on the road at Fairfield (6-13) and then at home against Albany (8-12).

The team’s four starters combined to allow just four runs over 25.1 innings (1.42 ERA). The bullpen, however, allowed ten runs in 6.2 innings, struggling to find consistency.

Offensively, the team’s hottest hitters continued to produce. Freshman first baseman Pat McColl extended his hit streak to an impressive nine games over the weekend while sophomore third baseman John Fallon’s eight-game streak came to an end on Sunday afternoon after two more multi-hit performances against the Stags.

“[Batter’s box presence] has been the theme with those two this year,” captain DJ Link said. “They’re both young, but when you watch them play, you know they’ve been there before. They’re staying simple, they’re doing their thing, they’re doing their jobs.

HARVARD 3, ALBANY 2

The Crimson finished off the weekend in winning fashion, riding the arm of tall freshman right-hander Kevin Stone to a 3-2 victory on a chilly Sunday afternoon.

Stone had a shaky start, loading the bases in the second before allowing three straight hits and two runs in the fourth, but the Connecticut native regained his composure to post an impressive stat line of two runs over seven innings.

Harvard’s offense did just enough to get the job done, with freshman left fielder Trent Bryan hitting an RBI single to right before Fallon’s sacrifice fly doubled its advantage. After the Great Danes knotted the score at two, the Crimson responded in the bottom of the fifth to retake the lead, one they would never relinquish.

Sophomore left-hander Dylan Combs entered in relief of Stone, recording a two-inning save with two strikeouts and just one hit allowed.

“Kevin got stronger as the game went on,” coach Bill Decker said. “His pitch count was where it needed to be. And to see [Dylan] Combs do what he did, it was great; we need our younger guys to produce.”

ALBANY 3, HARVARD 0

The Crimson dropped the opener against the Great Danes, 3-0, in a game that featured just seven hits between the two teams at O’Donnell Field. Starter Ian Miller recorded five innings of no-hit ball before he and senior Nick Scahill combined to allow three runs in the top of the sixth.

Junior catcher Josh Ellis recorded a single and two walks, reaching safely in all three of his plate appearances. He was a bright spot in an otherwise dismal offensive outing from Harvard, as Albany starter Stephen Woods threw a complete game, seven scoreless, with eight strikeouts. The Crimson also stranded seven runners in scoring position.

“[Driving in runners] is a big part of the game, that you always need to work,” Link said. “Coach has been preaching that to us, you know, hitting with runners in scoring position.”

Miller looked strong in his best outing of the year, allowing just 1 run in 5.1 innings. He was replaced by Scahill in the sixth, but the Coral Springs, Fla. native allowed two doubles and a two-out single to give up the three runs. The offense could muster no response and was ultimately shut out for the first time this season.

FAIRFIELD 8, HARVARD 6

The Crimson fell in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, with three Harvard relievers combining to surrender eight runs in the eighth inning. Senior righty Sean Poppen allowed just one hit in six scoreless innings, exiting the game with a seemingly safe 6-0 lead, but the bullpen was unable to keep the Stags offense under wraps.

“We had a chance to extend the lead in the sixth and seventh, get it done, but we left too many runners in scoring position,” Decker said. “Then it kind of blew up on us. One base hit and then all of a sudden it was like a football game: they got a touchdown and a two-point conversion before we could do anything.”

Bryan opened the scoring with a RBI double in the top of the fourth before a McColl sacrifice fly and two wild pitches plated three more an inning later. The Crimson extended the lead to six in the seventh with an error and Ellis’ RBI single.

After recording a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh, captain Matt Sanders allowed two singles and two walks to start the eighth before being replaced by senior righty TJ Laurisch. Laurisch allowed three singles himself, failing to record an out, before senior lefty Sean O’Neill came in with the game at 6-5. He eventually got three outs, but three more runs crossed the plate.

HARVARD 7, FAIRFIELD 1

Behind junior right-hander Nick Gruener’s second complete game in as many outings, the Crimson snatched the first contest of the weekend, 7-1, against the Stags. Gruener improved to 3-1 on the season with seven innings of one-run ball, striking out five and walking just one to take his K-BB ratio to 21-2 on the season.

“Nick pitched really well,” Decker said. “He’s been really consistent for us, and you’re going to play well behind them because he has good tempo, good rhythm.”

Harvard jumped on their opponents early, scoring five times in the second inning to open up a comfortable advantage. Junior shortstop Drew Reid started the scoring with a RBI single before senior Mitch Klug and Fallon notched a two-run single and double respectively.

All nine Crimson starters reached base during the game, while Klug and Fallon each recorded multi-hit games. Fairfield got one run back in the bottom of the fourth, but sophomore right fielder Connor Quinn’s two-run single in the next frame was more than enough for Gruener, who allowed just six hits.

–Staff writer Manav Khandelwal can be reached at manavkhandelwal@college.harvard.edu.